Greatest right-handed slugger in baseball history. What a great ambassador for baseball and a class act. Jackie broke the color barrier, but Hank had to endure breaking Babes HR record.
When players of that era pass, it takes a part of you with them. The great players were always your role models. 2020 was especially tough and 2021 is off to a sad start in that regard.
Growing up, it was Mays vs. Aaron vs. Mantle vs. Musial on who was the best - at least among my baseball friends back in the '60s. Of course, being a Giants fan, I was biased for Mays. When living in Virginia, I even got to interview Mays when he came to the area. But, trying my best to be "fair and balanced,'' how could you take one over the other except for the fact Mays played CF and has had more putouts than any outfielder in MLB history with 7,095. Aaron, however, did have a few more assists. Regardless, Aaron and Mays were among the best-ever, all-around players. Mike Trout may be one of the very few who come close today.
When "The Hammer'' began pulling away from Mays in career HRs, there weren't many baseball fans who wanted to see the Babe's record fall. While it would have been nice to see Mays do it, watching a humble Hammering Hank do it with such class, dignity and grace, well, how could anyone root against it. I wish everyone was as old as some of us to have actually viewed it on national TV. I can still hear Curt Gowdy's call. It still brings chills.
Sadly, Henry joins Dick Allen, Lou Brock, Tom Seaver, Joe Morgan, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Phil Niekro, Whitey Ford, Don Larson, Bob Watson, Ron Perranoski, Glenn Beckert, Horace Clarke, Jay Johnstone, Matt Keough, Phil Linz, Mike McCormick, Lindy McDaniel, Denis Menke, Ed Sprague, Claudell Washington, Jimmy Wynn, Ed Farmer and Bob Miller, all part of the roughly 150 former MLB players who passed in 2020-2021. As in the NYTimes piece, we can all look forward to playing catch with those guys some day.
jimk
-- Edited by sfgiants on Sunday 24th of January 2021 11:40:35 AM
Henry Aaron. A legend in his time. Extremely rare. An amazing man on many levels. I was fortunate enough to see him play in 1966 when I was 14. It was in the Astrodome in Houston. We didnt have a lot of money back then but my dad thought we should get to see what was known then as the Eighth Wonder of the World. We were living 260 miles away from Houston at the time in Louisiana. 260 miles through Louisiana and Texas in a 1964 VW Bus with no air conditioning. I never saw my father pick up a baseball so, the game wasnt the point to him. Our seats were in dead center about 15 feet above field level maybe 8 rows back. I thought well, this is just too damned far to expect well get a home run landing here . The players looked pretty tiny from where we were. But, Hank Aaron was in the game and he did indeed hit a home run to dead center that landed about 4 rows in front of us. I still shake my head when I recall that shot. That ball was moving. I was just as happy it didnt come right to me . I didnt bring a glove. My dad, who was a man of few words and not easily impressed, said Wow ! Whats that fellas name .. I told him.
