Do the Yankees hope Derek Jeter mimics Babe Ruth’s play? Of course. Do they hope he imitates Ruth’s captaincy? Absolutely not.
Ruth, the third Yankee captain, had as tumultuous tenure as you can imagine. And it was as short lived as it was hectic. Ruth lost his captaincy after five days at the helm in 1922 after commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended him for one month and fined him $9,000 for joining an illegal barnstorming tour the previous winter.
That wasn’t the end of Ruth’s tribulations as Yankee captain. On May 25, his last day as captain, The Babe was suspended by the team for one day and fined $200 for throwing dirt on umpire George Hildebrand after being called out at second.
Then, on his way to the centerfield clubhouse, he gestured to a heckler in right field.
According to Ruth, the fan called him a “lowdown bum and other names that got me mad.” Ruth attacked the fan in the stands as well.