Quote of the day
Posted: September 11, 2021 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Baseball, Hank Aaron, Major League Baseball, MLB, quotes, racism, sports, Wrigley Field Leave a commentBaseball 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
Washington Post
“Fastball” documentary
Posted: August 25, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century, 21st Century | Tags: Aroldis Chapman, Baseball, Bob Gibson, Craig Kimbrel, Derek Jeter, documentaries, Goose Gossage, Hank Aaron, history, Joe Posnanski, Jonathan Hock, Kevin Costner, Major League Baseball, MLB, Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, sports, Steve Dalkowski, Walter Johnson, YouTube Leave a commentThis 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
Posted: June 11, 2021 Filed under: 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, Branch Rickey, Cincinnati Reds, Hank Aaron, history, Library of Congress, Major League Baseball, Milwaukee Braves, MLB, sports 3 CommentsHere’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
Posted: April 29, 2021 Filed under: Quote of the day | Tags: Al Kaline, Baseball, Carl Yastrzemski, Eddie Mathews, George W. Bush, Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew, Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Morgan, Lou Gehrig, Major League Baseball, Mickey Mantle, MLB, POTUS, President of the United States, quotes, sports, Stan Musial, Willie Mays Leave a commentBaseball 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
Forbes/Getty Images
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)
