The T-Mobile Home Run Derby is being contested on Monday night at Truist Park in Atlanta. On Tuesday night, the MLB All-Star Game will be played on that field.

The dates of those events are July 14 and July 15 – or 7/14 and 7/15.

When Hall of Fame pitcher C.C. Sabathia realized that, it led to the competitors in the Home Run Derby wearing either the No. 3 or No. 44 on their uniform – 3 for the American Leaguers and 44 for the National Leaguers.

The connection? Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron.

Ruth completed his Major League career with 714 home runs, a feat that became perhaps the most celebrated record in U.S. sports.

But the unbreakable record was broken by Mobile native Hank Aaron when the Atlanta Braves outfielder belted his 715th MLB home run on April 8, 1974, in Atlanta.

Sabathia serves as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball, so he was in position to do something with his date-home run connection.

“I just saw the date of the Home Run Derby,” Sabathia told ESPN, “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. 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 National League players in Aaron’s No. 44 on Monday night include Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz, Atlanta Braves third baseman Matt Olson and Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood.

The American League players wearing Ruth’s No. 3 include Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh and Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker.

The numbers went beyond the Home Run Derby, too. For batting and fielding practice for the MLB All-Star Game, the National and American League teams wore No. 44 and No. 3, respectively, on all the players’ uniforms on Monday.

The T-Mobile Home Run Derby is being televised by ESPN.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.