When entering the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, you expect to see a museum dedicated to the "Sultan of Swat" and his career. Perhaps you'd expect some broader deviation into the history of baseball or an examination of the careers of some of Ruth's contemporaries.
What you get is a museum that has a confused identity -- split between its historic location and a desire to present a wide-ranging history of Maryland sports. The museum would function well as either a history of the Babe or a narration of Maryland sports, but in trying to accomplish both in such a small location it fails to properly present either.
This ineffective tone was set from the start as the first room in the museum, which was not an exhibit on the Babe, but a room entitled "Maryland's Sports Heritage." On display were several game-worn Colts jerseys and autographed balls, a case including Baltimore Ravens autographed footballs, an entire wall devoted to the Baltimore Orioles with a World Series trophy from 1983, a Negro League Baltimore Giants case with a ball and a pennant and finally a case in the corner containing a Babe Ruth autographed baseball, a watch Ruth was awarded after the 1932 World Series and an official scorecard from that series.
The items themselves were poorly described with just a simple label and date -- although each case had a two paragraph description detailing the importance of each team to the Maryland sports scene. While several non-baseball teams were represented, it was curious to note that lacrosse, a sport which has a rich history in Maryland, was not displayed or discussed.
Disregarding the fact that the room did not seem effective in displaying the wide breadth of Maryland sports, it was difficult to draw the connection between this room and the fact that you're standing in Babe Ruth's former home.
It seemed sterile and modern, not historical. It was clear that though this room was certainly interesting to those who want to know more about the history of athletics in Maryland, it was a poor introduction to a museum advertised as devoted to Babe Ruth's life.
As I left the "Maryland Sports Heritage" room, I came upon a stairwell devoted to the 500 home run club. Pictures were placed in a case depicting 17 members of the 500 club with their names and the dates of their historic 500th home run displayed on each plaque. In the middle of this case was not the picture of Babe Ruth, but Eddie Murphy's 500 HR ball.
Furthermore, the wall was outdated as Sammy Sosa and the Oriole's own Raphael Palmeiro were curiously absent, although their pictures are about knee level in a nearby case. Once again, it was clear that the focus here was not Babe Ruth, but a broader Maryland inspired sports theme.
As I walked up the stairs to the second floor, the first display I saw was not even about baseball, but about the Baltimore Colts, Johnny Unitis and the modern day Baltimore Ravens.
Above the case was a banner declaring that from 1957-1977 the Colts had the best record in the NFL. Look, I love shoulder pads, big football hits and Super Bowl highlights just as much as the next person, but this was certainly not what I expected to see at Babe Ruth's birthplace.
As I turned the corner and passed the football exhibit, I finally got what I came for -- Babe Ruth's parents' bedroom. While the air conditioning blasting through the fireplace seemed a bit quirky, the chest with Ruth's high school jersey and the information about Ruth's independent league days on the old Baltimore Orioles were interesting. Furthermore, the setup of the room with a sewing machine, a double bed and a desk seemed charmingly simplistic and homey.
One can imagine my shock when, satisfied that the Babe Ruth experience was just beginning, I entered the next room and saw a temporary exhibit in a modern room entitled "A Bird's Eye View" which entailed photos taken by Orioles fans of their contemporary team. I sighed again as I could not understand the discontinuity between the historic and the modern, and I did not feel as though adequate transitioning had been made.
The exhibit led me again downstairs, and I began to hear festive baseball tunes that I have heard for much of my life. Although there was a case on Babe Ruth at the bottom of the stairs, I was surprised to find that amidst all this festive music was the information on Ruth's death. Within a case focused on Ruth's obituary was a baseball pertaining to Rickey Henderson's breaking of Ruth's career walks record. It was another inappropriate and awkward shift from the historical to the modern.
Finally, the last room was again a historical representation of the Ruth household -- a parlor room with a charming fireplace, a rocking chair and a dining room table.
The divider again was very helpful, with an interesting brick from the Ruth saloon that Babe Ruth's father owned and operated. On the wall was a television displaying Ruth's television biography and of course, to the right marked the entranceway to the gift shop. It seemed a fitting end to what appeared to be a very disjointed and cheapened representation of Ruth's career.
I left the museum feeling less than fulfilled. The operators of the museum should have stuck to the more focused, simpler theme of Ruth's career and left the Maryland sports history narrative out of the discussion. However, the museum is splitting and building a new facility at Camden Station in May 2005 that will focus on Maryland athletic history. Hopefully this will result in the Babe's house focusing more on the Babe.
Although I learned a lot about Maryland's sports heritage, I saw nothing about Babe Ruth's career with the Red Sox and almost nothing about his time with the Yankees.
While I did find the museum entertaining and worth the money, I look forward to seeing the renovations after the museum splits, and, as a baseball purist, I hope that Ruth's birthplace will get back on its message.
