RIP Hank Aaron

[TakeYouToTasker 2.0]

Passed away today at 86.

[B-Man]

More:

 

Braves legend Hank Aaron dies at age 86, according to family ...

www.wsbtv.com › news › local › braves-legend-hank-aar...

 

 

21 mins ago — ATLANTA — He is the one man that Muhammad Ali said he idolized “more than myself.” He became known to the world as “Hammerin' Hank.” Legendary Atlanta Brave and Major League Baseball record holder Hank Aaron died Friday at the age of 86, according to a family friend.

 

 

 

 

I have a picture of myself, sitting in Hank's locker, at Cooperstown.

 

[B-Man]

 

 

 

[KD in CA]

RIP to a legend.

[Alaska Darin]

Still the Home Run King.

 

If you haven't looked in awhile, his stats are RIDICULOUS.

 

Some highlights:

1.  Never struck out 100 times in a season. 

2.  More walks than strikeouts in his career. 

3.  Almost 2300 RBIs. 

4.  CAREER OPS of .928.

5. 1477 extra base hits

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aaronha01.shtml

[TakeYouToTasker 2.0]

23 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

Still the Home Run King.

 

If you haven't looked in awhile, his stats are RIDICULOUS.

 

Some highlights:

1.  Never struck out 100 times in a season. 

2.  More walks than strikeouts in his career. 

3.  Almost 2300 RBIs. 

4.  CAREER OPS of .928.

5. 1477 extra base hits

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aaronha01.shtml

The counting stats are otherworldly, but what I have always marveled at the most was his unparalleled consistency. Lots of players have a fantastic peak, reflected in Rwar7, which is the Rwar they compile over their best 7 years. Aaron was great over parts of three decades; even somehow managing to dig up some speed in his age 29 year, and post a 30/30 season.

 

He posted 15 seasons scoring 100 runs or more, 11 with at least 180 hits, 10 with 30 or more doubles, 15 with 30 or more home runs, 11 with 100 or more RBI, and hit over .300 15 times.

 

He led the league in various counting stats categories an absurd 39 times.

 

And he was stoic and humble while he did it.

[Uncle Joe]

2 hours ago, TakeYouToTasker 2.0 said:

Passed away today at 86.

I've said it before - I am losing all those baseball all stars of my youth. 
RIP Hammerin Hank.

 

[TakeYouToTasker 2.0]

2 minutes ago, Uncle Joe said:

I've said it before - I am losing all those baseball all stars of my youth. 
RIP Hammerin Hank.

It’s almost to the point that I’m tempted to run an all-time year of death team bracket.

[TakeYouToTasker 2.0]

Hank Aaron faced Sandy Koufax 130 times, and posted a slash line of .362/.431/.647/1.077 against him.

 

This is *insane*

[TakeYouToTasker 2.0]

Aaron’s death come just over two weeks after receiving COVID vaccination.

 

This is not me attributing the death to the vaccine; however this should be seized as an opportunity to shine a light on many such deaths.

[Cinga]

[Fansince88]

23 hours ago, TakeYouToTasker 2.0 said:

Aaron’s death come just over two weeks after receiving COVID vaccination.

 

This is not me attributing the death to the vaccine; however this should be seized as an opportunity to shine a light on many such deaths.

That makes 60+ in the USA. I would like to see more on that as well.

 

Edited January 24, 2021 by Fansince88

[B-Man]

REMEMBERING HANK AARON

Hank Aaron died yesterday at the age of 86. Aaron is second on the all-time home run list behind only Barry Bonds, who used steroids. Aaron is baseball’s all-time leader in total bases, far ahead of Stan Musial, who is second place.

 

In terms of WAR (a measure of player value that estimates wins above a hypothetical replacement player), Aaron ranks seventh. The only players ahead of him are Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Barry Bonds, Ty Cobb, and Willie Mays, in that order.

 

A huge amount has been written about Aaron in the day and a half since his death. Today’s Washington Post sports section contained six articles about him, plus a front page story.

 

I don’t have much to add — just one point. Aaron said it annoyed him that during the time he was closing in on Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, sportswriters said he was focused on breaking that record. Aaron said he was focused on helping his team win games.

 

Aaron and those sportswriters were both right, in my opinion. Aaron was focused on hitting home runs, and by hitting home runs, he was helping his team win games.

 

No play in baseball helps teams win more than the home run. Okay, if the bases are loaded in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game, the batter shouldn’t be focused on hitting a home run. And yes, batters who lack power can hurt their team by constantly swinging for the fences.

 

But Aaron didn’t lack power. He was a threat to hit a home run every time he stepped to the plate. And his swing was conducive to hitting home runs without striking out or popping up. For example, in 1973, the season in which he pulled to within one homer of Babe Ruth, Aaron struck out only 51 times in 533 plate appearances.

 

More at the link:

[Koko]

Normally I wouldn't post this, but it's a great story a friend of mine put on Facebook about his experience with Mr. Aaron:

 

Quote

My first real job out of college was as a sportswriter for The Daily Messenger. In that role, I covered quite a bit of Rochester Red Wings baseball. One day I get a call from the Wings’ GM.

GM: [ ], you’ve been giving us a ton of space lately and I have a gift for you. How would you like Hank Aaron all to yourself for 15 minutes?

Me: Who do I have to kill?

Mr. Aaron was in town for an event with The Big Brothers program, one of his pet charities. I met him in the 10th row of seats (I counted) behind home plate at Silver Stadium. It was, for me, the closest thing to a religious experience I will ever have.

My 15 minutes turned into 40, and Mr. Aaron could not have been more gracious. The aura of class and dignity that permeated from that man was palpable. In his world, I was a 23-year-old punk, a nobody from nowhere with no chance of writing anything that would make his life any better, and he treated me like he had been reading my work since his playing days.

We went over the way he was treated as a young black man, fresh from the negro leagues. We talked about the vicious racist hatred that dogged him in his pursuit of the home run record. Never once did a bitter word come from his mouth. He preferred to tell that truth in the context of all the work that still needed to be done.

He is in the discussion for the greatest hitter, and the greatest all around player, of all time. Fans from my generation saw him as an aging slugger with the fastest and strongest wrists the game had ever seen. But in his early career he was a five-tool superstar. He could hit for average, hit for power, run, throw and play defense as well as anyone in the game. When asked how he pitched to Aaron, a major league pitcher said “I just throw him my best fastball and wait for the ump to throw me a new ball when he hits it out.”

His class and decency, and ultimately his forgiveness, are just as important to his legacy as his heart-stopping ability. Maybe more so.

For half an hour of my life, I sat with him and was literally in awe. I interviewed a lot of big name star athletes in my writing days. Not one of them affected me like Mr. Aaron. As I left, I did something for the only time in my years as a reporter.

Me: Mr. Aaron, thank you so much. What I’m about to say is totally unprofessional, but...”

He cut me off.

Mr. Aaron: What would you like me to sign?

He signed my note pad, we shook hands, and I left him sitting behind home plate, watching a bunch of young black kids play baseball, having the time of their lives. I will NEVER forget the kindness of Henry Aaron.

 

[Alaska Darin]

2 hours ago, Koko said:

Normally I wouldn't post this, but it's a great story a friend of mine put on Facebook about his experience with Mr. Aaron:

 

 

I read his biography when I was very young and the cruelty he faced trying to both make the majors and then break the most hallowed record in American sport was unbelievable.  It really shaped the way I viewed bullying and was a big part of the path that led to joining the military.