Back in April of 2014, we argued that—on the 100th anniversary of his MLB debut (July 11, 1914)—
the Red Sox should have honored Babe Ruth by retiring his "number" on the right-field façade. Of course,
The Babe's tenure with Boston
preceded the use of uniform numbers, so we suggested a simple red circle with "BABE". Now that the team has recently retired the numbers of
Jim Rice (14) and
Pedro Martinez (45) and will soon do the same for
Wade Boggs (26), we
renew our call to honor Ruth. In his pitching debut in 1914, he went seven innings at Fenway Park and gave up two earned runs on eight hits. This was the start of—arguably—the greatest career in baseball history
(including three world championships in Boston). So, once again:
John Henry, affix a prominent
"BABE" on the right field facade. We should
finally honor
The Bambino for his vast contributions to the Red Sox. Plus—as a side benefit—it will tweak every fan of
The Evil Ones.
