One of the greatest baseball players in Major League Baseball history, Aaron spent 21 seasons playing for the Atlanta Braves in MLB's National League (NL) and two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League (AL).
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Hank Aaron finished his career as Major League Baseball's all-time leader in home runs with 755.
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With 3,771 hits in 13,941 plate appearances, Aaron completed his professional playing career with a Batting Average of .305 and an on base p...
Hammering Hank Aaron is the MLB’s all time leader in all-time runs batted in for his career with 2,297.
Hank Aaron is Major League Baseball's all-time league leader in total bases with 6,858, 1,477 extra bases, and 2,297 runs batted in.
Henry Louis Aaron nicknamed “The Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for 23 seasons from 1954 through 1976. He is one of the greatest baseball players in the league’s 187 year history.
Hank split his career between the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) and two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League (AL).
At the time of Aaron's retirement Hank held most of the game's most important career power-hitting records.
He broke the long-standing Major League Baseball record for home runs held by Babe Ruth.
Hank Aaron remained the all-time home run career leader for 33 years, before Barry Bonds would surpass that number becoming the new the all-time career home runs leader with 762.
As for Aaron, managed to hit an astounding 24 or more home runs in every season he played from 1955 through 1973. He is also one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least 15 times.
Aaron holds Major League Baseball’s all-time records for the most career runs batted in with 2,297, extra base hits with 1,477, and a total base count of 6,856.
At the time of his retirement he had travelled more than 12 miles further on the 90-foot base paths than any other player in Major League history.
Aaron is also sits third all-time for career hits with 3,771 and fifth in runs scored with 2,174.
He is also one of only four players to have at least 17 seasons with 150 hits or more.
Aaron was elected to represent the National League (NL) in the annual MLB all-star game for 20 consecutive seasons, even making an appearance in the American League (AL) all-star game for one season. He holds the record for the most All-Star selections with 25.
He shares the record for most All-Star Games played at 24 with Willie Mays and Stan Musial.
He's also was a three-time Gold Glove winner, and in 1957, he won the National League's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). He is also a one time world champion for the Milwaukee Braves.
In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Hank Aaron as 5th on its list of the "100 Greatest Baseball Players". [4]
He was inducted into Major League Baseball's National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Aaron played the vast majority of his Major League career in right field, though he appeared at the positions in the infield and outfield at different times. In his last two seasons, he was primarily a designated hitter.
On November 20, 1951, baseball scout Ed Scott signed Aaron to a contract on behalf of the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League (NAL), where he played for three months. [22]
He began his professional career as a shortstop, earning $200 per month. [24]
As a result of his standout play for the Indianapolis Clowns, Aaron received offers from two MLB teams via telegram. One from the New York Giants and the other from the Boston Braves. Years later, Aaron recalled::
"I had the Giants' contract in my hand. But the Braves offered fifty dollars a month more. That's the only thing that kept Willie Mays and me from being teammates – fifty dollars." [25]
While with the Clowns Aaron recalled his experienced of racism;
"We had breakfast while we were waiting for the rain to stop, and I can still envision sitting with the Clowns in a restaurant behind Griffith Stadium and hearing them break all the plates in the kitchen after we'd finished eating. What a horrible sound. Even as a kid, the irony of it hit me: here we were in the capital in the land of freedom and equality, and they had to destroy the plates that had touched the forks that had been in the mouths of black men. If dogs had eaten off those plates, they'd have washed them." [26]
The Howe Sports Bureau credits Aaron with a .366 batting average in 26 official games playing in the Negro National League II, with 5 home runs, 33 runs batted in (RBIs), 41 hits, and 9 stolen bases.
The Braves purchased Hanks's contract from the Clowns for $10,000. [28]
General Manager John Quinn thought it was a steal. As he stated that he felt that Aaron was valued improperly and that his contract was worth well over $100,000. [24]
On June 12, 1952, Hank Aaron signed with the Boston Braves with the hard work and relationship with Boston Braves scout Dewey Griggs. [24]
During this time, he picked up the nickname "pork chops" because it "was the only thing I knew to order off the menu". [29]
A teammate later said, "the man ate pork chops three meals a day, two times for breakfast". [30]
The Boston Braves assigned Aaron to the Eau Claire Bears, the Boston Braves Northern League Class-C farm team. [11]
The 1952 season proved to be very beneficial for Aaron with his out standing play in the infield, he continued his development as a ballplayer, making him a Northern League All-Star.
He began to break his habit of hitting cross-handed and adopted a more standard approach standard hitting technique.
By the end of the season, he had performed so well that the league named him the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year, although he appeared in just 87 games. With the minor league Claire Bears he scored 89 runs, had 116 hits, 9 home runs, and 61 RBIs.
He found his minor league experience to foten be difficult, as he often wrote of feeling homesick, while enduring a constant barrage of uneasy racial tension. His brother, Herbert Jr. gave him the advice not to give up the opportunity.
In 1953, the Boston Braves promoted him to the Jacksonville Braves, their Class-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League. Helped by Aaron's performance, the Jacksonville Braves won the league championship that season.
A large part of their success was attributed to Aaron’s tremendous play from both sides of the field. Hank finished the season recording a record of 115 runs, 208 hits, 36 doubles, and 125 runs batted in.
He gained a total of 338 bases while batting .362, easily wining the league's Most Valuable Player Award. After having such an incredible season one sportswriter was prompted to say, "Henry Aaron led the league in everything except hotel accommodations." [32]
However, Aaron's time with the Atlanta Braves did not come without its fair share of problems. He was one of the first African Americans to play in the major leagues during a period of racial segregation that remain throughout parts of the United States, especially the southeastern portion of the country.
When Aaron traveled around Jacksonville, Florida, and the surrounding areas, he was often separated from his team because of Jim Crow Laws.
The Braves' manager, Ben Geraghty, tried his best to help Aaron survive the disparity in treatment on and off the field. In most circumstances, the team was responsible for arranging housing and meals for its players, but Aaron often had to make his own accommodations.
Former Atlanta Braves minor league player and sportswriter Pat Jordan said, "Aaron gave [Geraghty] as much of the credit for his own for his swift rise to stardom."
That same year, Hank would go on to meet his future wife, Barbara Lucas.
The night they met, Lucas decided to attend the Braves' game.
On the field, Aaron singled, doubled, and hit a home run in the game.
On October 6, Aaron and were officially Lucas married. In 1958, Aaron's wife noted that during the offseason he liked "to sit and watch those shooting westerns films". He also enjoyed cooking and fishing, according to Mrs. Aaron.
Hank would go on to spent the winter of 1953 playing professional baseball in Puerto Rico with Mickey Owen, the team's manager. Mickey worked with Hank, helping stabilize his batting stance.
Until then, Aaron had hit most pitches to left field or center field, but after working with Owen, Aaron was able to hit the ball more effectively all all parts of the the field.
During his stay in Puerto Rico, Owen also helped Aaron transition from second base to the outfield, as Aaron had not played well at second base. However, Owen noted that Aaron could catch fly balls and had a strong throwing arm from the outfield. [37]
His stint in Puerto Rico afforded him the opportunity to avoid being drafted into military service.
Although the Korean War was over, Americans were still being drafted.
The Atlanta Braves were able to speak to the draft board, making the case that Aaron could be the player to integrate the Southern Association the following season with the Atlanta Black Crackers.
The board appears to have had been convinced by the Braves persuasion, as Aaron was not drafted. [37]
Born and raised in and around Mobile, Alabama, he had seven siblings, including Tommie Aaron, who played Major League Baseball with him.
Tommie Aaron also briefly made an appearance in the Negro American Leagues and in professional Minor League Baseball before starting his major league career. By his final game in the Major Leagues, Aaron was the last former Negro National League II or any other Negro Leagues baseball player to play on a major league roster.
During his time in Major League Baseball, and especially during his run for the home run record, Aaron and his family endured extensive threats primarily motivtaed by his race. [7]
His experiences would later fuel his activism during the civil rights movement.
After his retirement from the game of baseball, Aaron held front office roles with the Atlanta Braves, including senior vice president of the Braves. In 1988, Aaron was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.
In 1999, Major League Baseball introduced the Hank Aaron Award to recognize the top offensive players in both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL).
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. He was named Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society in 2010 in recognition of his accomplishments, reflecting the ideals of Georgia's founders. Aaron resided near Atlanta for most of his life until his until his death in January 22, 2021.
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