Babe Ruth was a person.
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 . By 1916 , he had built a reputation as an outstanding pitcher who sometimes hit long home runs , a feat unusual for any player in the pre-1920 dead-ball era . Although Ruth twice won 23 games in a season as a pitcher and was a member of three World Series championship teams with Boston , he wanted to play every day and was allowed to convert to an outfielder . During his career , Ruth led the AL in home runs during a season twelve times .