A 1923 handwritten letter by
Babe Ruth is being auctioned off for a reserve minimum of $5,000.
The Bambino wrote the letter to thank
Boston Globe baseball writer
James O'Leary for his MVP vote. Ruth won his
only MVP award in 1923 as a member of the New York Yankees. The letter has a touching reference to Ruth's time in Boston. The text of the letter is as follows:
"Dear Mr. O'Leary, Thank you for voting for me in the 1923 Baseball Contest. I tried hard all the way and especially for a whole lot of Boston friends from the old days. I'm not going to quit trying, there's a lot of years ahead and I'll do my best to make them good years. Sincerely, Babe Ruth." Ruth started his career in Boston in 1914—at the tender age of 19. He won
three World Series Championships as a member of the Red Sox. Even though
The Babe was mostly a stellar pitcher in his six years in Boston, he still managed to hit .308 in his time here—with a total of 49 home runs (11 of those in his final Red Sox season of 1919). He also won 89 games on the mound for Boston in that span—with a 2.19 ERA. Most of what is known about Ruth centers on his time in New York (and justifiably so). But, it's still nice to see that he had some lingering affection for his time in Boston—which this letter clearly shows.
