In memory of Hank Aaron
Posted: January 27, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century | Tags: Atlanta Braves, Baseball, Hank Aaron, history, Major League Baseball, MLB, Negro league baseball, sports Leave a commentMajor League Baseball and the Atlanta Braves held a memorial service for Henry Louis Aaron yesterday. If you haven’t had the opportunity to watch it yet, I found the service quite moving.
A few days ago, MLB had also put out a tribute video honoring Hammerin’ Hank. It is also worth a watch, if you can spare a few minutes.
RIP Hank Aaron
Posted: January 23, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century | Tags: Atlanta Braves, Babe Ruth, Baseball, Hank Aaron, history, Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, Milwaukee Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Presidential Medal of Freedom, sports 3 CommentsThis one truly breaks my heart. I have been a Hank Aaron fan for almost as long as I have been a baseball fan. I Had A Hammer is one of the first baseball biographies I ever picked up. When I attempted to play high school basketball one year (I was terrible at it), I was assigned jersey #44. And even though it was a different sport altogether, I still felt honored to wear the same number as the great Henry Aaron.
Henry Louis Aaron was born February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama. He played a total of 23 seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1954 through 1976. Twenty-one of those seasons he played with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and two seasons were with the Milwaukee Brewers. His 755 career home runs broke the long-standing MLB record set by Babe Ruth and stood for 33 years. Aaron also 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.
Aaron’s chase after Babe Ruth’s career home run record stands as a notable period during his career, and not just because he ultimately did break the record. Aaron received thousands of letters every week during the summer of 1973; and during the 1973-1974 offseason, he received death threats and a large assortment of hate mail from people who did not want to see him break Ruth’s home run mark. Fortunately, Aaron also received mounds of of public support in response to the bigotry. As his autobiography demonstrates, Aaron handled himself with a tremendous amount of dignity throughout this period of undeserved hardship.
Hank Aaron holds the record for the most All-Star selections, with twenty-five, while sharing the record for most All-Star Games played (24) with Willie Mays and Stan Musial. He was a three-time Gold Glove winner, and in 1957, he won the NL MVP Award when the Milwaukee Braves won the World Series. Aaron also holds MLB records for the most career RBIs (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), and total bases (6,856).
After his retirement, Aaron held front office roles with the Atlanta Braves, including senior vice president. Hank Aaron was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, his first year of eligibility, with an astonishing 97.8% of the vote. He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.
Henry Aaron died in his sleep on January 22, 2021. Rest in peace.

Washington Post
Quote of the day
Posted: November 25, 2020 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Atlanta Braves, Baseball, Hank Aaron, Major League Baseball, Milwaukee Braves, MLB, quotes, sports Leave a commentI don’t feel right unless I have a sport to play.
~Hank Aaron

New York Daily News
Quote of the day
Posted: June 12, 2019 Filed under: Pop culture | Tags: Baseball, Hank Aaron, Major League Baseball, Milwaukee Braves, MLB, quotes, sports Leave a commentI don’t see pitches down the middle anymore – not even in batting practice.
~Hank Aaron

New York Daily News
“Move Over Babe (Here Comes Henry),” by Bill Slayback
Posted: May 12, 2019 Filed under: Pop culture | Tags: Babe Ruth, Baseball, Bill Slayback, Detroit Tigers, Ernie Harwell, Hank Aaron, Major League Baseball, MLB, music, sports Leave a commentThe singer of this tune, Bill Slayback, was a Major League pitcher himself, though his career was short-lived. Slayback appeared in 42 games, 17 as a starter, for the Detroit Tigers, culminating in a 6-9 record with a 3.84 ERA.
Slayback co-wrote this song with Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell in 1973. The tune chronicles Hank Aaron’s journey to overtake Babe Ruth for the all-time home run record.
This day in baseball: Moon is Rookie of the Year
Posted: December 19, 2018 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Enos Slaughter, Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron, Major League Baseball, National League, Rookie of the Year, sports, St. Louis Cardinals, Wally Moon 2 CommentsOn December 19, 1954, Wally Moon of the St. Louis Cardinals was selected National League Rookie of the Year. Moon finished his first season in the big leagues with a .304 batting average, 12 home runs, and 76 RBIs. The twenty-four-year-old center fielder, who replaced Enos Slaughter in the St. Louis outfield, collected 17 of the 24 writers’ votes, winning easily over future Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Hank Aaron.

Moon in 1961 (Wikipedia)
Quote of the day
Posted: September 2, 2018 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Baseball, Hank Aaron, quotes, sports Leave a commentGuessing what the pitcher is going to throw is eighty percent of being a successful hitter. The other twenty percent is just execution.
~Hank Aaron
Quote of the day
Posted: July 23, 2018 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Baseball, Hank Aaron, Major League Baseball, MLB, quotes, sports, Tucker Elliot 4 CommentsBy any reasonable standard (i.e. he didn’t cheat), Aaron is one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history—and there shouldn’t even be a debate about who is baseball’s true all-time home run champion (again, no cheating).
~Tucker Elliot

Tucker Elliot (tuckerelliot.com)
Quote of the day
Posted: December 18, 2017 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Baseball, Hank Aaron, Joe Adcock, Milwaukee Braves, quotes, sports 2 CommentsTrying to sneak a pitch past Hank Aaron is like trying to sneak a sunrise past a rooster.
~Joe Adcock

Joe Adcock (The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)