ALL I AM: Trinkets and Treasures – Genesis 25:29-34

December 26, 1919, a decision was made that definitively shaped two organizations for the next 85 years. Harry Frazee sold one of his best players. His name was George Herman Ruth---you might know him as "The Babe." For $125,000, the owner of the Boston Red Sox, sold the rights of George Herman Ruth (the Babe) to the dreaded New York Yankees. For the next 85 years, the Boston Red Sox lived under "The Curse of the Bambino." Babe Ruth, at the time, was a pitcher, but he started dabbling in hitting and the year before he was traded in 1919, he hit 29 home runs, which wasn't all that bad for a pitcher, even back then. Once he was traded to the Yankees, he started to play every day. The first year he played for the Yankees, he hit 54 home runs and drove in 135 RBIs. He followed that up, in his 1921 campaign, with 59 home runs and 106 RBIs. He went on to be one of the most prolific baseball players of all time. He took the Yankees to the World Series seven times and won it four times. Hit 714 home runs, hit .342 over the course of his career and was elected to the Hall of Fame with more than a 95% election rate. He was a pretty decent player it turned out! You read back through it and you go well, why in the world....Harry Frazee, why in the world would you sell the rights....he didn't even trade him, he just said I need cash, that's what I need. I need you to give me $125K and you have the rights to the Babe. Why in the world would he do that?? If you go back and read about Harry Frazee, he was not only the president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, but he also dabbled in Broadway theatrical productions. Those weren't doing so hot at the time and he needed cash. So he traded the Babe for $125,000 in cash in a loan for $300,000 and for 85 years it haunted the Boston Red Sox. He made a decision that was based on the immediate and he failed to see the way the long-term might play out.