That's why Ruth was the greatest player of all time and it's a joke to even consider someone like Bonds as some people were doing the last few years of his career. Ruth was the best lefty in baseball at the time the switch to permanant outfielder began. It would have been like taking Steve Carleton and converting him to a hitter after an early Cy Young award. Incredible, that Barrow had the guts to do the move. Of course Ruth was totally on board as he loved to play everyday. By the second year as he played outfield more and more he actually refused to pitch at one point.
What is really incredible is that in 1918, Ruth tied for the HR lead with eleven as still basically a starting pitcher as well as a parttime outfielder and winning thirteen games. When he first broke the HR record in 1919, he still won nine games as a pitcher.
Ruth still made several starts as a pitcher with his last as late as 1933 and won them all, pitching a complete game, fourteen years since he had done much pitching at all.
Winning 94 games and hitting 714 HRs with a .342 lifetime average he is by far the greates player of all time. Did I also mention he STOLE HOME TEN TIMES! He could do it all.