Hank Aaron, legendary hitter and Hall of Fame member, died at age 86, the Atlanta Braves announced Friday morning. CBS46 in Atlanta first reported the news.
Aaron established himself as a great inner circle of all time during the course of his 23-year career with the Milwaukee Braves, Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers from 1954-76.
In that career, Aaron reached 0.305 / 0.374 / 0.555 (155 OPS +) with 624 doubles, 755 home runs, 2,297 RBI, 2,174 runs, 3,771 hits and 240 stolen bases. He retired as the all-time home run leader and held the record for decades. He is still the all-time leader in RBI and total bases. He also holds the record for most All-Star games at 25 and the most seasons as All-Star at 21 (on the one hand, the MLB held two All-Star games a year).
The 1957 NL MVP, Aaron also won three Gold Gloves and two hitting titles while leading the league on home runs four times, RBI four times, ran three times, hit twice, doubled four times, hit four times and OPS three times. He won the World Series with the 1957 Braves and was included in the Hall of Fame on his first attempt in 1982.
The most important moment in Aaron’s career was passing Babe Ruth’s 714 home runs on April 8, 1974. Here is the great Vin Scully on the conference call:
In terms of career statistics, Aaron stands out as well as anyone. He is fourth in racing history, third in strokes, 13th in doubles, second in home runs, first in RBI, 27th in walks, 24th in OPS +, first on total bases, first on extra-base strokes, seventh times at the base, fourth on intentional walks. He is still the fourth in sacrifice flies.
Few come close to the kind of statistical feat Aaron created on the field. For example, he is one of only three players with at least 2,000 runs and 2,000 RBI (Babe Ruth and Alex Rodriguez). Try this: your lead on total bases is 722.
Among position players, Aaron ranks fifth in the career war, behind Barry Bonds, Ruth, Willie Mays and Ty Cobb.
“I want to send my sincere and warm condolences to the Aaron family for today’s loss,” said Bonds, the current all-time leader of the home run, in an Instagram statement. “I have been fortunate to spend time with Hank on several occasions during my career and I have always had the deepest respect and admiration for everything he has done on and off the field. He is an icon, a legend and a true hero for that. many, who will be missed forever. “
Aaron’s prodigious attack was not relegated to the regular season game. In 17 postseason games, he hit 0.362 / 0.405 / 0.710 with six home runs and 16 RBI. The 1957 World Series title was the first of the Braves since moving from Boston to Milwaukee. During that series, Aaron went from 11 to 28 with a triple and three homers. No one else on his team had more than five hits and Aaron hit seven of the Braves’ 22 races. In the 1969 NLCS, Braves was defeated by the Mets in three games, but Aaron hit 5 out of 14 with two doubles and three homers, while driving home seven of Braves’ 15 races.
“Hank Aaron is at the top of the list of all the great players of all time,” said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in a statement. “His monumental achievements as a player were surpassed only by his dignity and integrity as a person. Hank symbolized the best of our game and his excellence in all aspects provided Americans and fans around the world with an example to aspire to. Career shows that a person who goes to work with humility every day can make his way in history – and find a way to shine like no other. ”
“Hank eagerly supported our efforts to celebrate the best of the game and find its next generation of stars, including through the Hank Aaron Award, which recognizes the offensive excellence of Major League players, and the Hank Aaron Invitational, which offers youth exposure elite players. He became a great friend of mine in recent years as a result of his annual visit to the World Series. That friendship is one of the greatest honors of my life. I will be forever grateful for Hank’s impact on our sport and the society he represents, and he will always occupy a special place in the history of our game. On behalf of the Major League Baseball, I express my deepest condolences to Hank’s wife Billye, to their family, to Atlanta and Milwaukee fans and to millions of admirers won by one of the pillars of our game. “
Braves President Terry McGuirk released the following statement:
“We are absolutely devastated by the death of our beloved Hank. He was a beacon for our organization, first as a player, then with the development of the player and always with the efforts of the community. His incredible talent and determination helped him achieve greatest achievements, yet he never lost his humble nature. Henry Louis Aaron was not only our icon, but one in Major League Baseball and around the world. His success in the diamond was matched only by his commercial achievements off the field and crowned by his extraordinary philanthropic efforts.
“We are heartbroken and thinking about his wife Billye and their children Gaile, Hank, Jr., Lary, Dorinda and Ceci and their grandchildren.”
Aaron was born and raised in conditions bordering on poverty in Alabama and was expected to participate in the family’s profit from a very young age, picking cotton, among other jobs. His family had no money to buy baseball equipment, so he learned to hit with a broomstick and bottle caps. In high school, his talent took over and he was picking up Indianapolis clowns from a Black League at 17. After the clowns won the Negro League World Series in 1952, Aaron received offers from the Giants and Braves. He spent 87 games in League C (roughly the equivalent of Class A today) at age 18 and then 137 in League A (around Double-A or Triple-A) at age 19 before reaching the champions in 1954 at age 20 and never look back.
He finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year vote in 1954. The following year, he was an All-Star, finished ninth in the MVP vote and led the league in doubles. Two years later, he won MVP and the Braves were world champions. He wouldn’t miss another All-Star Game in one season until he was 42 – his senior year.
As noted, Aaron was not just one of the biggest – if not The the best – baseball players of all time. He was an exemplary human being off the field, carrying modest decorum until his last days. Current Astros coach Dusty Baker created the Braves in 1968 and played with the now legendary Aaron in 1974. Friday, Baker told Astros reporter Brian McTaggart, “[Aaron] I was second only to my father, and my father meant a lot to me. ”
In addition to all of his baseball praise, Aaron was awarded the Presidential Citizen Medal by President Bill Clinton in 2001 and the President of Liberty Medal by President George W. Bush in 2002. Aaron now has an award named in his honor, how the Hank Aaron Award is given to the best hitter in each league, each season, by Major League Baseball.
“My wife, Sue, and I are terribly sad and heartbroken at the passing of the great Henry Aaron, a man we really love, and we offer our love and our condolences to his wonderful wife, Billye,” said the former Commissioner of MLB Allan H. “Bud” Selig in a statement.
“In addition to being one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Hank was a wonderful and dear person and a wonderful and dear friend. Not long ago, he and I were walking the streets of Washington, DC together and talking about how we have been the best of friends for over 60 years. Then Hank said, “Who would have thought all those years ago that a black boy from Mobile, Alabama would break Babe Ruth’s home run record and a Jewish boy from Milwaukee would become the baseball commissioner?
“Aaron was loved by his teammates and his fans. He was a true Hall of Fame in every way. He will be missed throughout the game, and his contributions to the game and his position in the game will never be forgotten.”
A part of the Aaron Hall of Fame plaque includes a quote from Georgia congressman Andrew Young, which reads as follows:
“Throughout his long career, Hank Aaron has been a model of humility, dignity and quiet competence. He did not seek the worship that is bestowed on other national athletic heroes, but has now won it.”
The baseball world lost one of its truly iconic figures on Friday.