Other than a softball, which was created as an offshoot, the sport most often compared to baseball is typically cricket. They’re both bat-and-ball sports that involve hitting, throwing, catching, fielding, and running to “bases” to score runs. Do you know Late in his baseball career, Babe Ruth had a meeting with the cricket version of himself and even attempted the fellow bat-and-ball sport a bit.
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Plenty of players has looked into potentially transitioning from one sport to the other. Even Babe Ruth tried to give cricket a spin. The story of Ruth’s affiliation with cricket began in 1932. That July, while touring North America, playing cricket, and honeymooning with his wife, the legendary Australian cricketer Don Bradman took in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium.
For those unaware, Bradman is basically the Ruth of cricket, in both statistical excellence and in borderline mythic status. In batting average, which actually began in cricket before being adopted by baseball, Bradman is the all-time leader in test cricket (the famed five-day matches), averaging 99.94 runs.
Bradman was hosted by Ruth
A weird twist of fate
Years after his playing career ended, Ruth passed away on August 16, 1948. In a weird twist of fate, across the ocean, just two days prior, Bradman’s test cricket career had finished. He had been gotten out for zero runs in his final chance to bat when he needed just four to ensure that his final career batting average would be over 100.