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Had he lived, Hall of Fame pitcher
Charles Herbert "Red " Ruffing would have celebrated his 113th birthday today. Ruffing started his career as a pitcher with the Red Sox—does this ring any bells? For seven seasons, he toiled on really bad Red Sox teams—and compiled a 39-96 mark (losing more than 20 games
twice). In his five
full seasons in
Carmine Hose, the team finished dead last every time.
Bob Quinn, the Red Sox owner that succeeded the vile
Harry Frazee, was operating the team on a shoestring. So, the Red Sox decided to trade Ruffing to the Yankees—for the immortal OF
Cedric Durst (and $50,000 in badly-needed cash). Durst delivered one crappy season in Boston (.245, 1 HR). Ruffing, on the other hand, spent
fifteen seasons with
The Pinstriped Posers—winning the World Series
six times and landing in Cooperstown. In New York, he went 231-124 with a 3.47 ERA. In the seven total Fall Classics that he worked in, he posted a 7-2 mark with a 2.63 ERA. While some claim that he was an average pitcher who rode the coattails of the powerful Yankee dynasty into the Hall of Fame, those post-season numbers argue otherwise. So, when you think of that
other bad deal sending a pitcher to New York, don't forget about Ruffing, either.
