When I read a book about a great player in any sport, I don't just want to know his stats...I want to know what made them great players. When Ruth burst on the scene he was truly a phenomenon. The game had never seen a player who could hit for power and average like Ruth.
It also helped that in 1920 the Majors had banned spitballs and other pitches with artificial substances and started throwing out marked up or discolored balls. Ty Cobb became almost apoplectic discussing the way the game changed. He screamed "where's the science?" in the long ball type of play. The long ball and power hitting replaced the inside baseball type of ball favored by the Cobbs and John McGraws.
Without doubt the best book I’ve ever read on Ruth is the late Marshall Smelser’s bio The Life That Ruth Built. He shows Ruth warts and all. It is an absolute must. Second to it is Creamer’s bio, The Babe. Both of these books are available on line. Father Gabe Costa is a professor of mathematics at West Point and he shares our respect for Ruth’s combination of hitting for average and power. In Father Gabe’s words, “every now and then there’s a blip in nature, Ruth was a blip.”