As a young kid watching the MLB all star game every year, I disliked Hank Aaron because the American League could never keep him off the bases. If we wasn’t beating the AL with his bat, he was beating them with his legs. I didn’t think it was fair that the NL had Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron on the same team. Three of the greatest players in MLB history on the same team.
Over the years I learned to appreciate how great Hank Aaron was as a baseball player. He was the alltime home run leader yet he never hit 50 home runs in a season. He still holds the record for most RBI, most extra base hits, most total bases and most all-star games. He is second in homeruns, third in most games played and hits, and fourth in most runs scored. He won three gold gloves for his defense (he would have won more except he was competing against Roberto Clemente. He was a five tool player who could beat you with his power, his speed on the bases, his throwing arm in the outfield, his defense and his ability to get the base hit when needed. After his playing career, he became a very succesful vice president and director of player development for the Atlanta Braves.
In the year leading up to him overtaking Babe Ruth as the home run king, racism showed its ugly head. Threats were made on his life by people who did not want to see a Black man break Ruth’s record. Aaron was shadowed constantly by bodyguards and forced to distance himself from teammates. He received hundreds of hateful letters which he kept as a bitter reminder of the abuse he endured.
On the evening on April 8, 1974 Leah and I were having dinner at my late good friend John Timpo’s house. In anticipation of Aaron breaking Ruth’s record, all the Brave’s games were on national television. After dinner, I was adamant that John turn on the TV so we could watch whenever Aaron came to bat. Leah was not happy with me because she thought I was being rude. Forturnately, John understood the significance of the moment. Watching him hit the record breaking home run still brings chills to me. No one summed up the importance of the moment better than Vin Scully, the Hall of Fame announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In honor of Hank Aaron, there will be no quote of the day, no orchids and no onions, only the following video which captured the historic moment that was bigger than baseball.