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Let’s Remember Yankee Hall of Famer, Red Ruffing!

“Well, Joe McCarthy said hello to me on the first day of spring camp and said goodbye to me on the last day of the season. In between, he just put the ball in my hand and that was all I wanted.” -Red Ruffing (1)

When baseball fans think of the great New York Yankee teams of the 1930s, names like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Lefty Gomez, and Bill Dickey immediately come to mind. But among all that star power, there’s another name – often overlooked – that deserves to be remembered: Charles Herbert “Red” Ruffing. Tommy Henrich agreed with this “overlooked” sentiment, once saying, “You know, there wasn’t that much difference between Lefty Gomez and Ruffing, but Ruffing was always looked upon as the ace.” (2)

Two Home Runs from an Unlikely Source!

September 18, 1930, ninety-six years ago today, was quite a day for the Yankees’ ace.  Ruffing was on the mound for the Yankees, but this wasn’t going to be one of those games when he dominated the opposition with his pitching. He lasted seven innings, and the game eventually went into extra innings.  The future Hall of Famer helped his own cause with TWO home runs as the Bronx Bombers beat the lowly Browns in a slugfest, 7-6.

(In the featured photo above, we see Yankee teammates Lefty Grove and Red Ruffing)

Of course, anyone familiar with Red Ruffing knew he was anything but an easy out. The big right-hander (6’1”, 205 pounds), a native of Granville, Illinois, was one of the finest pitchers of his generation, winning 273 games over a 22-year major league career. But, as Ruffing demonstrated in this game against the Browns, Ruffing possessed another talent that made him particularly valuable to the Yankees. The man could hit!

Imagine the problems for American League pitchers. When they pitched against the Yankees, they had to contend with a New York lineup that featured the likes of Ruth, Gehrig, Lazzeri, and Meusel. And then, just when they thought they might have an easy out at the bottom of the batting order in the pitcher’s spot, along came Red Ruffing, one of the best hitting pitchers of the era.

From Boston Failure to Yankee Stardom

Ruffing’s rise to baseball stardom was anything but ordinary. He began his major league career with the Red Sox in 1924. Over parts of seven seasons in Boston, he compiled a rather unremarkable 39-96 record. Then came one of those transactions that would haunt Red Sox fans for years. Maybe it wasn’t quite as bad as the trading of Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1919 that set off the “Curse of the Bambino,” but it was pretty remarkable itself. During the 1930 season, the Red Sox traded Ruffing to the Yankees for outfielder Cedric Durst and $50,000.

We often hear of how a change of scenery can help out a struggling player. This was one of those occasions, as the move to New York worked wonders for Ruffing. He posted a 15-5 record over the remainder of the 1930 season, on his way to compiling a 231-124 record as a Yankee, playing a significant role as a member of one of baseball’s greatest dynasties. Of course, it goes without saying that when you’re pitching for a lineup that includes Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, your fortunes are bound to improve!

A Pitcher Who Could Really Swing the Bat!

Just how good of a hitter was Red Ruffing? He was certainly more than merely a pitcher who occasionally connected with a lucky home run. Over his career, he collected 521 hits, batted .269. Think about that for a moment. A career batting average of 269 would be perfectly respectable for many everyday position players, let alone someone whose primary responsibility was getting opposing hitters out. He was such a good hitter that Yankees’ manager Joe McCarthy had the luxury of using him as a pinch-hitter.

And he had power, too. He connected for 36 career home runs, including 34 while playing as a pitcher, placing him among the most accomplished home-run-hitting pitchers of his era. One of his most remarkable performances came in 1932, when he pitched a ten-inning shutout against the Washington Senators and supplied the game’s only run with a walk-off home run.

Even more remarkable, in 1935 he led Yankee pitchers in both victories with 16, and batting average, hitting .339 in 109 at-bats. Not bad for someone whose name was penciled into the lineup primarily because he was pitching!

A Remarkable Career Against the Odds

Perhaps the most extraordinary part of Ruffing’s story occurred long before he became a Yankee. As a youngster growing up in Illinois, Ruffing lost four toes on his left foot in a mining accident. The injury helped end his ambitions of becoming an outfielder and pushed him toward pitching. What might have seemed like a devastating setback ultimately helped shape his baseball career. Ruffing went on to become a six-time All-Star and a member of six World Series championship teams. He won seven of his nine World Series decisions and compiled a sparkling 2.63 postseason ERA.

Ruffing served in the military during World War II, missing the 1943 and 1944 major league seasons before returning to the Yankees at age 40. So his career numbers could have been even more impressive. His final season came with the Chicago White Sox in 1947. Twenty years later, in 1967, he received baseball’s highest honor when he was elected to the Hall of Fame.

A Different Kind of Baseball Hero

Thanks to baseball’s DH, today’s baseball fans are accustomed to pitchers rarely, if ever, stepping into the batter’s box. But there was a time when a pitcher could contribute to his team’s success in more ways than one: with their bats, and Red Ruffing was a wonderful example. He could pitch a shutout, win a World Series game, deliver a clutch pinch-hit, or occasionally hit one out of the park.

And on that memorable afternoon at Sportsman’s Park in 1930, he reminded everyone that even in a lineup featuring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, the good hitting pitcher could provide some of the fireworks!

Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All found on Google search

Information: Quotes (1) and (2) from Red Ruffing SABR biography by Warren Corbett

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