Babe Ruth’s annual salary in his first Yankees season, 1920, was $20,000.
The New York Yankees acquired Ruth from the Boston Red Sox before the 1920 season in one of baseball’s most famous transactions. His new agreement doubled the $10,000 salary he had been receiving under his Boston contract. The Yankees also benefited from a player whose power transformed both the club and the sport.
Ruth immediately justified the investment. In 1920, his first season in New York, he hit 54 home runs, drove in 137 runs and batted .376. His extraordinary production helped make the Yankees a major attraction and contributed to the construction of Yankee Stadium, which opened in 1923.
A common mix-up is confusing Ruth’s salary with the purchase price paid to Boston. The Yankees paid $100,000 in cash for his contract, with additional financial arrangements, while Ruth personally earned $20,000 in 1920. His salary remained $20,000 in 1921 before rising later in the decade.