Babe Ruth by Michael Ceraolo

 Babe Ruth

You may not know I received racial taunts

from opposing players and opposing fans,

and even coded ones from sportswriters

Were they right about my background?

Hell, I don't know,

but that would go a long way toward explaining

why my dad wanted nothing to do with me

(thank God for St. Mary's and the Brothers

who took over the father role)

"I had a rotten start and it took me

a long time to get my bearings",

but I did get them eventually,

after the showdown with Huggins in '25

and especially after my marriage to Claire

But neither the sportswriters nor the team officials

ever gave me credit for maturing a little:

in their eyes I was still the wild man

I had been in my twenties,

and I think that was the reason

I never got a chance to manage,

unlike every other great player of the day

I changed the game with my batting style:

changed it for the players,

changed it for the fans,

changed it for the writers and owners

The first two groups were appreciative;

it was only the writers and owners

who begrudged me my salary,

even though whatever I got paid

was a mere fraction of what I was worth to the team