Hank Aaron
| Hank Aaron | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Aaron in 2001
| |||
| Right fielder | |||
| Born: February 5, 1934 Mobile, Alabama | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| April 13, 1954, for the Milwaukee Braves | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 3, 1976, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .305 | ||
| Hits | 3,771 | ||
| Home runs | 755 | ||
| Runs batted in | 2,297 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Negro leagues
Major League Baseball
| |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
MLB records
| |||
| Member of the National | |||
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |||
| Induction | 1982 | ||
| Vote | 97.83% (first ballot) | ||
Henry Louis Aaron (born February 5, 1934), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank," is a retired American Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder who serves as the senior vice president of the Atlanta Braves. He played 21 seasons for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) and two seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League (AL), from 1954 through 1976. Aaron held the MLB record for career home runs for 33 years, and he still holds several MLB offensive records. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times.[1] In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Aaron fifth on its "100 Greatest Baseball Players" list.
Aaron was born and raised in and around Mobile, Alabama. Aaron had seven siblings, including Tommie Aaron, who later played in MLB with him. He appeared briefly in the Negro American League and in minor league baseball before starting his major league career.[2] By his final MLB season, Aaron was the last Negro league baseball player on a major league roster.
Aaron played the vast majority of his MLB games in right field, though he appeared at several other infield and outfield positions. In his last two seasons, he was primarily a designated hitter.[3] Aaron was an NL All-Star for 20 seasons and an AL All-Star for 1 season, from 1955 through 1975. Aaron holds the record for the most seasons as an All-Star and the most All-Star Game selections (25),[a] and is tied with Willie Mays and Stan Musial for the most All-Star Games played (24). He was a Gold Glove winner for three seasons. In 1957, he was the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) when the Milwaukee Braves won the World Series. He won the NL Player of the Month award in May 1958 and June 1967. Aaron holds the MLB records for the most career runs batted in (RBI) (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856). Aaron is also in the top five for career hits (3,771) and runs (2,174). He is one of only four players to have at least seventeen seasons with 150 or more hits.[4] Aaron is in second place in home runs (755) and at-bats (12,364), and in third place in games played (3,298). At the time of his retirement, Aaron held most of the game's key career power hitting records.
Since his retirement, Aaron has held front office roles with the Atlanta Braves. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. In 1999, MLB introduced the Hank Aaron Award to recognize the top offensive players in each league. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. He was named a 2010 Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society in recognition of accomplishments that reflect the ideals of Georgia's founders. Aaron resides near Atlanta.[5]
Contents
Early life[edit]
Aaron was born in Mobile, Alabama to Herbert Aaron, Sr. and Estella Aaron.[6][7] He had seven siblings.[6] Tommie Aaron, one of his brothers, also went on to play Major League Baseball. By the time Aaron retired, he and his brother held the record for most career home runs by a pair of siblings (768). They were also the first siblings to appear in a League Championship Series as teammates.[8]
While he was born in a section of Mobile referred to as "Down the Bay," he spent most of his youth in Toulminville. Aaron grew up in a poor family.[6] His family could not afford baseball equipment, so he practiced by hitting bottle caps with sticks. He would create his own bats and balls out of materials he found on the streets.[9] His boyhood idol was baseball star Jackie Robinson.[10] Aaron attended Central High School as a freshman and a sophomore. Like most high schools they did not have organized baseball, and so he played outfield and third base for the Mobile Black Bears, a semipro team.[11] Aaron was a member of the Boy Scouts of America.
Although he batted cross-handed (as a right-handed hitter, with his left hand above his right), Aaron established himself as a power hitter. As a result, in 1949, at the age of fifteen, Aaron had his first tryout with an MLB franchise, the Brooklyn Dodgers; however, he did not make the team.[2][12] After this, Aaron returned to school to finish his secondary education, attending the Josephine Allen Institute, a private high school in Alabama. During his junior year, Aaron first joined the Pritchett Athletics,[12] followed by the Mobile Black Bears, an independent Negro league team.[6] While on the Bears, Aaron earned $3 per game ($97 today), which was a dollar more than he got while on the Athletics.[12]
Negro league and minor league career[edit]
On November 20, 1951, baseball scout Ed Scott signed Aaron to a contract on behalf of the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League where he played three months.[13][14]
He started play as a 6 feet (180 cm), 180 pounds (82 kg), shortstop,[15] and earned $200 per month.[16] As a result of his standout play with the Indianapolis Clowns, Aaron received two offers from MLB teams via telegram, one from the New York Giants and the other from the Boston Braves. Years later, Aaron remembered:
While with the Clowns he experienced some overt racism. His team was in Washington, D.C.
The Howe Sports Bureau credits Aaron with a .366 batting average in 26 official Negro league games, with 5 home runs, 33 runs batted in (RBI), 41 hits, and 9 stolen bases.[19]
The Braves purchased Aaron from the Clowns for $10,000,[20] which GM John Quinn thought was a steal as he stated that he felt that Aaron was a $100,000 property.[16] On June 12, 1952, Aaron signed with Braves' scout Dewey Griggs.[16] During this time, he picked up the nickname 'pork chops' because it "was the only thing I knew to order off the menu."[21] A teammate later said, "the man ate pork chops three meals a day, two for breakfast."[22]
The Braves assigned Aaron to the Eau Claire Bears, the Braves' Northern League Class-C farm team.[6] The 1952 season proved to be very beneficial for Aaron. Playing in the infield, Aaron continued to develop as a ballplayer and made the Northern League's All-Star team.[6] He broke his habit of hitting cross-handed and adopted the standard hitting technique. By the end of the season, he had performed so well that the league made him the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year.[2][6] Although he appeared in just 87 games, he scored 89 runs, had 116 hits, nine home runs, and 61 RBI.[6] In addition, Aaron hit for a .336 batting average.[6] During his minor league experience, he was very homesick and faced constant racism, but his brother, Herbert Jr., told him not to give up the opportunity.[23]
In 1953, the Braves promoted him to the Jacksonville Braves, their Class-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League.[6] Helped by Aaron's performance, the Braves won the league championship that year. Aaron led the league in runs (115), hits (208), doubles (36), RBI (125), total bases (338), and batting average (.362).[6] He won the league's Most Valuable Player Award.[6][11] and had such a dominant year that one sportswriter was prompted to say, "Henry Aaron led the league in everything except hotel accommodations."[24] Aaron's time with the Braves did not come without problems. He was one of the first African Americans to play in the league.[25] The 1950s were a period of racial segregation in parts of the United States, especially the southeastern portion of the country. When Aaron traveled around Jacksonville, Florida, and the surrounding areas, he was often separated from his team because of Jim Crow laws. In most circumstances, the team was responsible for arranging housing and meals for its players, but Aaron often had to make his own arrangements.[26] The Braves' manager, Ben Geraghty, tried his best to help Aaron on and off the field. Former Braves minor league player and sportswriter Pat Jordan said, "Aaron gave [Geraghty] much of the credit for his own swift rise to stardom."[27]
That same year, Aaron met his future wife, Barbara Lucas. The night they met, Lucas decided to attend the Braves' game. Aaron singled, doubled, and hit a home run in the game. On October 6, Aaron and Lucas married.[28] In 1958, Aaron's wife noted that during the offseason he liked "to sit and watch those shooting westerns." He also enjoyed cooking and fishing.[28]
Aaron spent the winter of 1953 playing in Puerto Rico. Mickey Owen, the team's manager, helped Aaron with his batting stance. Until then, Aaron had hit most pitches to left field or center field, but after working with Owen, Aaron was able to hit the ball more effectively all over the field.[2][better source needed] During his stay in Puerto Rico, Owen also helped Aaron transition from second baseman to outfielder. Aaron had not played well at second base, but Owen noted that Aaron could catch fly balls and throw them well from the outfield to the infield.[29]
The stint in Puerto Rico also allowed Aaron to avoid being drafted into military service. Though the Korean War was over, people were still being drafted. The Braves were able to speak to the draft board, making the case that Aaron could be the player to integrate the Southern Association the following season with the Atlanta Crackers. The board appears to have been convinced, as Aaron was not drafted.[29]
MLB career[edit]
In 1954, Aaron attended spring training with the major league club. Although he was on the roster of its farm club, Milwaukee manager Charley Grimm later stated, "From the start, he did so well I knew we were going to have to carry him."[16] On March 13, 1954, Milwaukee Braves left fielder Bobby Thomson fractured his ankle while sliding into second base during a spring training game. The next day, Aaron made his first spring training start for the Braves' major league team, playing in left field and hitting a home run.[11] This led Hank Aaron to a major league contract, signed on the final day of spring training, and a Braves uniform with the number five.[30] On April 13, Aaron made his major league debut and was hitless in five at-bats against the Cincinnati Reds' left-hander Joe Nuxhall.[31] In the same game, Eddie Mathews hit two home runs, the first of a record 863 home runs the pair would hit as teammates. On April 15, Aaron collected his first major league hit, a double off Cardinals' pitcher Vic Raschi.[32] Aaron hit his first major league home run on April 23, also off Raschi.[6] Over the next 122 games, Aaron batted .280 with thirteen homers before he suffered a fractured ankle on September 5. He then changed his number to 44, which would turn out to look like a "lucky number" for the slugger. Aaron would hit 44 home runs in four different seasons,[33] and he hit his record-breaking 715th career home run off Dodgers pitcher Al Downing, who coincidentally also wore number 44.[34]
At this point, Aaron was known to family and friends primarily as "Henry." Braves' public relations director Don Davidson, observing Aaron's quiet, reserved nature, began referring to him publicly as "Hank" in order to suggest more accessibility. The nickname quickly gained currency, but "Henry" continued to be cited frequently in the media, both sometimes appearing in the same article, and Aaron would answer to either one. During his rookie year, his other well-known nicknames, "Hammerin' Hank" (by teammates) and "Bad Henry" (by opposing pitchers) are reported to have arisen.[35]
Considerably later in his career, Aaron coined "Stone-fingers", which would prove a popular handle for one of baseball's more colorful characters, the famously distance-hitting but defensively challenged first baseman Dick Stuart,[36] reportedly "delight[ing]" even its recipient.[37]
Prime of his career[edit]
Aaron hit .314 with 27 home runs and 106 RBI, in 1955. He was named to the NL All-Star roster for the first time; it was the first of a record 21 All-Star selections and first of a record 25 All-Star Game appearances.[38][39] In 1956, Aaron hit .328 and captured the first of two NL batting titles. He was also named The Sporting News NL Player of the Year. In 1957, Aaron won his only NL MVP Award,[6] as he had his first brush with the triple crown.[40] He batted .322, placing third, and led the league in home runs and runs batted in.[6] On September 23, 1957, Aaron hit a two-run game-ending home run in Milwaukee, clinching the pennant for the Braves and being carried off the field by his teammates. Milwaukee went on to win the World Series against the New York Yankees, the defending champions.[6] Aaron did his part by hitting .393 with three homers and seven RBI. On December 15, 1957, his wife gave birth to twins.[28] Two days later, one of the children died.[28] In 1958, Aaron hit .326, with 30 home runs and 95 RBI. He led the Braves to another pennant, but this time they lost a seven-game World Series to the Yankees. Aaron finished third in the MVP race and he received his first of three Gold Glove Awards. During the next several years, Aaron had some of his best games and best seasons as a major league player. On June 21, 1959, against the San Francisco Giants, he hit three two-run home runs. It was the only time in his career that he hit three home runs in a game.[41]
In 1963, Aaron nearly won the triple crown. He led the league with 44 home runs and 130 RBI and finished third in batting average.[nb 1] In that season, Aaron became the third player to steal 30 bases and hit 30 home runs in a single season. Despite that, he again finished third in the MVP voting. The Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta after the 1965 season. On May 10, 1967, he hit an inside-the-park home run against Jim Bunning in Philadelphia. It was his only inside-the-park home run of his career.[42] In 1968, Aaron was the first Atlanta Braves player to hit his 500th career home run, and in 1970, he was the first Atlanta Brave to reach 3,000 career hits.[43]
Home run milestones and 3,000th hit[edit]
During his days in Atlanta, Aaron reached a number of milestones; he was only the eighth player ever to hit 500 career home runs, with his 500th coming against Mike McCormick of the San Francisco Giants on July 14, 1968—exactly one year after former Milwaukee Braves teammate Eddie Mathews had hit his 500th.[44] Aaron was, at the time, the second-youngest player to reach that plateau.[nb 2] On July 31, 1969, Aaron hit his 537th home run, passing Mickey Mantle's total; this moved Aaron into third place on the career home run list, after Willie Mays and Babe Ruth. At the end of the 1969 season, Aaron again finished third in the MVP voting.
In 1970, Aaron reached two more career milestones. On May 17, Aaron collected his 3,000th hit, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds, the team against which he played in his first major-league game.[45] Aaron established the record for most seasons with thirty or more home runs in the National League. On April 27, 1971, Aaron hit his 600th career home run, the third major league player ever to do so. On July 13, Aaron hit a home run in the All-Star Game (played at Detroit's Tiger Stadium) for the first time. He hit his 40th home run of the season against the Giants' Jerry Johnson on August 10, which established a National League record for most seasons with 40 or more home runs (seven). At age 37, he hit a career-high 47 home runs during the season (along with a career-high .669 slugging percentage) and finished third in MVP voting for the sixth time. During the strike-shortened season of 1972, Aaron tied and then surpassed Willie Mays for second place on the career home run list. Aaron also knocked in the 2,000th run of his career and hit a home run in the first All-Star game played in Atlanta. As the year came to a close, Aaron broke Stan Musial's major-league record for total bases (6,134). Aaron finished the season with 673 home runs.
Breaking Ruth's record[edit]
Aaron himself downplayed the "chase" to surpass Babe Ruth, while baseball enthusiasts and the national media grew increasingly excited as he closed in on the 714 career home runs record. Aaron received thousands of letters every week during the summer of 1973, including hate mail; the Braves ended up hiring a secretary to help him sort through it.[46]
Aaron (then age 39) hit 40 home runs in 392 at-bats, ending the 1973 season one home run short of the record. He hit home run number 713 on September 29, 1973, and with one day remaining in the season, many expected him to tie the record. But in his final game that year, playing against the Houston Astros (managed by Leo Durocher, who had once roomed with Babe Ruth), he was unable to achieve this. After the game, Aaron said his only fear was that he might not live to see the 1974 season. [47]
He was the recipient of death threats during the 1973–1974 offseason and a large assortment of hate mail from people who did not want to see Aaron break Ruth's nearly sacrosanct home run record.[48] The threats extended to those providing positive press coverage of Aaron. Lewis Grizzard, then sports editor of the Atlanta Journal, reported receiving numerous phone calls calling journalists "nigger lovers" for covering Aaron's chase. While preparing the massive coverage of the home run record, he quietly had an obituary written, afraid that Aaron might be murdered.[49]
Sports Illustrated pointedly summarized the racist vitriol that Aaron was forced to endure:
At the end of the 1973 season, Aaron received a plaque from the US Postal Service for receiving more mail (930,000 pieces) than any person excluding politicians.[18] Aaron received an outpouring of public support in response to the bigotry. Newspaper cartoonist Charles Schulz created a series of Peanuts strips printed in August 1973 in which Snoopy attempts to break the Ruth record, only to be besieged with hate mail. Lucy says in the August 11 strip, "Hank Aaron is a great player ... but you! If you break Babe Ruth's record, it'll be a disgrace!" Coincidentally, Snoopy was only one home run short of tying the record (and finished the season as such when Charlie Brown got picked off during Snoopy's last at-bat), and as it turned out, Aaron finished the 1973 season one home run short of Ruth.[51] Babe Ruth's widow, Claire Hodgson, denounced the racism and declared that her husband would have enthusiastically cheered Aaron's attempt at the record.[52] As the 1974 season began, Aaron's pursuit of the record caused a small controversy. The Braves opened the season on the road in Cincinnati with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Braves management wanted him to break the record in Atlanta, and were therefore going to have Aaron sit out the first three games of the season. But Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ruled that he had to play two games in the first series. He played two out of three, tying Babe Ruth's record, April 4, 1974, in his very first at bat—on his first swing of the season—off Reds pitcher Jack Billingham, but did not hit another home run in the series.[53]
The Braves returned to Atlanta, and on April 8, 1974, a crowd of 53,775 people showed up for the game—a Braves attendance record. The game was also broadcast nationally on NBC. In the fourth inning, Aaron hit home run number 715 off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing.[6] Although Dodgers outfielder Bill Buckner nearly went over the outfield wall trying to catch it, the ball landed in the Braves' bullpen, where relief pitcher Tom House caught it. While cannons were fired in celebration, two college students [54] sprinted onto the field and jogged alongside Aaron for part of his circuit around the bases, temporarily startling him. A very youthful Craig Sager actually interviewed Aaron between third and home for a television station, WXLT (now WWSB-Channel 40) in Sarasota.[55] As the fans cheered wildly, Aaron's parents ran onto the field as well. Braves announcer Milo Hamilton, calling the game on WSB radio, described the scene as Aaron broke the record: "Henry Aaron, in the second inning walked and scored. He's sittin' on 714. Here's the pitch by Downing. Swinging. There's a drive into left-center field. That ball is gonna be-eee ... Outta here! It's gone! It's 715! There's a new home run champion of all time, and it's Henry Aaron! The fireworks are going. Henry Aaron is coming around third. His teammates are at home plate. And listen to this crowd!"[56] Meanwhile, Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully addressed the racial tension—or apparent lack thereof—in his call of the home run: "What a marvelous moment for baseball; what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia; what a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron ... And for the first time in a long time, that poker face in Aaron shows the tremendous strain and relief of what it must have been like to live with for the past several months."[57] On October 2, 1974, Aaron hit his 733rd home run in his last at bat as a Braves player.[58] Thirty days later, after Aaron decided not to retire, the Braves traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers for Roger Alexander and Dave May. The trade re-united Aaron with former teammate Del Crandall, who was now managing the Brewers. On May 1, 1975, Aaron broke baseball's all-time RBI record, previously held by Ruth with 2,213. That year, he also played in his last and 24th All-Star Game (25th All-Star Game selection[59]); he lined out to Dave Concepción as a pinch-hitter in the second inning. This All-Star Game, like the first one he played in 1955, was before a home crowd at Milwaukee County Stadium.
Aaron hit his 755th and final home run on July 20, 1976, at Milwaukee County Stadium off Dick Drago of the California Angels, which stood as the MLB career home run record until it was broken in 2007 by Barry Bonds.[60][61] Over the course of his record-breaking 23-year career, Aaron had a batting average of .305 with 163 hits a season, while hitting an average of just over 32 home runs a year and knocking home 99 runs batted in (RBIs) a year. He had 100+ RBIs in a season 15 times, including a record 13 in a row.[40]
No comments:
Post a Comment