DOTD For Monday, April 27, 2026
It's Baseball Season - And We've Got A Legend To Salute Today
Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is a Heavens To Betsy cocktail inspired by the annual salute to one of baseball’s legends, National Babe Ruth Day!
According to sports lore, the “Heavens to Betsy” - a potent, gin-heavy version of a Tom Collins - was often ordered by Babe Ruth. Legendary sportswriter Jimmy Breslin wrote the definitive account of Ruth slamming a “Heavens to Betsy” on a hot afternoon at the Bayside Golf Club in Queens, that in typical Breslin fashion, is a story worth reading.
History of Babe Ruth Day
Babe Ruth Day was first celebrated in 1946, inaugurated by Albert B. Chandler, an American politician and Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1951. Ruth was diagnosed with throat cancer in late 1946 after experiencing pain in his eye and having trouble swallowing. The next year, in 1947, April 27 was declared as Babe Ruth Day.
Who Was ‘The Great Bambino’ Babe Ruth?
George Herman Ruth Jr. was born February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland to George Sr. & Kate. George Jr. was one of eight children, but only he and his sister Mamie survived. George Jr.’s parents worked long hours, leaving little time to watch over him and his sister. The lack of parental guidance allowed George Jr. to be a bit unruly, often skipping school and causing trouble.
When George Jr. turned seven, his parents realized he needed a stricter environment. They sent him to St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, run by a brotherhood of Catholic laymen from an order of the Xaverian Brothers, reknowned for their high quality schools.
St. Mary’s provided a regimented environment which shaped George Jr.’s future. Not only did George Jr. learn vocational skills, but he also developed a passion for baseball.
Brother Matthias took an interest in George Jr. And became a role model and father-figure, helping George Jr. refine his baseball skills, and working tirelessly with him on hitting, fielding, and pitching. George Jr. became so good that the Brothers invited Jack Dunn, owner of the Baltimore Orioles, to watch George Jr. play. Dunn offered a contract to George Jr. in February 1914, when George was barely 19, after watching him for less than an hour.
Since George Jr. was only nineteen, Dunn had to be George’s legal guardian to complete the contract. Seeing George Jr. for the first time, the Orioles players referred to him as “Jack’s newest babe” and the most famous nickname in sports history was born. Thereafter, George Herman Ruth Jr. was known as “The Babe.”
The Babe performed so well for Dunn and the Orioles, they sold his contract to the Boston Red Sox.
While Babe is most known for his prodigious power as a slugger, he started as a very good pitcher. In 1914, Babe appeared in five games for the Red Sox, pitching in four. He won his major league debut on July 11, 1914; however, due to a loaded roster, Babe was optioned to the Red Sox minor league team, the Providence Grays, where he led them to the International League pennant.
Babe became a fixture in the Red Sox rotation in 1915, accumulating an 18-8 record with an ERA of 2.44. He followed his successful first season with a 23-12 campaign in 1916, leading the league with a 1.75 ERA. In 1917, he went 24-13 with a 2.01 ERA and a staggering 35 complete games in 38 starts. By then, Babe had displayed enormous power in his limited plate appearances, so it was decided his hitting was too good to be left out of the lineup on a daily basis.
In 1918, Babe became an everyday player - which gave him many more chances to improve his stats. Ruth tied for the major-league lead in home runs with 11, and followed that up by setting a single-season home run record of 29 dingers in 1919. Little did he know that the 1919 season would be his last with Boston.
On December 26, 1919, Babe’s contract was sold to the New York Yankees. The two teams would never be the same again.
After joining the New York Yankees, Babe became a full-time outfielder. Thereafter, Babe dominated baseball, achieving never-seen-before stats. He changed baseball from a grind-it-out style to one of power and high-scoring games. Babe Ruth re-wrote the record books from a hitting standpoint, combining a high batting average with unbelievable power. The result was an assault on baseball’s hallowed records.
In 1920, he bested the home run record he set in 1919 by belting a staggering 54 home runs, a season in which no other player hit more than 19 and only one team hit more than Babe did individually. But Babe wasn’t done, as his 1921 season may have been the greatest in MLB history. That season, he blasted a new record of 59 home runs, drove in 171 RBI, scored 177 runs, batted .376 and had an unheard of .846 slugging percentage. Babe was officially a superstar and enjoyed a popularity never seen before in professional baseball. With Babe leading the charge, the Yankees became the most recognizable and dominant team in baseball, setting attendance records along the way. When the Yankees moved to a new stadium in 1923, it was dubbed “The House that Ruth Built.”
Babe’s mythical stature grew in 1927 as a member of “Murderer’s Row,” when he set the home run record (60) which would stand for 34 years. With the Yankees, Babe ignited what some call the greatest dynasty in all of sports. Prior to his arrival, the Yankees had never won a title of any kind.
After joining the Yankees before the 1920 season, Babe helped the Yankees capture seven pennants and four World Series titles. The 1927 team is still considered by many the greatest in baseball history. Upon retiring from the Boston Braves in 1935, Babe held an astonishing 56 major league records at the time, including the most revered record in baseball: 714 home runs.
In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame was inaugurated and Babe Ruth was one of its first five inductees.
During the fall of 1946, it was discovered that Babe had a malignant tumor on his neck. His health deteriorated quickly.
On June 13, 1948, Ruth’s jersey number “3” was retired by the Yankees during his last appearance at Yankee Stadium.
Babe lost his battle with cancer on August 16, 1948. His body lay in repose in Yankee Stadium, with his funeral two days later at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. Over 100,000 people lined up and paid their respects to the Babe.
Babe remains one of the greatest figures in major league baseball, and one of the greatest icons in American history.
The Babe helped save baseball from the ugly Black Sox scandal, and gave hope to millions during The Great Depression.
He impacted the game in a way never seen before or since. He continues to be the benchmark by which all other players are measured.
Despite retiring in 1935, Babe is still to this day widely considered one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history.
So let’s raise a glass to Babe Ruth with today’s Drink Of The Day, a Heavens To Betsy cocktail!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink:
