‘I could wake the spirits’

Don’t count the Yanks out of the World Series just yet: They still have the Sultan of Swat.

Yankees fans have spent decades leaving “offerings” at Babe Ruth’s grave — everything from baseballs, to baseball cards, to sunflower seeds, to bottles of whiskey in hopes of bringing the Bronx Bomber luck.

With the Yanks taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Fall Classic, they’re upping their game.

“I figured I’d say hi and maybe I could wake up the spirits,” superfan Pete Lombardo said Monday at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Westchester County, decked out in full Ruth regalia with his wife and 22-month-old daughter. “Hopefully Ruth will go down to the Bronx and say, ‘What’s up, guys?’

“I joked on the ride up and said I’m going to sacrifice my firstborn for the Yankees to win the World Series,” Lombardo said, looking at his toddler. “Is that ok?”

The Bambino’s burial site has long been something of a mecca for the Yankees faithful.

The Yankee legend, who died in 1948, has since cast a spell over the team’s fan base, particularly with a now-defunct Curse of the Bambino that allegedly kept the hated Red Sox from baseball’s promised land for decades.

The Sox traded Ruth to the Yankees in 1919 for cash, one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history that launched the Yanks’ dynasty and propelled them to the greatest team in the game. The Sox won the World Series with Ruth in 1918, but the trade marked the start of a decades-long dry spell.

The “curse” ended when the Sox finally beat the Bombers in 2004 — but fans aren’t giving up.

In recent days, the gravesite has been adorned with more than 50 baseballs — one with “Go Yankees 2024” written on it — a tall boy can of Budweiser, an airline-sized bottle of Jack Daniels, a Yankee baseball hat, a mini batting helmet, a old leather baseball glove, two American flags and a handful of deck cards.

Also in the mix is ​​a mini pumpkin with “go Yankees” inscribed on it, a handful of rocks and pennies and a full bag of David Sunflower seeds – a favorite treat among ballplayers.

“You should see my office!” Lombardo said.

The 36-year-old father, a season ticket holder and data science technician at Northwell Health of Farmingville, said he took a day off for the trip and got his family involved by including a pumpkin patch trip upstate.

“This is my first time here,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to come. I thought it was the perfect day to come.

“Babe Ruth is a legend,” Lombardo added. “When I’m in Monument Park, I always have to rub his head. You know, Babe Ruth’s monument? Yes, he’s the greatest Yankee that ever lived.”

He turned to his daughter, Elizabeth, and asked, “Can you say let’s go Yankees?”

The toddler pumped his fist.