Buddy Napier Buddy Napier Skelton Le Roy "Buddy" Napier (18 December 1889 – 29 March 1968), Major League baseball pitcher from 1912 to 1921. He was born in Byromville, Georgia. Napier played his first major league game with the St. Louis Browns, on August 14, 1912, versus the Boston Red Sox, which the Browns lost 0-8. He signed on with the Chicago Cubs in 1918, eventually pitching for them during that season's World Series game versus the Boston Red Sox (a team which included baseball legend Babe Ruth), a series of games which the Red Sox won. In 1920 he signed on
Babe Ruth arrived to find his bats sawn in half. His teammates nicknamed him "the Big Baboon", a name the swarthy Ruth, who had disliked the nickname "Niggerlips" at St. Mary's, detested. Ruth had received a raise on promotion to the major leagues, and quickly acquired tastes for fine food, liquor, and women, among other temptations. Manager Carrigan allowed Ruth to pitch two exhibition games in mid-August. Although Ruth won both against minor-league competition, he was not restored to the pitching rotation. It is uncertain why Carrigan did not give Ruth additional opportunities to pitch. There are legends—filmed for the screen in