Paul, just speculation but I would say Ruth's transition to the OF, rather than say 1B, was to accomodate him remaining in the Red Sox's pitching rotation. As he was a pitcher originally they wanted to get him in the everyday line-up on off days for his hitting, as we all know. Maybe the OF was more suitable as you want your 1B to be an everyday player who develops a chemistry with the rest of the infield.
If you look at photos of Ruth in his early days he is not the portly player we envision now. He has the classic look of a power hitting outfielder. Plus he certainly had the arm to make the long throws.
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