# Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays Trivia **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 13, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989 "2010-12-13T15:52:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/21 "2010-12-14T01:51:30Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > I think we’re talking any stupid shit that comes to mind vaguely related to Ruth, Mays, and Aaron, so I’ll go with, um, No, we were talking about trivia relating to them. If you don’t want to play, then there are many other fine threads on this board that should interest you more. > [@](#): > > Mays played his first world series as a teammate of Alvin Dark, and Dark was his manager in his third World Series, and his skin was kinda dark, too. Speaking of dark skin, did you know that Babe Ruth was frequently accused of being part-Negro, in part because of that flat, broad nose I mentioned above? The afore-mentioned Felix Millan was a teammate of Mays’ in his final season, and the record for lifetime HRs by siblings is actually held by Barry Bonds and his sister. Well, if you do want to make a fool of yourself, I won’t stop you. ---
**Author:** ![sco3tt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@sco3tt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sco3tt)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/22 "2010-12-14T02:02:25Z")
Former Royals’ first baseman [Willie Mays Aikens](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Mays_Aikens) was named after Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. About 60 and 20 years after, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/23 "2010-12-14T02:04:15Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No, we were talking about trivia relating to them. If you don’t want to play, then there are many other fine threads on this board that should interest you more. > > Well, if you do want to make a fool of yourself, I won’t stop you. If it’s foolish to stick with the OP, then I’m a fool. This thread is about players who end up playing in the same city they started in, but if you want to expand it to anything trivial about them, then mine are the height of relevance. Did you know that only Babe Ruth, of the three, was over six feet tall? And only Ruth weighed over 220 pounds? And Ruth had the highest season and career average of the three? And that only Aaron never hit 50 or more HRs in a season of the three? And that Ruth was the only one never to play CF regularly? And that Aaron began as a secondbaseman, while Ruth began as a pitcher? Did you know that Aaron batted with his “wrong” hand on the top early on? And that Aaron was the first player listed alphabetically AND on the HR list for most of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s? And all three were southerners (if you consider Maryland a part of the south–Mays and Aaron were both born in Alabama.) Is this interesting to you? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/24 "2010-12-14T04:15:55Z")
Did you suffer a stroke? ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/25 "2010-12-14T05:07:35Z")
To take the conversation in a geeky direction, a [Ruth-Aaron pair](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth-Aaron_pair) is two consecutive integers for which the sums of the prime factors of each integer are equal, for example 714 and 715. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/26 "2010-12-14T14:01:19Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > If it’s foolish to stick with the OP, then I’m a fool. This thread is about players who end up playing in the same city they started in, but if you want to expand it to anything trivial about them, then mine are the height of relevance. > > Did you know that only Babe Ruth, of the three, was over six feet tall? And only Ruth weighed over 220 pounds? And Ruth had the highest season and career average of the three? And that only Aaron never hit 50 or more HRs in a season of the three? And that Ruth was the only one never to play CF regularly? And that Aaron began as a secondbaseman, while Ruth began as a pitcher? Did you know that Aaron batted with his “wrong” hand on the top early on? And that Aaron was the first player listed alphabetically AND on the HR list for most of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s? And all three were southerners (if you consider Maryland a part of the south–Mays and Aaron were both born in Alabama.) > > Is this interesting to you? Fascinating. Not for the facts themselves, but for the pathology involved in getting upset just because the thread changed from the OP. Evidently, you don’t understand the concept of “trivia” and don’t know the difference between it and “unimportant information.” Too bad for you. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/27 "2010-12-14T14:28:13Z")
Oh, I get it. **Airman Doors** and you need a little schooling. This OP was interesting to me, and I wanted it pursued. Opening the thread up to a compendium of silly facts about the three men is a hijack. If you want to natter on, open your own thread–I’m still interested in seeing whethe we’ve exhausted the OP. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/28 "2010-12-14T14:40:12Z")
This involves none of the three, but it does involve a certain amount of the bookending the OP refers to: Warren Spahn is the only man to play for Casey Stengel both before and after his tenure with the Yankees–or, as the lefty put it, “before and after he was a genius.” ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/29 "2010-12-14T14:51:53Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Pete Rose!!! > > ooops. Hey looky, you were the first person to post an irrelevant comment. And the first to be needlessly confrontational. I would suggest that next you pretend that other people are all upset and you are the only rational one, that’s always fun. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/30 "2010-12-14T15:03:40Z")
More fun Hank Aaron trivia: not only was he the #1 all-time career home run hitter until recently, but he was also alphabetically first among all MLB players who ever played until a few years ago. Relief pitcher Dave Aardsma ruined it by making it to the major leagues. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/31 "2010-12-14T15:13:49Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > More fun Hank Aaron trivia: not only was he the #1 all-time career home run hitter until recently, but he was also alphabetically first among all MLB players who ever played until a few years ago. Relief pitcher Dave Aardsma ruined it by making it to the major leagues. See post #23. Of course, that was where I was chastised for mentioning absurdly irrelevant and unimportant information, so you may want to disassociate yourself from such, or risk the wrath of my critics here. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/32 "2010-12-14T15:16:52Z")
> [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#): > > Hey looky, you were the first person to post an irrelevant comment. And the first to be needlessly confrontational. I would suggest that next you pretend that other people are all upset and you are the only rational one, that’s always fun. Rose was relevant, if you consider that he is a lock for the HoF who ended his playing career in the same city he started it, but gambled his way out of consideration for the Hall and for this thread. He’s an almost-qualifier, which is hardly irrelevant in the way that Babe Ruth’s winning percentage as a pitcher has little to do with the OP in any conceivable way. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/33 "2010-12-14T15:19:25Z")
> [@Ichbin\_Dubist](#): > > the first to be needlessly confrontational. I consider **Doors** to have been needlessly confrontational in hijacking the interesting OP. But I’ll be glad to leave up to the OP to decide. If he’s satisfied with how this thread has developed, I’ll be happy to leave it to others to fill it with pointless, all-purpose baseball trivia. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/34 "2010-12-14T15:23:23Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Rose was relevant, if you consider that he is a lock for the HoF who ended his playing career in the same city he started it, but gambled his way out of consideration for the Hall and for this thread. He’s an almost-qualifier, which is hardly irrelevant in the way that Babe Ruth’s winning percentage as a pitcher has little to do with the OP in any conceivable way. What other major league team in Cincinatti (besides the Reds) did Pete Rose play for? ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/35 "2010-12-14T15:27:20Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > What other major league team in Cincinatti (besides the Reds) did Pete Rose play for? Good point–Rose does not fully satisfy the OP, even though [he certainly is a Hall-of-Famer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Hall_of_Fame). ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/36 "2010-12-14T15:29:05Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > What other major league team in Cincinatti (besides the Reds) did Pete Rose play for? You’re correct–the OP did specify same city/different teams. My error. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/37 "2010-12-14T18:11:17Z")
PRR, you’re really getting to the point of threadshitting here. Your posts aren’t helping get things back on track - they’re actively disrupting that. From here on out, please make sure your posts are relevant to the topic of the thread, not complaints about others or other hijacks. Thanks. No warning issued. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/38 "2010-12-14T18:27:56Z")
Geez, I didn’t think this thread would develop into confrontations. I just wanted to know if there were notable players who fit the same city/different team scenario. Interesting/similar trivia was definitely welcome. FTR, (I am probably getting whooooshed), but I fail to see see how Willie Mays Aiken was named after Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. Post #22. And I am also confused about the Ruth-Aaron pair as Aaron hit 755 home-runs not 715. And yes I realize that his 715th home-run is probably more famous than any other of his home-runs, but he hit 40 more homeruns in his career. Jimmie Foxx definitely fit the spirit of the OP and thanks for that. No Cubbies/White Sox to fit the example? I am surprised that no football, hockey or basketball players have been named. Probably not as many opportunities as there are as many multi-team cities in those sports. What if we open to we can open it up to same metro area? San Francisco/Oakland NYC/Long Island/New Jersey Baltimore/Washington ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/39 "2010-12-14T20:00:11Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > And I am also confused about the Ruth-Aaron pair as Aaron hit 755 home-runs not 715. And yes I realize that his 715th home-run is probably more famous than any other of his home-runs, but he hit 40 more homeruns in his career. The term “Ruth-Aaron pair” was coined in the immediate aftermath of Aaron’s 715th homerun, breaking Ruth’s record. From [Wiki:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth-Aaron_pair) > [@](#): > > The name was given by Carl Pomerance for Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, as Ruth’s career regular-season home run total was 714, a record which Aaron eclipsed on April 8, 1974, when he hit his 715th career home run. Pomerance was a mathematician at the University of Georgia at the time Aaron (a member of the nearby Atlanta Braves) broke Ruth’s record, and the student of one of Pomerance’s colleagues noticed that the sums of the prime factors of 714 and 715 were equal. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989/40 "2010-12-14T22:26:30Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > FTR, (I am probably getting whooooshed), but I fail to see see how Willie Mays Aiken was named after Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. Post #22 I do believe that there is a wooshing - the poster does mention that he was named after them, blah blah years after them; think of “after” in terms of time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hank-aaron-babe-ruth-and-willie-mays-trivia/563989.md?page=3)