A little-known fact about Babe Ruth: He actually began his career with the Baltimore Orioles. In 1914, when the Orioles were part of the International League, they signed Ruth, then 19 years old and a Baltimore native, to his first professional contract. It was in Baltimore, not Boston or New York, where George Herman Ruth first became known as Babe.

In July of that year, the Orioles sold Ruth to the Red Sox, only to watch him become the most famous slugger in baseball history (with the New York Yankees, of course). But a...