THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 12, 1996 TAG: 9610120582
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
DATELINE: BALTIMORE LENGTH: 62 lines
Four or five tape-measure home runs from the house where he was born in 1895, George Herman Ruth is memorialized in bronze.
Beyond the centerfield fence at Camden Yards, at the edge of the Eutaw Street plaza, the Babe leans on his bat while looking over the heads of the milling crowds.
Those who know him as the greatest New York Yankee of them all may be surprised by the monument. Here he is portrayed as the simple son of Baltimore who was paroled from St. Mary's Industrial School to play for the old minor league Orioles.
It sounds too good to be true, but Ruth spent some of his formative years on the grounds where the park now stands. The last of his father's saloons, Ruth's Cafe, stood in the vicinity of short centerfield in Camden Yards.
Continuing the parochial theme is the inscription that goes below the Babe's name on the base of this pigeon perch.
It does not read ``Hall of Famer.'' Or ``Savior of Baseball,'' which is what he was. Or ``Bambino.''
The title ``Sultan of Swat'' is no where to be found, either.
Likewise, the words New York and Yankees are missing.
Instead, Ruth is described with a single word: ``Baltimorean.''
As if there could be no greater distinction.
Baltimore had Ruth first, of course, but ignoring his Yankee connection (``The House That Ruth Built'' still has a certain ring to it) is just Baltimore's way of thumbing its nose at New York.
At the moment, Orioles vs. Yankees is the premier rivalry in the American League. Almost anywhere baseball is played, detesting the Yankees is the pastime within the pastime. But in Baltimore, like Boston, people seem to have a particularly strong aversion to all things New York.
The Yankees, and their followers, bring out the best in fans. And the worst.
It wasn't surprising, then, that police were called to the pubs across the street from Camden Yards on Friday evening to break up fights between people wearing orange and dark blue.
One would expect this from a series that has turned a 12-year-old fan into an instant villain or celebrity, depending on your point of view.
Joltin' Jeff Maier, the rightfield thief, is being called a ``hero'' by the New York tabloids and talk shows. To Baltimoreans this just goes to prove what nitwits New Yorkers truly are.
Meanwhile, Orioles fans, having dismissed their own moral dilemma involving Roberto Alomar, are inclined to feel paranoid about the umpiring since Maier's Game 1 larceny went undetected by Rich Garcia.
During Game 2 in New York, Orioles fans thought they saw home plate umpire Larry Barnett do a happy jig as he called out Alomar on a pitch at least six inches outside.
The same day, Garcia bantered with Yankee fans down the leftfield line while signing autographs.
No one can ever recall seeing an umpire signing autographs while on the field. But then, it isn't often that an umpire goes around so cheerfully acknowledging that he blew the call.
What's up? Baltimoreans wondered. But Friday, they were left with more traditional laments: the hated Yankees simply outplayed their heroes.
Though they probably wouldn't want to admit it, if Babe Ruth returned today in Yankee colors, the fans here would sic a flock of pigeons on him. by CNB