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OT: Hank Aaron Passes Away

You beat Wikipedia to it.

A strong, spectacular man who endured so much hatred and yet continued to return so much to the game in retirement.

Why couldn’t they give Bonds another ten IBB’s those final two seasons?
 
A former work colleague of mine for several years worked as visitor's batboy at the Astrodome. As you may know, that entails much more than just in-game duty. He also had a lot of pre- and post-game chores in the clubhouse. Still, he was a bottom rung teenager, and some players treated him as one.

But never, he said, did Hank Aaron treat him with anything except kind respect. Always made sure the kid had plenty to eat from the clubhouse spread, and saw to it that teammates tipped generously.

Another baseball great who unfailingly treated the batboy well was, perhaps not surprisingly, Ernie Banks.
Decades later, the former batboy recalled a number of instances when Banks was astonishingly kind.

Another Hall of Famer of the time is remembered not so fondly. Seemed to go out of his way to intimidate and belittle the kid.

It matters how one treats the "little people," and Aaron evidently was a champion in that regard.
 
My father took me to Aaron's last game in Chicago, in '76, IIRC. Couldn't agree with you more, Jonny2TheP - Aaron remains the home run king to a LOT of people, myself included. And Banks was a class act from the word "go". Man, it looks like 2021 is picking up where 2020 left off. :mad:
 
Still my all-time favorite home run call, Milo Hamilton's "there's a new home run champion of all time...and it's Henry Aaron!"

I once heard a story - possibly apocryphal - that when Aaron played in his first minor league game somewhere in the deep south, the racist opposing fans were merciless, yelling "hit the ________!" all throughout his first at-bat.

He launched a massive home run to shut them up.

The home run alone would have made for a good-enough story, but when he came up next time, those same racist fans, now realizing how good he was, repeatedly yelled, "walk him! walk him!"

That the man lived his life with such grace and kindness despite all of the abuse he took should be a model for us all. One of the greatest athletes the world has ever known, both on and off the field.
 
Just a massive loss, a titanic figure whose impact far transcended sports. And by every account, a true gentleman despite the extraordinary hardships he suffered solely because of his skin color. Farewell to the best that ever was.
 
Hank will be fondly remembered by many. He was very generous in helping youth even as far away as here in Alaska.

I just confirmed with one of my sons that he remembers attending a clinic put on for Little Leaguers by Hank Aaron here in Alaska where he got to meet him. He was sad to learn of his passing.
 
One of the stories about Aaron I will always remember is how he learned to hit cross-handed as a youngster. He had to be forced by coaches to adjust his hands, and the story goes that during minor league games he would sometimes secretly switch his grip back to cross-handed. I am pretty sure he hit all of his MLB homeruns using the conventional grip.
 
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Al Downing was from Trenton N.J. , near my hometown of Princeton. I followed his career closely and still remember watching him give up Hank Aaron's 715th HR. I was on vacation in Ft Lauderdale but there are certain events that you remember where you were when it happened and Hank breaking Babe Ruth's record was such a day for me
 
And he opened a spot in the record books for his brother Tommy.
I grew up in a National League city, and Aaron, Mays, Banks, Clemente, Frank Robinson and Musial were the titans of my young years. I never got to see Mantle or Williams play in person, but felt lucky to see Aaron and those just mentioned close up. My siblings and I engaged in many arguments over who was the best of the lot, with Mays generally winning out because of his complete skill but Aaron was pretty much considered a very close second.
 
I feel like all of my childhood heroes have passed away in the last year. I grew up in St.Louis in the 60's. Within the last year, we have lost Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Hank Aaron, Don Sutton and a whole host of other BB players from that era.
It is a sign that I am getting old and the streak of melancholy I have in my personality gets me down with every one of these who leaves us.
 
Just read that Hank Aaron passed away this morning. Rest in peace to the man I still consider the all-time home run king. By all accounts, a great and caring person as well. RIP.

He had to get to the Big Leagues by playing minor league ball in Jacksonville, FL . In 1953. Not Montreal or Minneapolis. But Jacksonville. Think about that.

(A different cuture in JAX today of course.)

He climbed a lot of mountains.
 
Born In Rockford IL in 1949, I wan an avid Milwaukee Braves fan in the 1950s and early 1960s, listening to their games on my dad's kitchen radio (and later on my transistor radio.) I still remember the starting lineup for the 1957 World Championship team . I attended many Braves games at County Stadium (predecessor to Miller Park). Hank Aaron was by far my favorite player and therefore I have lost a childhood hero. Rest in peace Hammerin Hank.
 
Hank was a hero of mine and many others in Milwaukee, as a kid. He overcame so much, and what a great career! RIP.
 
Hank’s 155 career OPS+ ranks only 22 all time (tied with DiMaggio). Ruth is first at 206, then Williams (191), Bonds (182), Gehrig (179), and Trout (176). I think Aaron was quite arguably top 5. He played against some of the greatest pitchers of all time: Gibson, Koufax, Drysdale, Marichal, Jenkins, Seaver, Perry, Roberts, Bunning, Carlton...just to name a few. All of these guys are HOFers who pitched mostly in the NL during Aaron’s time (lucky for Hank, he didn’t have to play against Niekro and Spahn). That’s an incredible era of pitching.
 
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