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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jan 22, 2021 10:54:20 GMT -5
I think he merits hos own thread
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Post by alum on Jan 22, 2021 11:05:29 GMT -5
Vin Scully with the call on Monday Night Baseball on April 8, 1974.
EDIT: Perhaps the Scully call was from the Dodgers radio broadcast, but it is still great.
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on Jan 22, 2021 11:06:05 GMT -5
Incredibly sad. R.I.P. the GREAT #44
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Post by hchoops on Jan 22, 2021 11:09:31 GMT -5
He preferred to be called Henry.
One of the best ever. What he had to endure as he pursued Ruth’s recorded was disgraceful.
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Post by WorcesterGray on Jan 22, 2021 11:14:53 GMT -5
Hardly know where to start . . . All-time leader in RBIs and total bases. Endured death threats as he approached Ruth's record. Never heard a bad word said about him.. He hit 400+ HR after he turned 30-years-old.
From Bill James' historical abstract: "The Boston Braves scouted Willie Mays for years and at one point thought they had him signed, only to lose him to the Giants. The Giants scouted Aaron for a year, and at one point thought they had acquired him, only to lose him to the Braves."
Amazing wrist action, despite the fact that - or, perhaps, because? - he batted cross-handed (left hand on top) in his youth and in the Negro Leagues. Changed that unorthodox grip at the insistence of the Braves, but (according to James' account) "he would occasionally look down at his hands [in the batter's box] and realize that he had the wrong hand on top."
And, oh yeah, won eleven consecutive Gold Gloves.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Jan 22, 2021 11:47:17 GMT -5
Has there ever been another professional athlete who has had to perform under the level of pressure Aaron was under?
Remember reading a story once of a game (must have been an exhibition) Aaron's Braves had against the Yankees. When Aaron came up to the plate, Yogi Berra looked up at him and said "hey kid, your supposed to have the label of your bat away from the pitcher, where you can read it". Aaron looked at him and said " I didn't come here to read", and promptly lashed the pitch for a hit.
RIP Henry
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Post by deep Purple on Jan 22, 2021 11:51:45 GMT -5
Greatest home run hitter of all time. RIP.
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Post by possum on Jan 22, 2021 11:59:05 GMT -5
Mays and Mantle got all the headlines but Aaron broke all the records. Probably the most consistent hitter of all time and more importantly a great man.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 22, 2021 12:43:49 GMT -5
Greatest home run hitter of all time. RIP. Absolutely The steroid cheaters be damned ! |
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bpob55
Crusader Century Club
Posts: 114
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Post by bpob55 on Jan 22, 2021 12:49:44 GMT -5
The real home run king! RIP.
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Post by rgs318 on Jan 22, 2021 13:05:25 GMT -5
He preferred to be called Henry. One of the best ever. What he had to endure as he pursued Ruth’s recorded was disgraceful. My buddy and I were summer school administrators that year. We helped the kids to build a bulletin board to trace his homers (and other accomplishments). They did a great job. When he broke the record, we took photos of the board and sent it to him (probably his agent). That board helped the kids deal with his record in a positive way (and pulled some of their folks along). |
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Post by Tom on Jan 22, 2021 14:22:00 GMT -5
Following a thought process I put forth in another thread: When Aaron went back to Milwaukee to join the Brewers, my father took me to an early season game in Boston, because you don't get too many chances to see a guy like Hank Aaron
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2021 14:41:41 GMT -5
I was lucky enough to see Henry Aaron play in person a few times when the Braves were still the team from Milwaukee.
There was story long ago in SI with Aaron telling how he studied Pitchers motions. He said when he sat on the bench he would look at the pitcher thru the little hole on the top of his batting helmet.No other distractions
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 22, 2021 18:04:59 GMT -5
NAD, while the obvious answer to your question is "no," let's not forget that Roger Maris came under intense scrutiny and pressure as he approached Babe's single season 60 home run record.
Two things going against Roger: 1. he was located in New York so the pressure of breaking a Ruth record was greater than in Atlanta and 2. he was going head-to head with Mickey Mantle and everyone, I mean everyone, who was in NY wanted to see the Mick break the record if anyone was going to break it. Mickey was a "real" Yankee and Maris was a carpetbagger from elsewhere. Roger, despite his youth literally had his hair fall out due to the pressure of the NY media.
Going against Hammerin' Hank was the longevity of the Ruth record and, let's be honest here, he was black. A great player and a wonderful person.
My Dad used to say that what gave Aaron his power was not his arms/biceps but his lightning quick wrist snap as others mentioned above.
R.I.P. Mr. Aaron, Home Run King.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 22, 2021 20:12:16 GMT -5
Someone who obviously faced the same racism was Jackie Robinson
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jan 22, 2021 20:44:04 GMT -5
Whats also cool about Hank. I think hes still first all-time MLB alphabetically. Literally you open the encyopedia of every player who ever played dating to 1871 and the greatest ever is first on page one.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jan 22, 2021 20:50:37 GMT -5
Greatest home run hitter of all time. RIP. Absolutely The steroid cheaters be damned ! Last time I checked, none of those players who violated MLB drug policy ever passed Aaron in career HR. The current HR king (Bonds) only tested positive in 2003, before PEDs were officially banned by MLB. The 2003 list of positive tests was supposed to remain anonymous bur eventually got leaked after a member of the media first ratted on AROD. |
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Post by hchoops on Jan 22, 2021 20:52:33 GMT -5
Bonds obviously cheated by taking steroids.
Did you ever see before and after photos of his head ?
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jan 22, 2021 20:53:22 GMT -5
Whats also cool about Hank. I think hes still first all-time MLB alphabetically. Literally you open the encyopedia of every player who ever played dating to 1871 and the greatest ever is first on page one. well--Henry was #1 for 50 years until David Aardsma made it to MLB with the Giants.... |
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on Jan 22, 2021 21:14:29 GMT -5
Absolutely The steroid cheaters be damned ! Last time I checked, none of those players who violated MLB drug policy ever passed Aaron in career HR. The current HR king (Bonds) only tested positive in 2003, before PEDs were officially banned by MLB. The 2003 list of positive tests was supposed to remain anonymous bur eventually got leaked after a member of the media first ratted on AROD. Uh - Bonds hit #756 in 2007. AFTER he tested positive for 'roids. |
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jan 23, 2021 8:06:14 GMT -5
Last time I checked, none of those players who violated MLB drug policy ever passed Aaron in career HR. The current HR king (Bonds) only tested positive in 2003, before PEDs were officially banned by MLB. The 2003 list of positive tests was supposed to remain anonymous bur eventually got leaked after a member of the media first ratted on AROD. Uh - Bonds hit #756 in 2007. AFTER he tested positive for 'roids. Bonds NEVER VIOLATED MLB DRUG POLICY. The 2003 test was supposed to remain anonymous per the players union contract, until 2009 when someone on the inside thought it was important for the world to know that A-Rod was on the list. Of course, the entire list of 100+ players was soon released, which included Ortiz, Pedro, Clemens, Sosa, Bonds, Pettitte, Giambi, etc. etc. etc. Bonds will eventually get his due. The writers are so in bed with Ortiz that they will forget about the whole steroid cloud to let him in the Hall (and he should be!!). Note, after a long wait, Edgar Martinez was recently admitted. I think this was done because the writers know Papi is on the horizon and it would be hypocritical to keep Edgar out "because he was a full time DH" only to then wave Big Papi into Cooperstown. |
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jan 23, 2021 8:08:39 GMT -5
Bonds obviously cheated by taking steroids. Did you ever see before and after photos of his head ? I'll say it again. Barry Bonds never once violated MLB drug policy. I've seen his head -- stark difference between his first HR in 1986 as a 20yr old Pirate, and his 756th in San Fran. But have you seen Peyton Manning's head? Obvious he was on something too. |
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 23, 2021 8:17:14 GMT -5
Thanks for this thread. Makes me really appreciate that I gave up on MLB around 1970 +/-.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jan 23, 2021 8:24:10 GMT -5
Thanks for this thread. Makes me really appreciate that I gave up on MLB around 1970 +/-. Sorry to hear that. Still easily the best of the 4 major professional sports in today's social media-infected me-first world. |
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Post by hchoops on Jan 23, 2021 8:44:30 GMT -5
Bonds obviously cheated by taking steroids. Did you ever see before and after photos of his head ? I'll say it again. Barry Bonds never once violated MLB drug policy. I've seen his head -- stark difference between his first HR in 1986 as a 20yr old Pirate, and his 756th in San Fran. But have you seen Peyton Manning's head? Obvious he was on something too. What does a football player have to do with this debate ? oK. Bonds did not violate the drug policy. It seems you acknowledge that he used steroids. So to me if he used steroids which obviously aided his home run stats, that is cheating. Whether or not it did not violate drug policy. You may define cheating differently. |
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