In an exclusive interview with ONNJ’s Jonna Perlinger for Babe’s Babes Media, Brent Stevens opens up about Babe Ruth as a father, his relationship with Lou Gehrig, the famous called shot and the family’s efforts to preserve his legacy.
To baseball fans, Babe Ruth is larger than life. The Sultan of Swat. The Great Bambino. The man whose legendary swing transformed America’s pastime.
But to Brent Stevens, Ruth is something much more personal.
He’s his great-grandfather.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Stevens for Babe’s Babes Media, a conversation that was particularly meaningful to me. Babe Ruth has played a special role in my own baseball journey and is quite literally the inspiration behind the name Babe’s Babes.
What followed was a conversation about the man behind the mythology, the family stories that never made the record books and the legacy his descendants are working to preserve.
Babe Ruth, the Father
Some of the most fascinating stories Stevens shared had nothing to do with baseball.
His grandmother, Babe Ruth’s daughter, lived to be 102 and retained a remarkable memory well into her 90s, according to Stevens. She frequently shared stories with family about growing up as the daughter of one of America’s most recognizable celebrities.
“She grew up calling him Daddy, and that’s how she referred to him to the day that she died,” Stevens said.
Those memories included dancing, bowling and traveling with her father, including accompanying him on the famous 1934 barnstorming tour of Japan.
But one of the most endearing stories involved something considerably less glamorous.
Ruth, who spent much of his childhood at St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys in Baltimore, learned tailoring as a trade. Even after becoming a baseball superstar, he continued mending his own clothing.
When his daughter left for summer camp, Ruth sewed her a blanket.
Then came a warning.
“If you ever tell anyone that I made this for you, you’ll be grounded,” Stevens recalled Ruth telling her.
Stevens also described Ruth’s enthusiasm for family Christmas traditions, particularly decorating the tree himself, something he never experienced during his childhood.
For a man remembered for his towering home runs, these quieter family moments reveal an entirely different side of the Babe.
The Legacy Beyond Baseball
Stevens has dedicated considerable time to preserving his great-grandfather’s legacy, particularly the aspects of his character he believes have been overlooked.
That commitment began after his sister returned home from school upset by a textbook that described Ruth’s baseball accomplishments but also characterized him as a drunkard and womanizer.
While Stevens acknowledges that his great-grandfather enjoyed his share of excesses, he believes those descriptions fail to tell the complete story.
“That was not who he was for his whole entire life,” Stevens explained.
He pointed to Ruth’s generosity, including visits to hundreds of orphanages, charitable work and support for wartime fundraising efforts.
Stevens also emphasized Ruth’s relationships with Black baseball players during an era when Major League Baseball remained segregated.
“He just looked at people as people,” Stevens said. “He just really cared for people in general.”
Stevens believes Ruth’s attitudes toward race may even have influenced his unsuccessful pursuit of a managerial career after retiring. He referenced historian Bill Jenkinson’s research suggesting that Ruth’s willingness to embrace Black players potentially made baseball executives uncomfortable.
While that theory remains unproven, Stevens considers it an important part of examining Ruth’s legacy.
The Yankees, Lou Gehrig and Baseball History
Naturally, our conversation eventually turned to Ruth’s remarkable playing career.
Stevens offered an interesting perspective on the famous 1919 sale that sent Ruth from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees.
Beyond Boston’s financial motivations, Stevens explained that Ruth desperately wanted to become a full-time hitter rather than remain primarily a pitcher.
Interestingly, Ruth’s remarkable abilities as both a pitcher and hitter still invite comparisons to today’s biggest stars.
When asked which current MLB player most reminds him of his great-grandfather, Stevens pointed to Shohei Ohtani.
“To have someone doing what Shohei has been doing is extremely impressive,” Stevens said, noting the difficulty of excelling on both sides of the game, particularly in modern baseball.
While Ruth ultimately chose to focus on hitting, Ohtani has brought renewed attention to the kind of two-way talent that made Ruth so extraordinary more than a century ago.
“He just loved playing. He wanted to play every day, and he could do that as a hitter,” Stevens said.
The move to New York ultimately gave Ruth the opportunity to become baseball’s biggest attraction.
“I think Babe was made for New York and New York was made for Babe,” Stevens said.
We also discussed Ruth’s complicated relationship with fellow Yankees legend Lou Gehrig.
Although the two famously experienced a falling out, Stevens confirmed that they eventually reconciled.
“Babe and Lou, they did have a falling out at one point, but they ultimately did come back together,” he explained.
The two shared years of competition, barnstorming tours and radio appearances, while their wives maintained a lifelong friendship.
Stevens said Ruth deeply admired Gehrig and was devastated by his death in 1941.
Did Babe Ruth Really Call His Shot?
Of course, I couldn’t interview Babe Ruth’s great-grandson without asking one of baseball’s most enduring questions.
Did Ruth really call his shot during the 1932 World Series?
Stevens acknowledged that the moment remains hotly debated.
“Can I prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt? No,” he admitted.
However, he pointed to former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who attended the game as a child and maintained that he witnessed Ruth gesture toward the outfield.
“If one of our Supreme Court justices would say that he saw that happen, I’d like to believe him,” Stevens joked.
Preserving a Family’s History
Today, Stevens works alongside his father to preserve Ruth’s legacy through BabeRuthCentral.com and projects including Out of the Mouth of Babe, a coffee-table book created with Kelly Bennett and Stu Dressler featuring stories, photographs and memorable quotes.
The family also treasures personal memorabilia, including a photograph Ruth inscribed to his future wife Claire in 1923 and a 1947 letter from Ty Cobb expressing admiration for his former rival.
For Stevens, these keepsakes represent something beyond baseball history.
They are pieces of his family’s story.
Before wrapping up, I had one final question.
Yankees or Red Sox?
Despite his great-grandfather’s legendary Yankees career, Stevens admitted his New England upbringing leaves him leaning slightly toward Boston, although he appreciates both franchises.
As a lifelong Yankee fan, I naturally encouraged him to reconsider.
More Than a Legend
Babe Ruth’s 714 home runs, seven World Series championships and larger-than-life personality will forever define his place in baseball history.
But after my conversation with Brent Stevens, it’s the smaller details that have stayed with me.
The father decorating the Christmas tree. The man quietly sewing a blanket for his daughter. And perhaps most importantly, his generosity, compassion and willingness to embrace people from all walks of life during a time when that acceptance wasn’t always commonplace.
Those stories don’t diminish the legend. They make him human, and they remind us that Babe Ruth’s legacy extends far beyond what he accomplished on a baseball field.
Because sometimes, the most extraordinary stories in baseball history aren’t the ones that happened on the field.
They’re the ones that happened when the uniforms came off.
