Book Review: The Big Fella

The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created, by Jane Leavy

One hundred years ago, Babe Ruth was a star pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Then he was sold to the New York Yankees, and everything changed.

He moved to the outfield, became one of the most powerful hitters ever to play, and upended both the game of baseball and his place in it. Not only did Ruth lead Major League Baseball away from the dead ball era to its new-found reliance on the three-run homer, but he brought it out of the darkness of the Black Sox scandal and into the thrill of the Roaring '20s. During the decade, Ruth was baseball: its face, its star, its savior.

And according to this wonderful new biography of the Babe, he also changed the face of America. He helped bring in the celebrity-athlete culture. He was the first person to regularly lend his name and his image to endorse products. His lifestyle -- both on and off the field -- was breathlessly reported in the press. His personality helped sell newspapers -- more than a dozen dailies in New York City in those days -- and bring to life radio broadcasting, then in its infancy. His financial planner and adviser, Christy Walsh, was baseball's first agent, and he helped to make Ruth realize his enormous earning potential -- both from his play on the field, and his being the the face of baseball off the field.

Ruth also created myths about himself and his image, with equal parts truth and legend, and nobody seemed to be able to tell the difference -- or even care about it. Truthiness was born, long before Stephen Colbert thought of the word.

Leavy, who has written masterful biographies of baseball legends Mickey Mantle and Sandy Koufax, is at her best here. Her research is remarkable -- her appendices, notes, and sources section at the end covers more than 100 pages. She delves into some of the myths -- Ruth's early life, his marriages, his children, his racial heritage -- that have never adequately been explored before. And she tells it in an easy, readable style.

That being said, let me add a few caveats. The book's editor could have paid a bit more attention; I found a number of sloppy errors and repetitions throughout, especially in the first few chapters. And the author's writing style in this book was a bit confusing. She chose to jump around in time, writing about Ruth's barnstorming tours with Lou Gehrig, and mixing in Ruth's history, and his seasons with the Yankees. Many times, I found myself confused as to exactly where in time she was talking about.

But those are quibbles.