when did babe ruth start playing baseball in the mlb?
1914 Major League Baseball Season
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 Babe Ruth 's first appearance as a professional ballplayer was in an intersquad game on March 7 , 1914 . Ruth played shortstop , and pitched the last two innings of a 15 – 9 victory . In his second at bat , Ruth hit a long home run to right , which was reported locally to be longer than a legendary shot hit in Fayetteville by Jim Thorpe . His first appearance against a team in organized baseball was an exhibition against the major @-@ league Philadelphia Phillies : Ruth pitched the middle three innings , giving up two runs in the fourth , but then settling down and pitching a scoreless fifth and sixth . The following afternoon , Ruth was put in during the sixth inning against the Phillies and did not allow a run the rest of the way . The Orioles scored seven runs in the bottom of the eighth to overcome a 6 – 0 deficit , making Ruth the winning pitcher . 

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 In early 1914 , Ruth was signed to a professional baseball contract by Jack Dunn , owner and manager of the minor @-@ league Baltimore Orioles , an International League team . The circumstances of Ruth 's signing cannot be stated with certainty , with historical fact obscured by stories that cannot all be true . By some accounts , Dunn was urged to attend a game between an all @-@ star team from St. Mary 's and one from another Xaverian facility , Mount St. Mary 's College . Some versions have Ruth running away before the eagerly awaited game , to return in time to be punished , and then pitching St. Mary 's to victory as Dunn watched . Others have Washington Senators pitcher Joe Engel , a Mount St. Mary 's graduate , pitching in an alumni game after watching a preliminary contest between the college 's freshmen and a team from St. Mary 's , including Ruth . Engel watched Ruth play , then told Dunn about him at a chance meeting in Washington . Ruth , in his autobiography , stated only that he worked out for Dunn for a half @-@ hour , and was signed . According to biographer Kal Wagenheim , there were legal difficulties to be straightened out as Ruth was supposed to remain at the school until he turned 21 . 

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 At age seven , Ruth was sent to St. Mary 's Industrial School for Boys , a reformatory where he learned life lessons and baseball skills from Brother Matthias Boutlier of the Christian Brothers , the school 's disciplinarian and a capable baseball player . In 1914 , Ruth was signed to play minor @-@ league baseball for the Baltimore Orioles but was soon sold to the Red Sox . By 1916 , he had built a reputation as an outstanding pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs , a feat unusual for any player in the pre @-@ 1920 dead @-@ ball era . Although Ruth twice won 23 games in a season as a pitcher and was a member of three World Series championship teams with Boston , he wanted to play every day and was allowed to convert to an outfielder . With regular playing time , he broke the MLB single @-@ season home run record in 1919 . 

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 Ruth reported to his first major league spring training in Hot Springs , Arkansas , in March 1915 . Despite a relatively successful first season , he was not slated to start regularly for the Red Sox , who had two stellar left @-@ handed pitchers already : the established stars Dutch Leonard , who had broken the record for the lowest earned run average ( ERA ) in a single season ; and Ray Collins , a 20 @-@ game winner in both 1913 and 1914 . Ruth was ineffective in his first start , taking the loss in the third game of the season . Injuries and ineffective pitching by other Boston pitchers gave Ruth another chance , and after some good relief appearances , Carrigan allowed Ruth another start , and he won a rain @-@ shortened seven inning game . Ten days later , the manager had him start against the New York Yankees at the Polo Grounds . Ruth took a 3 – 2 lead into the ninth , but lost the game 4 – 3 in 13 innings . Ruth , hitting ninth as was customary for pitchers , hit a massive home run into the upper deck in right field off of Jack Warhop . At the time , home runs were rare in baseball , and Ruth 's majestic shot awed the crowd . The winning pitcher , Warhop , would in August 1915 conclude a major league career of eight seasons , undistinguished but for being the first major league pitcher to give up a home run to Babe Ruth . 

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 Ruth joined the Grays on August 18 , 1914 . What was left of the Baltimore Orioles after Dunn 's deals had managed to hold on to first place until August 15 , after which they continued to fade , leaving the pennant race between Providence and Rochester . Ruth was deeply impressed by Providence manager " Wild Bill " Donovan , previously a star pitcher with a 25 – 4 win – loss record for Detroit in 1907 ; in later years , he credited Donovan with teaching him much about pitching . Ruth was called upon often to pitch , in one stretch starting ( and winning ) four games in eight days . On September 5 in Toronto , Ruth pitched a one @-@ hit 9 – 0 victory , and hit his first professional home run , his only one as a minor leaguer , off Ellis Johnson . Recalled to Boston after Providence finished the season in first place , he pitched and won a game for the Red Sox against the New York Yankees on October 2 , getting his first major league hit , a double . Ruth finished the season with a record of 2 – 1 as a major leaguer and 23 – 8 in the International League ( for Baltimore and Providence ) . Once the season concluded , Ruth married Helen in Ellicott City , Maryland . Creamer speculated that they did not marry in Baltimore , where the newlyweds boarded with George Ruth , Sr. , to avoid possible interference from those at St. Mary 's — both bride and groom were not yet of age and Ruth remained on parole from that institution until his 21st birthday . 
