WATCH: Recovered Footage of Babe Ruth Teaching Youngsters How to Pitch Breaking Balls

Before Babe Ruth was a home run king from right field at Yankee Stadium, he was a premier 2 way player for the Red Sox. And he retained all of his skill on the mound throughout his career. Some would even say that’s what contributed to his greatness. And as he grew, you saw why some still call Babe Ruth the greatest of all time. In a video that has recently surfaced, Babe Ruth speaks to a group of youngsters in a bid to teach them how he pitches.

The New York Yankees legend has already made a place for himself at Memorial Park, but truly the size of the man comes through when he teaches. In the 1920s version of what could be classified as a “masterclass”, Ruth takes the mound. In an attempt to teach young kids about the kinds of ball, Ruth talks the kids through a Fastball, a curveball, and a knuckleball and the technique in releasing such deliveries from the mound.

Read More: Bourbon, Steak, and More – Baseball Legend Babe Ruth’s Odd but Effective Breakfast Routine

Babe Ruth’s masterclass

Ruth begins by instructing the kids to first ensure that they are warmed up from the mound before any real action resumes. The nature of the warm-up may have shifted over time, with modern mechanisms such as Bauer and his warm-up routine or Max Scherzer’s bullpen routine coming up over the times, but the need remains.

Ruth throws a couple of loose pitches to get his accuracy straight before starting his real workout and getting into the various types of pitches. Ruth starts with a normal fastball, asking the kids to first grip the ball across the seam and throw it with a snap of the wrist. From front to back a slow-motion replay follows and Ruth showcases the grip and snap action for both the curveball and the fastball.

The curveball is usually a delivery that dips on the batter very suddenly, while the knuckleball is meant as a breaking ball by decreasing the revs on the ball for a more straightforward delivery line.

Ruth shows true care and concern through the video with the children. So much so that he even asks one of the kids to take the bat at home plate for one of his deliveries. The kid isn’t able to make contact, but I think Ruth may just have made his day.