E11: The Curse of 61
From Midnight Library of Baseball by bendavidorlando
January 10, 2026 · 49 min · Season 4 · Episode 11
About this episode
This episode revisits the story of Roger Maris and the impact of breaking Babe Ruth's record in 1961.
Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth’s most sacred record, and baseball never forgave him. Labeled unfairly, burdened by an asterisk, and judged by a narrative that ignored the facts, Maris paid a heavy price for doing something history said couldn’t be done. In this episode, I revisit 1961 and the story baseball got wrong.
People in this episode
Host: bendavidorlando
Topics covered
- baseball history
- Roger Maris
- Babe Ruth
- sports records
- narrative in sports
Keywords
- Roger Maris
- Babe Ruth
- 1961
- baseball
- sports history
- record breaking
- narrative
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