Hank

Like many of the Atlanta area guys of my generation (i.e: on the first steps of geezerhood), I was a little verklempt with the passing of baseball legend Henry Aaron.

We saw Aaron go from player-to executive-to a living breathing icon. His last couple of appearances in Atlanta Braves related matter showed an old man that was an absolute delight.  He announced Freddie Freeman's MVP award last November and he looked happier than Freeman.

What is amazing is that Aaron flew under the radar as far as the national sports world was concerned for years. That's because he played in Milwaukee (ick) and then Atlanta (Eek! The South!) when the Braves moved here.

No, the sports media complex was more in tune to whatever was going on with The Yankees. Of course, The Giants had Willie Mays and The Dodgers were in L.A. and appearing on "Mr.Ed".  Aaron was applying his trade in the backwaters of the country quietly building up his stats. 

Back then, baseball appeared nationally once a week with a program titled "The Game of The Week". At one time, the great Dizzy Dean was the color commentator. It was Dean who commented on an amorous couple in the stands. "Yas, pardner, she's huggin' him on the strikes and kissing him on the balls".

To get on "The Game Of The Week", a team had to be doing well and in the "pennant race".  The Braves, most of this time. was out of the pennant race in May and was an afterthought as far as the nation's sports media was concerned. 

In Atlanta, The Braves were on WSB-TV and the announcers were Milo Hamilton and Ernie Johnson. More often than not you would hear Hamilton yelp "There's a drive" when Aaron was at bat.

I was in 9th grade the day Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record.  It was an odd day. A tornado hit town in the early morning and there was some talk the game would be delayed. It wasn't.  Aaron hit a high Al Downing fastball over the fence.  It was probably the best day ever in the history of The Atlanta Braves and that includes 1991 and 1995. 

If Aaron wasn't the best player in his generation, he is definitely in the top five. The ones that are close are Mays, Mantle, Frank Robinson, and Roberto Clemente. 

Aaron just made everything look so easy.  He had smooth swing. He was deceptively fast. It looked like he was almost jogging but he managed to get there first.  

One of the interesting things about sports media is that you will always find those who belittle the accomplishments of players. Example:  Aaron received 406 of 415 votes for The Hall of Fame.  97% is not too shabby, but it means there were 9 voters that did not believe Aaron deserved to be in The Hall Of Fame.  

I would like to hear the reasoning for not voting for Aaron into The Hall Of Fame. What more could he had done?

You used to hear a lot about Atlanta being 1050 feet above sea level, which meant balls would fly out of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium more easily than they would have other ballparks.  Yeah, maybe.

It ignores the fact that Aaron hit a ton of home runs during the era in which pitching was dominate. He had to hit against Koufax (7 home runs), Marichal (8 home runs), Drysdale (17 home runs), Seaver (4 home runs), and Gibson (8 home runs).

On top of everything, Aaron seemed like a regular guy with a good sense of humor. When Hank died, the great Johnny Bench tweeted out this picture of a play at the plate.  

 

It says "I WISH THE HELL YOU'D STAY OUT OF MY WAY".  I think Hank was safe.

When Aaron was inducted into The Hall Of Fame he said, "I never want them to forget Babe Ruth. I just want them to remember Henry Aaron."

We'll remember.