Did Babe Ruth hit any home runs that bounced over the fence before the ground rule double rule came into effect?
by 
BERT FOUTS
ANSWERS: 4
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The "ground rule double" regulation came into effect before the 1931 season, but I've found no evidence any of the Babe's homers before this date were other than legitimate. On the other hand, Ruth definitely *lost* homers due to the rules. Once, he hit a game-ending homer, but in those days they only credited the hitter with enough of a hit to win the game - in that case, a two-run triple. Also, at one point, umpires ruled "fair" or "foul" according to the ball's position when last seen, not when it left the field of play. One estimate is that Ruth lost about 75 homers this way over his career, that left the field in fair territory, then hooked foul, but would be called home-runs today.
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It is a fact that Babe Ruth never hit a ball that was a homer because it bounced over the fence, however Lou Gherig did.
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Ground rule doubles became part of baseball rules in the early 1930s, but all of Ruth's homers were either inside-the-park or hit out on the fly...
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Well he was fast so he could hit inside the park homers, for He stole home 13 times.
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