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in disappointment for Ruth.
    After the season, baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis warned Ruth not to go on another barnstorming tour. Ruth ignored
     him and went anyway. He felt as if he were bigger than the game.
    He wasn’t. In December Landis suspended him for the first six weeks of the 1922 season.
    Fortunately, the Yankees had earned so much money the previous season that they were able to acquire a number of other valuable
     players, many from the Red Sox. Although they missed Ruth at the start of the season and sometimes struggled after his return,
     the Yankees still had enough firepower and pitching to win the pennant.
    However, Ruth was in a slump, at least for him. His batting average dropped to .315 and he hit “only” thirty-five home runs,
     not enough to beat the new league leader, Ken Williams (of the St. Louis Browns), who hit thirty-nine.
    Meanwhile, his behavior was once again a causefor concern. When he returned to the team after the suspension, he was out of shape and never really got going. As the season
     progressed, he spent night after night out on the town and often showed up at the ballpark bleary-eyed. One of his Yankee
     roommates later said he didn’t really room with Ruth, he roomed “with his suitcase,” because Ruth was always out. On the field,
     Ruth argued with umpires and was suspended several times for using bad language. Manager Huggins was powerless to change him.
     Everybody was.
    The Yankees met the Giants in the World Series for the second season in a row. This time, it wasn’t even close. The Giants
     won in five games and Ruth was terrible, collecting only two hits.
    At a banquet Ruth attended shortly after the end of the series, speaker after speaker lectured him about his behavior and
     the way in which he had disappointed not only his teammates but the fans. New York Mayor Jimmy Walker said, “You have let
     down the kids of America … they have seen their idol shattered and their dream broken.” Babe Ruth was humiliated and told
     everyone, “I’m going back to my farm to get in shape.”
    His career was at a crossroads and he knew it. If he didn’t do something fast, he wouldn’t be Babe Ruth anymore. This time,
     he didn’t have anyone like Brother Matthias to bail him out. Ruth would have to help himself. It was time for him to grow
     up, at least a little.

CHAPTER FIVE
1923–1925
Ups and Downs
    Babe Ruth kept his promise that winter. He returned to his Massachusetts farm, reuniting with Helen after a long separation,
     and rarely ventured into the city. He stopped drinking, watched what he ate, and spent the winter doing farm work, skating,
     chopping wood, and going for long hikes. He knew he had messed up in 1922 and was determined to prove that he was still the
     best player in the game.
    New York fans were looking forward to the 1923 season. At the cost of $2.5 million dollars, the Yankees had finally built
     their own ballpark, Yankee Stadium. The new park in the Bronx was huge, capable of holding more than 70,000 fans, most of
     whom were looking forward to seeing the Babe hit some home runs. The park designers had done what they could to satisfy them
     by making sure the fence inright field was short enough for Ruth to hit home runs with the same frequency he had at the Polo Grounds.
    This year, the Bambino didn’t let them down. He showed up at spring training in tremendous shape, weighing 209 pounds. And
     on opening day at Yankee Stadium he announced his return in dramatic fashion.
    With the score 1–0 in favor of the Yankees in the fourth inning, Ruth came to bat. Boston pitcher Howard Ehmke let a ball
     over the plate and Ruth gave it everything he had.
    The ball soared deep and high to right field as everyone in the stadium stood and craned their necks to watch the flight of
     the ball. When it finally came down it was ten rows deep in the right-field stands. Babe Ruth had hit the first home run in
     Yankee Stadium! After the Yankee