Babe Ruth Home Run Award

Babe Ruth Home Run Award
Awarded for Home run leader in Major League Baseball
Presented by Sullivan Artworks
First awarded 1998
Last awarded 2009

The Babe Ruth Home Run Award[note 1] was an annual award presented to the previous season's leading home run hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB).[3] The award was named after the legendary Babe Ruth, who led the American League in homers 12 times.[4] It was first awarded to Mark McGwire after his record-setting 1998 season. The award was a 21-pound (9.5 kg), 20-inch-high (51 cm) bronze statue of Ruth based on a 1920 photo of him following through on a tremendous swing.[5][6]

The Babe Ruth Home Run Award was developed by brothers Jim and Brian Sullivan. Jim was the sculptor, while Brian focused on the marketing of the award. The Sullivans originally wanted to create a life-size statue of Ruth as a tourist attraction similar to the Michael Jordan statue. Unable to secure a sponsor, they created the award to honor Ruth.[4][5][6] The trophy was estimated to cost around $4,000 as of 2006, and it is funded by the Sullivans and given on behalf of their company, Sullivan Artworks based in Weymouth, Massachusetts.[4][7] MLB was not interested in sponsoring the award; the American League already honored its home run champion with a nameless award, and the National League offered the Mel Ott Award. Both the awards received little publicity.[8] The Babe Ruth Home Run Award was usually presented to the recipient by Ruth's daughter, Julia Ruth Stevens, or her son, Tom Stevens.[7][9][10]

Key

Alex Rodriguez has won a leading three Babe Ruth Home Run Awards.
The only other multiple-time winner is Ryan Howard.
Year Year the award was earned. The award is presented the following season.
Player (#) Name of winner (# times won if repeat winner)
Team The player's team when he won the award
HR Number of home runs
double-dagger Denotes player who is still active as of 2016
^ Indicates multiple award winners in the same year

List of winners

Year Player Team HR[11] Ref
1998 McGwire, MarkMark McGwire St. Louis Cardinals 70 [6]
1999 Not awarded due to lack of sponsor [6]
2000 Sosa, SammySammy Sosa Chicago Cubs 50 [8]
2001 Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds San Francisco Giants 73 [1]
2002 Rodriguez, AlexAlex Rodriguezdouble-dagger Texas Rangers 57 [12]
2003^ Rodriguez, AlexAlex Rodriguezdouble-dagger (2) Texas Rangers 47 [2]
2003^ Thome, JimJim Thome Philadelphia Phillies 47 [4]
2004 Beltre, AdrianAdrian Beltredouble-dagger Los Angeles Dodgers 48 [4]
2005 Jones, AndruwAndruw Jones Atlanta Braves 51 [13]
2006 Howard, RyanRyan Howarddouble-dagger Philadelphia Phillies 58 [4]
2007 Rodriguez, AlexAlex Rodriguezdouble-dagger (3) New York Yankees 54 [14]
2008 Howard, RyanRyan Howarddouble-dagger (2) Philadelphia Phillies 48 [15]
2009 Pujols, AlbertAlbert Pujolsdouble-dagger St. Louis Cardinals 47 [16]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Some sources refer to it as the Babe Ruth Award,[1][2] not to be confused with the Major League Baseball postseason award also named the Babe Ruth Award.

References

  1. 1 2 Syken, Bill (May 9, 2006). "Conspicuous absence". SI.com. Time Inc. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Morrissey, Michael (June 6, 2004). "Hospital ward in Bronx". New York Post. p. 50. Retrieved November 8, 2011. (subscription required (help)). Before the game, Rodriguez received the Babe Ruth Award (for most homers in the majors last season) from Ruth's daughter and grandson.
  3. ↑ Lelinwalla, Mark (June 21, 2008). "A-Rod gets award from Babe Ruth's family at Stadium". Daily News. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 At the following webpage, scroll down to "The Babe Ruth Homerun Award" (including photograph of the award trophy and list of recipients through the 2007 season). "06 Fan Stories: Ultimate Babe Ruth Fans". BabeRuthCentral.com. Babe Ruth Central. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011.
  5. 1 2 Adams, Steve (May 1, 1999). "South Shore brothers honor Babe Ruth". SouthCoastToday.com. Patriot Ledger News Service. Archived from the original on November 9, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Harber, Paul (July 22, 2001). "A statue fit for a home run king". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 8, 2011. Brian Sullivan of Weymouth and Jim Sullivan of Braintree were in fine company last weekend.(subscription required)
  7. 1 2 Shlimbaum, Gus (July 4, 2008). "A-Rod receives third Babe Ruth Award". The Patriot Ledger. Archived from the original on November 9, 2011.
  8. 1 2 MacMullan, Jackie (October 17, 2002). "A bronze homage to Babe". The Boston Globe. p. E3. Retrieved November 8, 2011. By 2001, they were paying their own way to present Sammy Sosa with his Babe Ruth Award.(subscription required)
  9. ↑ Wedge, Dave (October 25, 2009). "Yes we can... borrow slogans". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on October 29, 2009. The award is usually given by Ruth's grandson or daughter.
  10. ↑ Logan, Bob (July 16, 2001). "Could McGriff be in Baylor's lineup tonight?". Daily Herald. p. section 2, page 3. Stephens also presented Sosa with the Babe Ruth Home Run Award for leading both leagues with 50 homers last season.
  11. ↑ "Yearly League Leaders & Records for Home Runs". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  12. ↑ Sanchez, Jesse (May 23, 2003). "Notes: Strength in the message". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Barry mows 'em down". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. July 9, 2006. p. B4. Retrieved May 21, 2013. Before Saturday's game, Jones received the Babe Ruth Award for leading the major with 51 homers in 2005.(subscription required)
  14. ↑ "Giese Error Leads To Four-Run Seventh As Reds Blank Yanks". WPXI.com. The Sports Network. June 21, 2008. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011.
  15. ↑ "This Week at Citizens Bank Park (August 28 – September 3)" (Press release). Philadelphia Phillies. August 27, 2009. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011.
  16. ↑ Leach, Matthew (September 17, 2010). "Freese expects to return by spring". stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011.

External links

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