Hank Aaron was a great player no doubt, but he's also a great ambassador for baseball. (Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports)
Honoring The “True” Home Run King
Tuesday marked the 40th anniversary of the night Atlanta Braves great Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing to surpass the legendary Babe Ruth as the all-time home run champion.
The Atlanta organization paid special tribute to “Hammerin’ Hank” with a festive pregame ceremony that included 715 fans in the outfield marking the number of home runs Aaron hit, along with quick-hitting reiterations from retired Braves announcer Pete Van Wieren and CEO and team chairman Terry McGuirk among others that Aaron was the “true home run king.” It also included a speech from current Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who grew up watching Aaron play and knows he and his family well.
“I believe Hank Aaron was ideally suited to become Babe Ruth’s heir. … He is the living embodiment of the American spirit,” Selig said as he addressed the crowd during the pregame ceremony.
“When you think of the impact, just like the impact Jackie Robinson had, here was a man breaking the most famous sports record in the world set by Babe Ruth,” Selig added. “We were lucky. Baseball was really lucky. You had this thoughtful, sensitive, really decent person (breaking the record). So we were the ones who were lucky. He is what you hope an icon will be but often isn’t.”
Now we all know that Barry Bonds broke Aaron’s record and has the most home runs (762) in MLB history, but Bonds’ involvement with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) left many to question the validity of his accomplishments. It’s also left a big asterisk in the record books by his name.
Yes, Bonds was a great player. In fact, he was a tremendous player. But he broke Aaron’s record by cheating the game. He also lied to a federal grand jury about it. And if we recognize Bonds as the all-time home run king, we would be cheating Aaron and Ruth, who both accomplished an incredible feat with natural, God-given ability.
Selig, a huge fan of Aaron’s, didn’t flat-out say what Van Wieren and McGuirk said during the pregame ceremony, but his intuition was evident when asked if Aaron was truly the home run king following the game.
“I’m always in a sensitive spot there, but I’ve said that myself and I’ll just leave it at that,” Selig said.
Well said commish.
Seattle Uprising
Just a few months ago, the Seattle Seahawks hoisted the Lombardi Award after wearing out the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. Now it’s the Seattle Mariners making noise out west.
Although it’s early, Seattle sits atop the American League West with a 5-2 record. The M’s have a great, young starting rotation built for the rigors of the regular season grind, and their lineup is turning heads with the additions of veteran sluggers Robinson Cano and Corey Hart and the emergence of Justin Smoak, Brad Miller and Mike Zunino.
Cano already seems to have established himself as the team leader, and his winning attitude is wearing off on his young teammates. Don’t be surprised if he is in the AL MVP running when the season winds down in September.
Again, it’s early. But Seattle will be a team to reckon with all season long.
Never Too Early For College Football
In two weeks, Lindy’s, which includes me, will begin its grueling football production process. It’s a long road to hoe, but I love soaking in all the football info that comes through our two-story office here in Birmingham, Ala., over the course of about nine weeks.
I’ve gathered some great intel on a number of teams this offseason, but I’m pretty sold on who I think should be in the preseason Top 5. And who is that you might ask? Well, here are my selections…
- Florida State
- Auburn
- Oklahoma
- Alabama
- Michigan State
Till next time …
Follow me on Twitter at @MattLowe777
