HOME RUN

      Burleigh (Hoops, 1998) takes the same over-the-top tone in paying tribute to one of the country's most famous athletes: "He is the Babe. And he has changed baseball. Forever." Burleigh also spells out some Ruth-ian accomplishments and legends in a series of baseball-card-sized essays, presenting not so much a career summary as a set of awed and awesome anecdotes. As rendered by Wimmer in Norman Rockwell – like detail, the Sultan of Swat looms heroically, stepping to the plate, launching a ball into orbit as wide-eyed fans watch, then circling the bags as the pitcher stands disconsolately on the mound – an archetypal at-bat, captured with memorable verve and drama.