Hammerin' Hank Aaron, RIP

[revo]

The legendary Hank Aaron has died at age 86.

[BigJonEmpire]

Damn.

[Sour Masher]

The legendary Hank Aaron has died at age 86.

Inexplicably underrated (even if he is recognized as all time great, he is even better than many realize--anyone who does not have him in the top 10 to ever play the game is short changing him). Rest in Peace legend.

[Kevin Seitzer]

[TranaGreg]

feeling this one a bit more today than the other recent greats who've passed ... as a kid I grew up with the fact that this was the guy who knocked the great Babe Ruth off the leaderboard ... and nobody else had, none of those other names that seemed more notable (not Mantle, Mays, Killebrew, Williams, ... ). RIP.

[chancellor]

Milwaukee Journal article about Aaron's incredible 1957 season:

http://archive.jsonline.com/sports/etc/aaron-did-it-all-for-57-braves-5j4beao-140517023.html/

[madducks]

[hacko]

He was a Cleveland Browns fan and use to put on a disguise and slip into the Dog Pound to watch the games. RIP

[Judge Jude]

from Joe Posnanski:

.305/.374/.555 with 37 HR and 113 RBI is a great season, an MVP-caliber season. That was Aaron's 162-game average for 23 years.

Earlier on the same night he broke Ruth's HR record, he passed Willie Mays as the all-time NL Runs leader.

He had a period where he stole a fair number of bases. In the 10 seasons from 1959-68, he was 7th in baseball in steals, ahead of Mays. For his career, his SB % was higher than Mays, Wills or Lou Brock.

If you take away his 755 homers, he still has 3,000+ hits.

He's #1 all time in RBI and in Runs+RBI.

His 6,856 total bases is 700 more than anyone else. Musial could have hit 350 more doubles and not had as many total bases as Aaron. Ruth could have hit 250 more home runs and not has as many total bases as Aaron. (Bonds would have needed 220 more homers just to tie Aaron.) Pete Rose could have cracked another 1,100 singles and not had as many total bases as Aaron.

[Judge Jude]

was feeling melancholy watching the Aaron coverage on MLB Network when a light bulb went on, basically - I got to experience the home run chase and all of its excitement and cultural undertones.

for those of you under age 55 or so, you are the ones who got cheated.

I can't stress enough how much I hope y'all will research more on Hank when you can.
but if you only have 1 hour, spend it on the 2010 interview with Bob Costas that has been airing on MLB Network. it's phenomenal. talk about touching all the bases.

and if you have Milwaukee roots, you'll end watching the special with some well-deserved swagger in your step.

[Sour Masher]

from Joe Posnanski:

.305/.374/.555 with 37 HR and 113 RBI is a great season, an MVP-caliber season. That was Aaron's 162-game average for 23 years.

Earlier on the same night he broke Ruth's HR record, he passed Willie Mays as the all-time NL Runs leader.

He had a period where he stole a fair number of bases. In the 10 seasons from 1959-68, he was 7th in baseball in steals, ahead of Mays. For his career, his SB % was higher than Mays, Wills or Lou Brock.

If you take away his 755 homers, he still has 3,000+ hits.

He's #1 all time in RBI and in Runs+RBI.

His 6,856 total bases is 700 more than anyone else. Musial could have hit 350 more doubles and not had as many total bases as Aaron. Ruth could have hit 250 more home runs and not has as many total bases as Aaron. (Bonds would have needed 220 more homers just to tie Aaron.) Pete Rose could have cracked another 1,100 singles and not had as many total bases as Aaron.

Truly remarkable. Also remarkable, for those who appreciate the fancy new stats...he had an OPS+ of 140 or better for 19 years in a row. He was exceptional for the vast majority of his career, only falling off the last couple of years. He hit 40 hrs at age 39, and was gone not long after that. Albert Pujols and Miggy Cabrera he was not.

[Judge Jude]

Vin Scully on the radio call, April 8, 1974:

"And once again, a standing ovation for Henry Aaron. [Scully stops talking for 11 seconds, letting the crowd noise fill the void]

"So the confrontation for the second time. Aaron walked in the second inning. He means the tying run at the plate now. We'll see what Downing does. Al at the belt, delivers, and he's low, ball one. [crowd boos]

"And that just adds to the pressure. The crowding booing. Downing has to ignore the sound effects and stay a professional and pitch his game.

"One ball and no strikes. Aaron waiting. The outfield deep and straightaway.

"Fastball. There's a high drive into deep left-center field. Buckner goes back to the fence. It is ... gone!

[Scully stops talking for 1 minutes and 45 seconds, letting the crowd noise and the booming fireworks tell the story.]

"What a marvelous moment for baseball. What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia. What a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol.

"And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly Henry Aaron, who was met at home plate, not only by every member of the Braves, but by his father and mother. He threw his arms around his father, and as he left the home plate area, his mother came running across the grass, threw her arms around his neck, kissed him for all she was worth.

"As Aaron circled the bases, the Dodgers on the infield shook his hand. And that was a memorable moment.

"Aaron is being mobbed by photographers. He's holding his right hand high in the air, and for the first time in a long time, that poker face of Aaron's shows the tremendous strain and relief of what it must've been like to live with for the past several months.

"It is over. At 10 minutes after nine in Atlanta, Georgia, Henry Aaron has eclipsed the mark set by Babe Ruth. You could not, I guess, get two more opposite men. The Babe: big and garrulous and oh-so-socialable. And oh-so-immense in all of his appetites. And then, the quiet lad out of Mobile, Alabama: slender and stayed slender throughout his career.

"And so it was a memorable moment before the game. And now what a sweet moment it is here in the middle of the game.

"So Henry and the Babe, the two greatest home-run hitters that have ever lived. And it's a marvelous, wonderful, enjoyable moment here in Atlanta. We're so happy, too, that it could be seen all over the United States, that it will be duly reported all around the world. And I'm sure films of it will be seen around the world, and you can hear Georgia around the world."

[Sour Masher]

Aaron's career WAR is higher than Ken Griffey Jr and Sammy Sosa's combined.

[madducks]

Seitzer already posted one of these videos. If you liked that one, here's all four of Hank Aaron's appearances with David Letterman.

[madducks]