Babe Ruth fills the public eye, not only because he is a great pitcher and hitter, but because the fullest use has been made of him to advertise his strength in these two departments. Babe can pitch in world's championship form and clout a home run over the fence; he can clean the bases in a pinch; and he can bring his heavy artillery into daily play by handling a first base or outfield position acceptably. In this respect, he, however, does not surpass or even equal Sisler. George is as great or a greater pitcher than Ruth. I KNOW this. He showed me his quality in major league games, too—look back at his record if you don't believe this. As a batter and all around player I leave the records to show his ability, as compared with "Babe." He batted .337 last year to Ruth's .297; he led the league in stealing bases, with 40 in an abbreviated season, distancing Cobb and the other stars. He was the fourth first baseman in fielding percentage; as an outfielder he showed wonderful promise. His great covering ability, fine throwing arm and daring would make him a star at any position, where Ruth would be merely a defensive filler-in, tolerated because of his hitting. Save for the pitching his superiority to Ruth will not be disputed by anyone; and I myself am certain that he is also Ruth's pitching master. Why is it that Ruth is so much more prominent than Sisler, and draws twice as much salary as the St Louisan? The answer is that Sisler has not been exploited beyond 50 per cent of his publicity value, and not more than 70 per cent of his playing efficiency.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Babe Ruth fills the public eye, not only because he is a great pitcher and hitter, but because the fullest use has been made of him to advertise his strength in these two departments. Babe can pitch in world's championship form and clout a home run over the fence; he can clean the bases in a pinch; and he can bring his heavy artillery into daily play by handling a first base or outfield position acceptably. In this respect, he, however, does not surpass or even equal Sisler. George is as great or a greater pitcher than Ruth. I KNOW this. He showed me his quality in major league games, too—look back at his record if you don't believe this. As a batter and all around player I leave the records to show his ability, as compared with "Babe." He batted .337 last year to Ruth's .297; he led the league in stealing bases, with 40 in an abbreviated season, distancing Cobb and the other stars. He was the fourth first baseman in fielding percentage; as an outfielder he showed wonderful promise. His great covering ability, fine throwing arm and daring would make him a star at any position, where Ruth would be merely a defensive filler-in, tolerated because of his hitting. Save for the pitching his superiority to Ruth will not be disputed by anyone; and I myself am certain that he is also Ruth's pitching master. Why is it that Ruth is so much more prominent than Sisler, and draws twice as much salary as the St Louisan? The answer is that Sisler has not been exploited beyond 50 per cent of his publicity value, and not more than 70 per cent of his playing efficiency." in the context of "Branch Rickey, as quoted in "Sisler Would Be Greater Than Ruth if Exploited to the Fullest, Rickey Says" by John E. Wray, in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (February 9, 1919), p. A11; reprinted as "George Sisler Is Better All-Round Player Than Babe Ruth, Says Rickey" in The Claremore Messenger (May 9, 1919), p. 4" to mean that wisdom is timeless.