A New Book Shows How Much New York and Baseball Need Each Other
Kevin Baker’s The New York Game explores how the city and baseball cemented one another’s place in the American imagination.
Opening Day, 1923, at the brand-new Yankee Stadium. Left to right are Yankees co-owner Jacob Ruppert, baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Ruppert’s partner Tillinghast L’Hommedieu Huston, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, and Ed Flynn, the future “boss of the Bronx.”
Photographer: Library of CongressNo one took advantage of being famous like Babe Ruth. Arguably the most recognizable athlete in American history roamed Manhattan in the early part of the 20th century satisfying his massive appetites—for clothes (custom-made silk underwear), food (six hot dogs for just a pregame snack), booze and sex. New York was probably the only place in the world that could satiate him.
The symbiotic relationship that Ruth created with his adopted home would be replicated time and again. Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter all would thrive there—and that relationship extended well beyond individual players, or even teams. It was about the most American of cities and the most American of sports.