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 .393 batting average and 41 home runs, which tied Cy Williams for the most in the major-leagues that year. Ruth hit a career high 45 doubles in 1923, and he reached base 379 times, then a major league record. For the third straight year, the Yankees faced the Giants in the World Series, which Ruth dominated. He batted .368, walked eight times, scored eight runs, hit three home runs and slugged 1.000 during the series, as the Yankees christened their new stadium with their first World Series championship, four games to two. In 1924, the Yankees were favored to become