Babe Ruth was a baseball player.
George Herman `` Babe '' Ruth Jr. ( February 6 , 1895 -- August 16 , 1948 ) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) spanned 22 seasons , from 1914 through 1935 . Ruth established many MLB batting ( and some pitching ) records , including career home runs ( 714 ) , runs batted in ( RBIs ) ( 2,213 ) , bases on balls ( 2,062 ) , slugging percentage ( .6897 ) , and on-base plus slugging ( OPS ) ( 1.164 ) ; the latter two still stand today . Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time . The Atlanta Braves , a current Major League Baseball franchise , originated in Boston , Massachusetts . The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball ( MLB ) in North America , contested since 1903 between the American League ( AL ) champion team and the National League ( NL ) champion team .