Babe Ruth: 10 Strange Facts About the New York Yankees Legend | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Baseball lore has it that Ruth pointed to the center-field bleachers in Wrigley Field before hitting a home run against the Cubs in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, although the debate on what really happened still rages today.

The facts behind the events that led up to the home run have never really been disputed, but whether or not Ruth actually “pointed” to the bleachers and “called” his famous shot are still in question.

Reports indicate that the bench players on the Cubs were riding “The Sultan of Swat” mercilessly while he was at the plate, and instead of ignoring them, Ruth decided to mock back at the Chicago bench.

According to Wikipedia, here’s how the famous at bat went:

“Charlie Root's first pitch to Ruth was a called strike. Ruth then looked over at the Cubs' dugout and raised his right hand, and extended one of his fingers. Root missed with the next two pitches, but the next pitch was a called strike, and the crowd again cheered loudly.

Ruth then waved back at the Cubs dugout and held up two fingers. He began to shout at Root, and it is at this point Ruth definitely made a pointing gesture in the direction of Root, center field, or to the Cubs' bench.

Root's next pitch was a curveball that Ruth hit at least 440 feet to the deepest part of center field near the flagpole (some estimates are as high as 490 feet). The ground distance to the center field corner, somewhat right of straightaway center, was 440 feet.

The ball landed a little bit to the right of the 440 corner and farther back, apparently in the temporary seating in Sheffield Avenue behind the permanent interior bleacher seats.”

The Zapruder Film of this event (click this link for the YouTube video), which emerged in the 1990s and was made by amateur filmmaker Matt Miller Kandle, Sr., never really revealed any clear evidence that Ruth actually pointed to the bleachers, although he can be seen making a gesture. Watch it and determine for yourself.

Whether it’s actually just sports lore or reality, the moment is legendary in baseball history and will never be resolved as fact or fiction.