Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth to Be Honored on 2025 MLB Home Run Derby Jerseys

Major League Baseball will honor two of the game's greatest sluggers during the 2025 Home Run Derby in Atlanta.

MLB announced Thursday that National League players will wear No. 44 jerseys and American League players will wear No. 3 jerseys to honor Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth, respectively, during the competition. Players will also wear T-shirts designed like the jerseys at Workout Day.

"The Derby takes place on July 14 (7-14) and the All-Star Game on July 15 (7-15)," MLB explained. "In 1935, Babe Ruth hit his 714th home run with the then Boston Braves. Nearly 40 years later, Hank Aaron broke Ruth's record with his 715th home run in Atlanta."

The idea came from none other than former MLB pitcher CC Sabathia, who is now the special assistant to the commissioner.

"I just saw the date of the Home Run Derby, and knew that the game was in Atlanta again, and thought it would be special to honor not only Hank, but Babe, in that way," Sabathia told ESPN's J.J. Post. "Everything [in baseball] is about numbers. Who you can pass. You need to get this number to get in the Hall of Fame. Seven-hundred-fifteen is such a huge number, and that actually being the date in the Derby was the inspiration behind the guys wearing the uniforms.

"We'd be doing ourselves a disservice to not do the storytelling. Especially behind Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Atlanta. The history of our game, you know, we have so many opportunities to tell stories and just with the date and the number I thought it would be so cool to tell this one."

The connection between Aaron and the city of Atlanta in particular is obvious.

The Hall of Famer played for the Braves when they were in Atlanta from 1966 through 1974 and was an All-Star in each of those nine seasons. He launched at least 40 home runs in four of those campaigns and led the league in long balls in back-to-back years in 1966 and 1967.

Most famously, he surpassed Ruth's record of 714 home runs on April 8, 1974, when he hit his 715th career homer. The record-breaking one came at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium against the Dodgers, and the image of him circling the bases remains one of the most famous in all of sports.

Ruth's record had stood since he retired following the 1935 campaign.

Barry Bonds has since surpassed both of them with 762 career home runs, but Aaron (755) and Ruth (714) remain second and third on baseball's all-time list.

And today's sluggers will be paying homage to them as they launch home runs of their own during this year's Home Run Derby.