The Bambino and Me by Zachary Hyman (review)

Summer, 1927. George’s best birthday present ever: tickets to see Babe Ruth wallop the Red Sox. His worst birthday present ever: a Red Sox jersey and cap from a well-meaning but clueless uncle. Ma insists that George wear the humiliating get-up to the game and the experience is as bad as he expects, with his bright red cap amid a sea of Yankee blue a magnet for catcalls and ridicule. It also catches the eye of the Babe just before he belts one out of the park, however, and George’s surrounding enthusiasts realize from the boy’s cheering just whose side he’s really on. There’s still some anxiety when two “big palookas” escort George and his father into the bowels of the stadium, where they meet the great one himself, who rightly guesses, “You’re not really a Red Sox fan, are you, kid?” The Bambino then promptly signs George’s baseball card, gears him up with proper Yankee garb, and offers a few parting words of wisdom. Pullen joins a league of other illustrators who have a ton of fun caricaturing the Babe, but he does full comic justice to the rest of the cast as well, exaggerating George’s drama-prince reactions to the whirlwind events. The illustrations also incorporate in a monumental double-page spread an unmistakable eyelock and finger-point to outfield (which may or may not be directed at George), in a slyly prophetic reference to Ruth’s much-debated gesture in the 1932 World Series. Hyman offers some closing thoughts on George Herman Ruth in a closing note, commenting on his 1927 season and on his renowned geniality toward kids. And since every fan appreciates a ballpark giveaway, an audio CD of the text is included.