Babe Ruth played professional baseball.
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 . Nicknamed `` The Bambino '' and `` The Sultan of Swat '' , he began his MLB career as a stellar left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox , but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees . 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 . In 1914 , Ruth was signed to play minor-league baseball for the Baltimore Orioles but was soon sold to the Red Sox .