It Was Never About the Babe ― The Red Sox, Racism, Mismanagement, and the Curse of the Bambino

The first book to tell the entire story of why the Red Sox are now a dynastyand what kept them from winning for more than eight decades.

For years, Red Sox fans were told that their team was cursed because the Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees. But as Jerry Gutlon reveals inIt Was Never About the Babe, what really happened is far more unsettling.

With the thorough research of a seasoned journalist and the zeal of a lifelong Red Sox fan, Gutlon details the rampant favoritism and racism that cost Boston’s beloved team nearly a century of championships. The truths in this book will shock even the most die-hard members of Red Sox nation. For instance, Babe Ruth was sold not just to produce a Broadway play, but also because of his bad behavior and a feud between commissioner Ban Johnson and Sox owner Harry Frazee. They will also be surprised at which legendary ballplayer tried out at Fenway Park and didn’t make the cut and shocked to learn which beloved Red Sox owner also ran a brothel.

Covering the early Red Sox championship dynasty of Ruth, the never-good-enough teams of Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, and Carlton Fisk and Curt Schilling,It Was Never About the Babe is an eye-opening read for every baseball fan and a must-own book for every fan in Boston.

Jerry M. Gutlon is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist who has been published in theNew York Times and the Washington Post, among other publications. He resides in Griffin, Georgia.