The First Babe Wasn't So Ruthian
- Paul Semendinger
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
by Paul Semendinger
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NOTE - This article was originally written for the IBWAA's newsletter Here's the Pitch. It was published there on July 11, 2026
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He came to the Yankees from the Sox.
He once hit .371 in a season.
But the first Babe to be a Yankee, was not great, nor legendary. He certainly was not Ruthian.
This Babe was just a regular ballplayer passing through the big leagues in what has now become a forgotten career that nonetheless had some notable moments.
This Babe came to the Yankees in 1913 in what was, at the time, a noteworthy trade that involved one of the first great Yankees players. And after his brief one-season stay with the Yankees, he went to the Federal League where he starred before returning to the Major Leagues along with a future Hall-of-Famer and at least one other noteworthy player.
But, before we get into any of that, let’s begin at the start.
Babe Borton began his professional baseball career in 1910 in Iowa with the Ottumwa Packers where, in 133 games, he batted .293.
In 1911 and 1912, Babe Borton played for the Drummers who hailed out of St. Joseph, Missouri. Over 236 games, Borton beat the baseball to the tune of a .358 batting average.
In early September of 1912, Borton was in the Major Leagues playing for the Chicago White Sox.
A first baseman, Babe played in 31 of the team’s final 32 games batting .371 - an impressive start to his big league career.
As Babe Borton was socking the ball across the American League, the New York Highlanders were growing frustrated with their first baseman, Hal Chase.
Hal Chase was one of the first stars of the franchise that would soon be known as the Yankees. A gifted defensive first baseman, still considered today as one of the best of all-time, Hal Chase was also a solid hitter who batted as high as .323 in 1906. Chase though, seemed to be more trouble than he was worth. His was a career of battles with the team and a host of gambling accusations.
In 1913, the Yankees had had enough of Chase and traded him to the White Sox for Babe Borton and one other player. Unfortunately for this Babe, his arrival in New York did not come with many hits. Over 33 games, Borton batted just .130 and was not brought back to the Yankees the next season.
Babe Borton spent 1914 in the minor leagues hitting .301 over 181 games for the Venice Tigers of the Pacific Coast League.
In 1915, Borton signed to play in the Federal League. For one season, he shined there. Playing for the St. Louis Terriers, Borton led the Federal League in games (159), runs (97), and walks (92). (Hal Chase, who had also jumped to the Federal League led that league in 1915 with 17 home runs for the Buffalo Blues.)
In February 1916, the St. Louis Browns purchased the contracts of ten players from the Federal League’s Terriers including Babe Borton who played in 66 games for the Browns and batted just .224 ending his Major League career. Also in that 10-player purchase was future Hall of Fame pitcher Gettysburg Eddie Plank and Armando Marsans - the first baseball player from Cuba to have an impactful Major League career.
From 1917 through 1920, Babe Borton played in the Pacific Coast League. Across those seasons, playing for the Portland Beavers and the Vernon Tigers, Borton batted .303.
His career though came to an end when Borton, like the player he was initially traded for, Hal Chase, found himself involved in a gambling scandal when he admitted to throwing games.
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(The information in this article mostly came from reading and calculating statistics from Baseball-Reference and reading facts from the BR Bullpen.)
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Paul Semendinger runs the Yankees site Start Spreading the News. His newest published books are West Point at Gettysburg Vol. 1 and The Greatest New York Yankees By Uniform Number.
