Quote of the day
September 7, 2025
Failure is a part of success. There is no such thing as a bed of roses all your life. But failure will never stand in the way of success if you learn from it.
~Hank Aaron
Tag: Hank Aaron
This day in baseball: Yankees announce acquisition of Babe Ruth
January 5, 2025
While the deal had been struck days earlier, on January 5, 1920, the New York Yankees announced the purchase of Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox. Ruth would eventually become the first man in baseball history to hit 60 home runs in a season, a number that would last until 1961. Ruth also retired with 714 home runs, a mark that would stand until the great Hank Aaron hit his 715th in 1974. With Ruth leading a team of undeniable stars, the Yankees would win seven American League pennants and four World Series. Red Sox fans, meanwhile, would spend the next century cursing Harry Frazee’s name.
This day in baseball: Hank Aaron starts for Milwaukee
March 14, 2024
Hank Aaron made his first start as a Brave on March 14, 1954 in a spring training game against the Red Sox. The opportunity came after Bobby Thomson broke his ankle the day before sliding into second base. Aaron notched three hits, including a home run, in the spring training game, impressing the Braves enough to offer him a major league contract.
ESPN SportsCentury: Hank Aaron
May 19, 2023
This documentary on Hank Aaron does a great job of depicting the level of racism Aaron faced not only as a ballplayer, but throughout his life. In spite of it all, he excelled on the field and made an incredible and lasting impact on the game.
M.C. Hammer
January 22, 2023
I never imagined that M.C. Hammer would make his way into this blog, but it turns out, Hammer Time has a connection to baseball.
Stanley Kirk Burrell (M.C. Hammer’s given name) once upon a time served as a batboy for the Oakland Athletics. After seeing the 11-year-old break dancing in the parking lot of the Oakland Coliseum, A’s owner Charlie Finley offered him a role as a clubhouse assistant and batboy, and Burrell served as a “batboy” with the team from 1973 until he graduated from high school in 1980. Whenever Finley was out of town, young Stanley would be on the phone in the A’s dugout, relaying the play-by-play. Finley loved the boy so much, he gave Burrell the title of Executive Vice President for the organization, and Burrell was paid $7.25 per game.
As for Burrell’s future stage name, its origins come in part from Hank Aaron, a.k.a. Hammerin’ Hank, to whom many felt the young batboy bore a resemblance. Reggie Jackson, using the resemblance as inspiration, began calling Burrell “Hammer,” which stuck. He acquired the nickname “M.C.” for being a “master of ceremonies” when he began performing at various clubs while on the road with the A’s (and later in the military).
Burrell even tried to pursue a baseball career himself, having played second base for his high school team. He made it all the way to the final round of cuts with the San Franciso Giants. He did not make the team, however, and it was after this point that he turned his full attention to music and pursuing a career as a rapper. Nevertheless, Hammer has been a participant/player in the annual Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game wearing an A’s cap to represent Oakland and has returned to the Coliseum to throw out the first pitch on a number of occasions.
Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews going to dressing room
December 15, 2021
I love this photo. If there wasn’t already a story behind it, this is the kind of photo that would serve as a terrific writing prompt.
This picture was taken September 22, 1965, at the conclusion of the Milwaukee Braves’ last game in Milwaukee County Stadium. It was the Braves’ last home game before their move to Atlanta the following year. The photo depicts third baseman Eddie Mathews on the left along with Hank Aaron as they headed up the tunnel to the dressing room for the last time.
Quote of the day
September 11, 2021
Baseball is a lot like the ivy-covered wall of Wrigley Field–it gives off a great appearance, but when you run into it, you discover the bricks underneath. At times, it seems that we’re dealing with a group of men who aren’t much different than others we’ve all run into over the years, except they wear neckties instead of robes and hoods.
~Hank Aaron
“Fastball” documentary
August 25, 2021
This documentary, “Fastball,” is fun to watch, and currently, it’s available for free through YouTube. Kevin Costner narrates, and you also get to hear from Joe Posnanski, Derek Jeter, Goose Gossage, Hank Aaron, plus a number of other hard-throwing pitchers and the hitters who had to face them. The documentary is rich with stories about many of the great fastball pitchers in the game, both past and present, and I even found myself experiencing small surges of adrenaline as I watched. The science presented in the film is fascinating, as well.
It looks like you’ll have to make your way to YouTube to watch it, as I’m unable to drop the video here due to restrictions. Definitely check it out, if you get the chance!
Branch Rickey’s scouting report of Hank Aaron
June 11, 2021
Here’s an interesting find from the Library of Congress. Dated May 2, 1963, Branch Rickey wrote up a scouting report of Hammerin’ Hank Aaron.
Cincinnati, Ohio
May 2, 1963
Cincinnati vs Milwaukee
AARON, HANK
Surely one of the greatest hitters in baseball today. Can hit late with power, – good wrists. But in spite of his hitting record and admitted power ability, one cannot help think that Aaron is frequently a guess hitter. Will take three strikes down the middle and in fact frequently acts frozen on pitches. For years I have believed and I still believe that Aaron has more trouble with the breaking stuff. He stands close enough to the plate to pull the outside ball and does pull it. However, he is a foot length further from the plate than Frank Robinson of Cincinnati.
BRANCH RICKEY
[Transcribed and reviewed by volunteers participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.]
It’s an interesting review of Aaron’s hitting, pretty much right in the middle of his MLB career. Looking at the box score, Aaron went 2-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBIs in this game, but also struck out twice.
While I am too young to have ever watched Aaron’s hitting, what limited knowledge I have makes me think Rickey might not have been alone in his perception of him as a “guess hitter.” At the same time, I would also wager that Aaron might have read pitches better than he sometimes let on.
If you’re interested, you can find the digital document on the Library of Congress website here.
Quote of the day
April 29, 2021
Baseball isn’t just the stats. As much as anything else, baseball is the style of Willie Mays, or the determination of Hank Aaron, or the endurance of a Mickey Mantle, the discipline of Carl Yastrzemski, the drive of Eddie Mathews, the reliability of a (Al) Kaline or a (Joe) Morgan, the grace of a (Joe) DiMaggio, the kindness of a Harmon Killebrew, and the class of Stan Musial, the courage of a Jackie Robinson, or the heroism of Lou Gehrig. My hope for the game is that these qualities will never be lost.
~George W. Bush
