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 (.690), 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. He was one of the first five inductees into the
National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.