More than 100 years ago, a fat Baltimore saloonkeeper's wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy who was to change the perception and face of America's pastime forever. He was baptized George Herman Ruth, but he quickly became "The Babe" when he broke into the baseball world.

The Babe started his career as a pitcher and was phenomenally successful with an incredible record. He once set a record of 29 consecutive scoreless World Series innings. He won the longest game in World Series history, and his World Series ERA was an amazing 0.87. Batting, however, was his love, and though he was a very competent outfielder, it was as the "Sultan of Swat" that he left his mark forever in the baseball record books and in the hearts of fans.

Most of the first half of his career, he was a trim, very athletic 175-pounder. It wasn't until later that he ballooned up to 220 pounds, which he carried the last years of his career. The Babe was a man of many passions. He had a passion for the game, a passion for his fans, a passion for kids and orphanages, and a passion for winning. He started his career with a bang, and though his last year was in many ways pathetic, he still ended it with a bang. Just before he retired, he played in Forbes Field in Pittsburgh and hit three homers.

Yes, The Babe was quite a man and quite a player. At his best, he was unbeatable — and the good news is that at our best, we're winners, too. Give it your best, and I'll see you at the top!

Making America Great

There is nothing on this earth more glorious than a man's freedom, and no aim more elevated than liberty. — Thomas Payne

Those words were written when America was in the process of moving toward its independence. They're reinforced by the words of Robert Boucher, who said: "To be born under freedom is a blessing. To live under freedom is a privilege. To die under freedom is a responsibility."

Yes, freedom is one of those things most of us take for granted and as one of our "rights." Unfortunately, too many do not accept their responsibility of maintaining those rights. They do it under the premise that "there's nothing I can do." I love this little "poem" from an unknown author: "God said to build a better world, and I said, 'How? The world is such a cruel and heartless place, and I am so small and useless, there is nothing I can do.' But God, in all His wisdom, said, 'Just build a better you.'"

We can start by heeding the words of Mahatma Gandhi, who identified the seven sins in the world as wealth without work, pleasure before conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, and politics without principle.

Those words give us cause for concern, but there is something each of us can do even though we are each "only one." I remind you of yet another writer who says, "Yes, I am one, I am only one, what can I do?" The answer lies in the information above. You start by building a better you. If all of us did that, we would have a better America. Think about it, and I'll see you at the top!

To find out more about Zig Ziglar and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. Subscribe to Zig Ziglar's free e-mail newsletter through info@zigziglar.com.

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