Babin was a military leader who was known to history as having lost a confrontation at Rukbat V to the Romulans. Babin would have never sent his sixth fleet to the Rukbat system if he was not obsessed with owning the system to pay attention to rumors of Romulan ambush.
James T. Kirk considered Babin's case when contemplating the nature of the "no-win scenario" while attending Starfleet Academy Command School. (TOS novel: The Kobayashi Maru)