Hank Aaron

Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron
debut
April 13, 1954, Milwaukee Braves
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
As Player Milwaukee Braves (1954 – 1965) Atlanta Braves (1966 –1974) Milwaukee Brewers (1975 – 1976)

Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (born February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama, United States), is an American baseball player and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Aaron is best known for setting the Major League record for most home runs in a career (755), surpassing the previous mark of 714 by Babe Ruth. Aaron also holds the career marks for RBI (2,297), extra base hits (1,477) and total bases (6,856). He won one World Series ring with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957, and the National League Most Valuable Player Award the same year. He also earned three Gold Glove Awards, and made 21 All-Star appearances.

Pre-professional career

Henry Louis Aaron was born in a part of Mobile, Alabama called Down The Bay. It was a poor area of town populated mostly by minorities. His family later moved to a better part of Mobile called Toulminville, where he was brought up and attended school. In Central High School, Aaron played shortstop and third base and was an outstanding hitter though he batted cross-handed. His team won the Negro High School Championship two years running. In high school, he also excelled in football.

Aaron's last two years of high school were spent at Josephine Allen Institute, a private high school. Aaron was so proficient a ballplayer at this young age that before his fifteenth birthday he was playing on a semi-pro team, the Pritchett Athletics, as their shortstop and third baseman. He made $3 a game. He tried out for the Dodgers but did not get to show his abilities to the scouts there. He then started playing with the semi-pro Mobile Black Bears for $10 a game.

His mother wanted Aaron to attend college in Florida. But with the promise to finish high school, on November 20, 1951 he was signed by scout Ed Scott to play for the Negro American League champion Indianapolis Clowns after the Black Bears played an exhibition against the Clowns the previous year. Aaron helped lead the Clowns to victory in the 1952 Negro League World Series.

Professional career

Minor leagues

On June 14, 1952 Aaron's contract was acquired by the Boston Braves for $10,000. He was the last Negro League player to make the jump to the major leagues. Aaron was assigned to the Braves' Class C farm club, the Eau Claire Bears, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin where he played second base. He got two line drive singles in his first game and ended the season batting .326, and won the Northern League's Rookie of the Year. He earned $350 a month. In 1953, Aaron, along with Horace Garner and Felix Mantilla, was sent to the Jacksonville Tars to break the color line in the South Atlantic League. Despite enduring non-stop racial epithets and threats, Aaron led the league in runs (115), hits (208), doubles (36), RBI (115), and batting average (.362) to become the league's Most Valuable Player. One writer said, "Henry Aaron led the league in everything except hotel accommodations".

To prepare for the big leagues, Aaron played winter ball in Puerto Rico and learned to play the outfield. On March 13, 1954, Braves left fielder Bobby Thomson broke his ankle sliding into second base during a spring training game. The next day Aaron made his first spring training start for the Braves in left field and hit a home run.

Major leagues

The early years

File:Hankaaron-young.jpg

Hank Aaron team portrait

On April 13, 1954, Aaron made his major league debut and went 0-for-5 against the Cincinnati Reds' Joe Nuxhall. In the same game, Aaron's teammate, Eddie Mathews hit two home runs, the first two of a record 863 home runs the pair would hit as teammates. On April 15, 1954 Aaron got his first major league hit, a single off of Cardinals pitcher Vic Raschi. Aaron hit his first Major League home run on April 23, 1954 off of Raschi. Over the next 122 games, Aaron batted .280 (he would not hit that low again until 1966) with 13 homers (he wouldn't go below 20 for the next 20 years) before suffering a broken ankle on September 5.

In the following season, Aaron was moved to right field, where he played for most of his career, winning three Gold Gloves. 1955 also saw the first of a record-tying 24 All-Star Games for Aaron – only Willie Mays and Stan Musial appeared in as many All-Star Games. On June 24, 1955, Aaron became the first strike out victim of the Brooklyn Dodgers' future Hall of Famer, Sandy Koufax. Koufax came on in relief for the Dodgers on Milwaukee's County Stadium, pitching two shutout innings and fanning two. Aaron finished the season batting .314 with 27 home runs and 106 RBI.

1956 saw Aaron hit .328 to win the first of two NL batting titles. He is also named The Sporting News' NL Player of the Year. Two changes were made in 1957 that had a profound effect on Aaron. First, he went from second in the batting order to fourth, behind Eddie Mathews instead of in front of him, and, second, he switched from a 36-ounce bat to a 34-ounce model. Aaron responded by leading the league with 44 home runs, a career-high 132 RBI, batted .322 and won his only NL MVP Award. During a game on August 15th, Aaron belted his 100th major league home run off of the Reds' Don Gross. On September 23, 1957, Aaron had what he called the best moment of his career. Aaron drilled a pitch from the Cardinals' Billy Muffett for a two-run homer in the 11th inning of a game. It clinched the Braves' first pennant in Milwaukee and Aaron was carried off the field by his teammates. That year, Milwaukee registered its only World Series victory behind right-handed pitcher Lew Burdette, who defeated the Yankees three times. Aaron did his part by hitting .393 with three homers and seven RBI.

The chase is on

Aaron had another spectacular year in 1958 by hitting .326, with 30 home runs and 95 RBI. He led the Braves to another pennant, but this time they lost a seven-game Series to the Yankees. Aaron picked up his first Gold Glove and finished 3rd in MVP voting. Hall of Famer Don Drysdale served up the first of seventeen home runs to Aaron on June 29, 1958 – more than any other pitcher.

On June 21, 1959 Aaron had a single most productive day as a hitter. Against the San Francisco Giants, he hit two-run home runs in the 1st, 6th and 7th inning off of Johnny Antonelli, Stu Miller and Gordon Jones. It was the only time in his career that he would hit three homers in a game. Exactly one month later, on July 21, Aaron appeared on the television show "Home Run Derby." He was paid $30,000 for his appearance – almost as much as his annual salary. The prize money encouraged Aaron to change his approach in hitting and swing for more homers. Aaron defended his decision by saying, "I noticed that they never had a show called "Singles Derby". Eddie Mathews led the league in home runs with 46 and Aaron led the league in hitting with a .355 average and finished 3rd in MVP voting.

July 3, 1960 saw Aaron hit his 200th home run off of the Cardinals' Ron Kline at Sportsman's Park. On June 8, 1961, Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Joe Adcock and Frank Thomas became the first four players ever to hit successive home runs in a game. Aaron and Mathews went back to back off of Reds' pitcher Jim Maloney. Adcock and Thomas hit theirs off of reliever Marshall Bridges. Despite the unprecedented feat, the Braves lost the game 10-8.

On June 18, 1962, Aaron hit what most consider to be the longest home run of his career -- a 470-foot shot to straight-away center at the Polo Grounds in New York City. Only two other players ever hit a ball there – Joe Adcock in 1953 and Lou Brock, who oddly did it the day before Aaron. On April 19, 1963 he hit his 300th home run off of the Mets' Jay Hook. Aaron just missed winning the triple crown in 1963 by leading the league with 44 home runs and 130 RBI. He finished .007 percentage points behind Tommy Davis in batting. Aaron became the 3rd member of the 30-30 club behind Ken Williams and Willie Mays. He again finished 3rd in the MVP voting.

On September 20, 1965, Aaron hit the last home run by a Milwaukee Braves player at Milwaukee County Stadium. It came off Ray Culp of the Phillies. The Braves moved to Atlanta the following season and made Fulton County Stadium their new home. Aaron's home run output increased due to the hitter friendly park – later nicknamed "The Launching Pad".

Aaron hit his 400th home run on April 20, 1966 off Bob Priddy of the San Francisco Giants. On August 23 he homered to set a major league record with Eddie Mathews for most career home runs by teammates (863). The first two batters faced by Nolan Ryan in his career were Mathews and Aaron, on September 11, 1966. Neither of them struck out against Ryan.

In the first game of a double header against the Phillies on May 10, 1967, Aaron hit his only inside the park home run off Jim Bunning. Aaron hit a conventional home run in the second game of the double header off of Larry Jackson.

Aaron hit his 500th home run on July 14, 1968 off Mike McCormick of the San Francisco Giants at Fulton County Stadium. Aaron was just the 8th player to reach the milestone and he did it exactly one year after his former teammate Eddie Mathews did it with the Houston Astros. At the time, Aaron was the second youngest player to ever do so at 34 years, five months and nine days, a year and a half older than the youngest player to do so, Jimmie Foxx.

On July 30, 1969 Aaron hit his 537th home run to move into 3rd place on the career home run list, past Mickey Mantle and behind only Willie Mays and Babe Ruth. The Braves marked the first year of division play by winning the West. The Braves were fifth place on August 19, but outplayed the Giants and Reds down the stretch to win the division. Aaron slugged 44 homers and knocked in 97 runs. The Braves lost to the Miracle Mets in the playoffs, three games to none. Aaron and brother Tommie were the first siblings to appear in a League Championship series together as teammates. Aaron finished 3rd in MVP voting.

Aaron got his 3,000th career hit off of Reds' Wayne Simpson on May 17, 1970 with a single in the second game of a doubleheader at Cincinnati's Crosley Field, becoming the first player to reach that milestone and hit 500 career home runs. On July 31, he hit a home run against Dave Guisti of the Pirates in Atlanta for this 30th homer of the season, establishing a National League record for most seasons with 30 or more homers (12).

1971 saw several milestones for Aaron. On April 27 he hit his 600th career homer off the San Francisco Giants' Gaylord Perry in Atlanta. The greatest home run hitter slugged two homers off the greatest strikeout pitcher, Nolan Ryan, the first of which was on May 21, 1971, in Shea Stadium. On July 31 Aaron homered in an All-Star Game for the first time, connecting off Vida Blue in Detroit. He hit his 40th home run of the season against the Giants' Jerry Johnson on August 10, establishing a National League record for most seasons with 40 or more home runs (seven). On September 21, Aaron homered against the Padres' Jay Franklin for his 46th home run of the season – a new career high. Five days later, he hit his 47th home run, the most he hit in a season. He finished 3rd in MVP voting for the 6th time in his career.

During the strike shortened season of 1972, Aaron tied and then surpassed Willie Mays for second place on the career home run list with home runs on May 31 (648) off of the Padres' Fred Norman and June 10 (649) off of the Phillies' Wayne Twitchell. His home run on June 10 was also his 14th grand slam, tying him with Willie McCovey and Gil Hodges for the National League record. On June 28 Aaron hit a two-run homer to tie Lou Gehrig for second place on the all-time RBI list with 1,990. The next day he passes Gehrig with a home run off of the Padres' Mike Caldwell to move into sole possession of second place on the all-time RBI list. Aaron got his 2,000 career RBI when he homered off Astros' Jim York. Aaron tied then surpassed Babe Ruth for the most home runs by a player with a single team when he homered for the 659th time as a Brave on July 19 against the Pirates' Nelson Briles and for the 660th on July 25 against the Reds' Wayne Simpson. At the first All-Star Game in Atlanta, Aaron thrilled the hometown crowd by homering in the sixth inning off the Cleveland Indians' Gaylord Perry. Aaron homered twice against the Phillies to break Stan Musial's major league record for total bases (6,134).

Racism and the record

Hank Aaron's jersey worn when he broke Babe Ruth's record

The chase to beat the Babe heated up in the summer of 1973 and with it the mail. Aaron needed a secretary to sort it as he received more than an estimated 3,000 letters a day, more than any American outside of politics. Unfortunately, racists initially did much of the writing. A sampling:

"Dear Nigger Henry,
You are (not) going to break this record established by the great Babe Ruth if I can help it. ...
Whites are far more superior than jungle bunnies. My gun is watching your every black move."

"Dear Henry Aaron,
How about some sickle cell anemia, Hank?"

The letters came from every state, but most were postmarked in northern cities. They were filled with hate; more hate than Aaron had ever imagined. "This," Aaron said later about the letters, "changed me."

Aaron hit his 700th home run off of the Phillies' Ken Brett. The 1973 season ended with Aaron at 713 homers after hitting a remarkable 40 in just 392 at-bats. He was 39. The Braves became the first team to have three players hit 40 or more homers in a season. Darrell Evans and Davey Johnson also reached the 40-homer mark.

Over the winter, Aaron endured death threats and a barrage of racist hate mail from people who did not want to see a black man break Ruth's home run record. Lewis Grizzard, then sports editor the Atlanta Journal became so concerned that he had an obituary written just in case. However, when the harassment became widely known, the ballplayer enjoyed a massive flood of public support motivated at least partially to counter the bigotry. This included Babe Ruth's widow who denounced the racists and declared that her husband would have enthusiastically cheered Aaron's attempt at the record.

As the 1974 season began, Aaron's pursuit of the home run record caused a small controversy. The Braves opened the season on the road in Cincinnati with a three game series. Braves management wanted him to break the record in Atlanta. Therefore, they were going to have Aaron sit out the first three games of the season. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn ruled that he had to play two out of three. He tied Babe Ruth's record in his very first at bat, but did not hit another home run in the series. The largest crowd in Braves history (53,775) watched Hank Aaron break the record on April 8, 1974 with a home run in the 4th inning off Los Angeles pitcher Al Downing. The ball landed in the Braves bullpen where reliever Tom House caught it. While cannons were firing in celebration and Aaron rounded the bases, two college students appeared and ran alongside, congratulating him before security stepped in. Aaron's mother ran onto the field and into the arms of her son, tears brimming in her eyes. Mrs. Aaron wasn't just proud of her son; she rushed the plate because she thought her son had been shot. On October 2, 1974, Aaron hit his 733rd and final home run as a Brave.

One month later, on November 2, 1974, the Braves traded Aaron to the Milwaukee Brewers for Roger Alexander and Dave May. Because the Brewers were an American League team, Aaron could extend his career by taking advantage of the designated hitter rule.

As a popular member of the long-missed Milwaukee Braves club, Aaron brought credibility to the new Brewers franchise.

Aaron broke baseball's all time RBI record on May 1, 1975 and on July 20, 1976 Hank Aaron hit his 755th and final home run off the California Angels' Dick Drago at Milwaukee County Stadium.

Post-playing career

Hank Aaron's Plaque at the Baseball Hall of Fame

Aaron rejoined the Atlanta Braves organization as player development director four days after retiring from baseball. On August 1, 1982 Hank Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving votes on 97.8 percent of the ballots. At the time, only Ty Cobb received a higher percentage (98.2) of votes cast.

Aaron became one of the first blacks in Major League Baseball upper-level management as Atlanta's vice president of player development. Since December 1989, he has served as senior vice president and assistant to the president, but he is more active for Turner Broadcasting as a corporate vice president of community relations and a member of TBS' board of directors. He also is vice president of business development for The Airport Network.

On February 5, 1999, at a celebration for his 65th birthday, Aaron was honored for his achievements as a player and a person. Major League Baseball announced the introduction of the Hank Aaron Award, to be presented annually to the best hitters in the American League and National League. The first major award to be introduced in more than thirty years, it is also the first to be named after a former player still living at the time the award was inaugurated. Later that year, he ranked number 5 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

In 2002 Aaron received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Aaron attended Game 4 of the 2004 World Series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri and personally awarded the Hank Aaron Award to winners – Barry Bonds in the NL, Manny Ramirez in the AL.

His autobiography I Had a Hammer was published in 1990. Aaron now owns Hank Aaron BMW of south Atlanta where every car is sold with an autographed baseball. The book's title is a play on his nickname, "The Hammer" or "Hammerin' Henry", itself a play on comparing his power hitting with the legendary steel-driving hammer of John Henry; and on the title of the folk song, If I Had a Hammer.

Statues of Aaron now stand outside the front entrance of both Turner Field and Miller Park, where the Braves and Brewers currently play. (Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and Milwaukee County Stadium, which were Aaron's home parks for his entire career, were demolished in 1997 and 2001, respectively, and parking lots for the current ballparks now occupy the sites.)

Turner Field's home address is 755 Hank Aaron Drive SE, in honor of Aaron's 755 career home runs.

Aaron's jersey number "44" has been retired by both the Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Records and achievements

• All-time home run leader: 755
• All-time games played: 3,298 (at time of retirement, currently 3rd behind Pete Rose and Carl Yastrzemski)
• All-time at-bats leader: 12,364 (at time of retirement, currently 2nd behind Pete Rose)
• All-time RBI leader: 2,297
• All-time total bases leader: 6,856
• All-time extra-base hits leader: 1,477
• NL MVP: 1957
• Gold Glove award: 1958 – 1960
• The Sporting News NL Player of the Year: 1956, 1963
• NL batting champion: 1956 (.328), 1959 (.355)
• NL home run champion: 1957 (44), 1963 (44), 1966 (44), 1967 (39)
• NL RBI leader: 1957 (132), 1960 (126), 1963 (130), 1966 (127)
• NL total bases leader: 1956 (340), 1957 (369), 1959 (400), 1960 (334), 1961 (358), 1963 (370), 1967 (344), 1969 (332)
• NL slugging percentage leader: 1959 (.636), 1963 (.586), 1971 (.669)
• NL runs scored leader: 1957 (118); 1963 (121); 1967(113)
• Lou Gehrig Memorial Award: 1970
• NL hits leader: 1956 (200), 1959 (223)
• NL doubles leader: 1955 (37), 1956 (34), 1961 (39), 1965 (40)
• Three home runs in one game: June 21, 1959
• Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: 1982
• Third in career hits (3,771)
• Only player to hit at least 30 home runs in 15 seasons
• Only player to hit at least 20 home runs in 20 seasons
• Hit 40 home runs in a season 8 times
• First player to reach 3,000 hits and 500 home runs
• 21 All-Star appearances

Statistics

YEAR	TEAM	AGE	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	HR%	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	SLG	OBA	OPS	RC	RCAA	RCAP	OWP	RC/G	TB	EBH	ISO	SEC	BPA	IBB	HBP	SAC	SF	GIDP	OUTS	PA	POS
1954	Braves	20	122	468	58	131	27	6	13	2.78	69	28	39	2	2	0.280	0.447	0.322	0.769	63	2	-3	0.512	4.70	209	46	0.167	0.226	0.451	0	3	6	4	13	362	509	LF
1955	Braves	21	153	602	105	189	37	9	27	4.49	106	49	61	3	1	0.314	0.540	0.366	0.906	113	39	37	0.679	6.86	325	73	0.226	0.311	0.546	5	3	7	4	20	445	665	RF
1956	Braves	22	153	609	106	200	34	14	26	4.27	92	37	54	2	4	0.328	0.558	0.365	0.923	115	39	34	0.679	6.96	340	74	0.230	0.287	0.544	6	2	5	7	21	446	660	RF
1957	Braves	23	151	615	118	198	27	6	44	7.15	132	57	58	1	1	0.322	0.600	0.378	0.978	135	66	64	0.772	8.40	369	77	0.278	0.371	0.612	15	0	0	3	13	434	675	RF
1958	Braves	24	153	601	109	196	34	4	30	4.99	95	59	49	4	1	0.326	0.546	0.386	0.931	120	54	49	0.745	7.53	328	68	0.220	0.323	0.557	16	1	0	3	21	430	664	RF
1959	Braves	25	154	629	116	223	46	7	39	6.20	123	51	54	8	0	0.355	0.636	0.401	1.037	156	82	71	0.794	9.71	400	92	0.281	0.375	0.641	17	4	0	9	19	434	693	RF
1960	Braves	26	153	590	102	172	20	11	40	6.78	126	60	63	16	7	0.292	0.566	0.352	0.919	119	51	49	0.732	7.22	334	71	0.275	0.392	0.598	13	2	0	12	8	445	664	RF
1961	Braves	27	155	603	115	197	39	10	34	5.64	120	56	64	21	9	0.327	0.594	0.381	0.974	131	59	35	0.746	8.02	358	83	0.267	0.380	0.615	20	2	1	9	16	441	671	RF
1962	Braves	28	156	592	127	191	28	6	45	7.60	128	66	73	15	7	0.323	0.618	0.390	1.008	139	64	54	0.752	8.77	366	79	0.296	0.421	0.643	14	3	0	6	14	428	667	CF
1963	Braves	29	161	631	121	201	29	4	44	6.97	130	78	94	31	5	0.319	0.586	0.391	0.977	149	79	61	0.798	8.92	370	77	0.268	0.433	0.648	18	0	0	5	11	451	714	RF
1964	Braves	30	145	570	103	187	30	2	24	4.21	95	62	46	22	4	0.328	0.514	0.393	0.907	112	47	36	0.727	7.36	293	56	0.186	0.326	0.554	9	0	0	2	22	411	634	RF
1965	Braves	31	150	570	109	181	40	1	32	5.61	89	60	81	24	4	0.318	0.560	0.379	0.938	121	51	37	0.729	7.85	319	73	0.242	0.382	0.603	10	1	0	8	15	416	639	RF
1966	Braves	32	158	603	117	168	23	1	44	7.30	127	76	96	21	3	0.279	0.539	0.356	0.895	117	42	32	0.689	6.87	325	68	0.260	0.416	0.590	15	1	0	8	14	460	688	RF
1967	Braves	33	155	600	113	184	37	3	39	6.50	109	63	97	17	6	0.307	0.573	0.369	0.943	126	55	41	0.735	7.75	344	79	0.267	0.390	0.608	19	0	0	6	11	439	669	RF
1968	Braves	34	160	606	84	174	33	4	29	4.79	86	64	62	28	5	0.287	0.498	0.354	0.852	104	45	40	0.736	6.06	302	66	0.211	0.355	0.546	23	1	0	5	21	463	676	RF
1969	Braves	35	147	547	100	164	30	3	44	8.04	97	87	47	9	10	0.300	0.607	0.396	1.003	127	58	41	0.750	8.36	332	77	0.307	0.464	0.635	19	2	0	3	14	410	639	RF
1970	Braves	36	150	516	103	154	26	1	38	7.36	118	74	63	9	0	0.298	0.574	0.385	0.958	115	42	32	0.693	8.15	296	65	0.275	0.436	0.615	15	2	0	6	13	381	598	RF
1971	Braves	37	139	495	95	162	22	3	47	9.49	118	71	58	1	1	0.327	0.669	0.410	1.079	135	73	60	0.804	1.47	331	72	0.341	0.485	0.689	21	2	0	5	9	348	573	1B
1972	Braves	38	129	449	75	119	10	0	34	7.57	77	92	55	4	0	0.265	0.514	0.390	0.904	90	30	20	0.675	6.96	231	44	0.249	0.463	0.572	15	1	0	2	17	349	544	1B
1973	Braves	39	120	392	84	118	12	1	40	1.20	96	68	51	1	1	0.301	0.643	0.402	1.045	103	47	36	0.751	9.72	252	53	0.342	0.515	0.675	13	1	0	4	7	286	465	LF
1974	Braves	40	112	340	47	91	16	0	20	5.88	69	39	29	1	0	0.268	0.491	0.341	0.832	57	14	8	0.616	5.97	167	36	0.224	0.341	0.528	6	0	1	2	6	258	382	LF
1975	Brewers	41	137	465	45	109	16	2	12	2.58	60	70	51	0	1	0.234	0.355	0.332	0.687	55	-6	-8	0.450	3.92	165	30	0.120	0.269	0.406	3	1	1	6	15	379	543	DH
1976	Brewers	42	85	271	22	62	8	0	10	3.69	35	35	38	0	1	0.229	0.369	0.315	0.684	31	-1	-4	0.481	3.8	100	18	0.140	0.266	0.409	1	0	0	2	8	220	308	DH
TOTALS			3298	12364	2174	3771	624	98	755	6.11	2297	1402	1383	240	73	0.305	0.555	0.374	0.928	2533	1032	822	0.719	7.49	6856	1477	0.25	0.376	0.584	293	32	21	121	328	9136	13940
LG AVG				11637	1479	3062	477	96	298	2.56	1380	1116	1665	158	97	0.263	0.397	0.329	0.727	1533	0	0	0.500	4.53	4625	871	0.134	0.235	0.434	130	72	109	91	264	9136	13026
POS AVG				11844	1634	3238	519	104	389	3.28	1592	1144	1768	160	92	0.273	0.433	0.338	0.772	1736	202	0	0.551	5.13	5132	1012	0.16	0.262	0.467	147	68	69	96	273	9136	13222

League leadership rankings

1955 NL GAMES 7TH 153 AT BATS 6TH 602 RUNS 8TH 105 HITS 2ND 189 SINGLES 10TH 116 DOUBLES 1ST 37 TRIPLES 5TH 9 HOME RUNS 10TH 27 RBI 9TH 106 AVERAGE 5TH .314 SLG 9TH .540 OPS 9TH .906 RUNS CREATED 9TH 113 RCAA 7TH 39 RCAP 7TH 37 OWP 8TH .679 TOTAL BASES 6TH 325 EXTRA BASE HITS 5TH 73 ISOLATED POWER 9TH .226 BPA 9TH .546 GIDP 2ND 20 PLATE APPEARANCES 9TH 665 OUTS 7TH 445	1956 NL GAMES 6TH 153 AT BATS 5TH 609 RUNS 3RD 106 HITS 1ST 200 SINGLES 6TH 126 DOUBLES 1ST 34 TRIPLES 2ND 14 RBI 9TH 92 AVERAGE 1ST .328 SLG 3RD .558 OPS 5TH .923 RUNS CREATED 5TH 115 RCAA 5TH 39 RCAP 6TH 34 OWP 5TH .679 RUNS CREATED/GAME 7TH 6.96 TOTAL BASES 1ST 340 EXTRA BASE HITS 2ND 74 TOTAL AVERAGE 9TH .869 BPA 10TH .544 GIDP 3RD 21 SACRIFICE FLIES 6TH 7 PLATE APPEARANCES 10TH 660 OUTS 9TH 446	1957 NL GAMES 6TH 151 AT BATS 5TH 615 RUNS 1ST 118 HITS 2ND 198 SINGLES 8TH 121 HOME RUNS 1ST 44 HR/100 OUTS 1ST 10.14 HR/100 PA 2ND 6.52 HR/100 AB 3RD 7.15 RBI 1ST 132 AVERAGE 4TH .322 SLG 3RD .600 OBA 9TH .378 OPS 3RD .978 RUNS CREATED 2ND 135 RCAA 1ST 66 RCAP 2ND 64 OWP 2ND .772 RUNS CREATED/GAME 3RD 8.40 TOTAL BASES 1ST 369 EXTRA BASE HITS 3RD 77 ISOLATED POWER 4TH .278 SECONDARY AVERAGE 6TH .371 TOTAL AVERAGE 3RD .988 BPA 3RD .612 INTENTIONAL WALKS 2ND 15 PLATE APPEARANCES 7TH 675 OUTS 9TH 434
1958 NL GAMES 2ND 153 AT BATS 5TH 601 RUNS 3RD 109 HITS 3RD 196 SINGLES 4TH 128 DOUBLES 4TH 4 HOME RUNS 5TH 30 HR/100 OUTS 6TH 6.98 HR/100 PA 5TH 4.52 HR/100 AB 6TH 4.99 RBI 6TH 95 AVERAGE 4TH .326 SLG 3RD .546 OBA 6TH .386 OPS 4TH .931 RUNS CREATED 4TH 120 RCAA 2ND 54 RCAP 3RD 49 OWP 2ND .745 RUNS CREATED/GAME 5TH 7.53 TOTAL BASES 3RD 328 EXTRA BASE HITS 3RD 68 ISOLATED POWER 7TH .220 SECONDARY AVERAGE 9TH .323 TOTAL AVERAGE 5TH .916 BPA 3RD .557 INTENTIONAL WALKS 3RD 16 GIDP 2ND 21 PLATE APPEARANCES 4TH 664 OUTS 10TH 430	1959 NL GAMES 3RD 154 AT BATS 2ND 629 RUNS 4TH 116 HITS 1ST 223 SINGLES 3RD 131 DOUBLES 2ND 46 TRIPLES 8TH 7 HOME RUNS 3RD 39 HR/100 OUTS 3RD 8.99 HR/100 PA 4TH 5.63 HR/100 AB 4TH 6.20 RBI 3RD 123 AVERAGE 1ST .355 SLG 1ST .636 OBA 2ND .401 OPS 1ST 1.037 RUNS CREATED 1ST 156 RCAA 1ST 82 RCAP 1ST 71 OWP 1ST .794 RUNS CREATED/GAME 1ST 9.71 TOTAL BASES 1ST 400 EXTRA BASE HITS 1ST 92 ISOLATED POWER 3RD .281 SECONDARY AVERAGE 6TH .375 TOTAL AVERAGE 1ST 1.089 BPA 1ST .641 INTENTIONAL WALKS 2ND 17 GIDP 4TH 19 SACRIFICE FLIES 2ND 9 PLATE APPEARANCES 3RD 693	1960 NL GAMES 4TH 153 AT BATS 5TH 590 RUNS 5TH 102 HITS 6TH 172 TRIPLES 4TH 11 HOME RUNS 2ND 40 HR/100 OUTS 2ND 8.99 HR/100 PA 2ND 6.02 HR/100 AB 3RD 6.78 RBI 1ST 126 WALKS 10TH 60 STOLEN BASES 7TH 16 CAUGHT STEALING 10TH 7 SLG 2ND .566 OPS 5TH .919 RUNS CREATED 3RD 119 RCAA 3RD 51 RCAP 2ND 49 OWP 4TH .732 RUNS CREATED/GAME 5TH 7.22 TOTAL BASES 1ST 334 EXTRA BASE HITS 2ND 71 ISOLATED POWER 3RD .275 SECONDARY AVERAGE 4TH .392 TOTAL AVERAGE 4TH .935 BPA 3RD .598 INTENTIONAL WALKS 3RD 13 SACRIFICE FLIES 1ST 12 PLATE APPEARANCES 8TH 664 OUTS 6TH 445
1961 NL GAMES 1ST 155 AT BATS 3RD 603 RUNS 3RD 115 HITS 3RD 197 SINGLES 8TH 114 DOUBLES 1ST 39 TRIPLES 5TH 10 HOME RUNS 6TH 34 HR/100 OUTS 6TH 7.71 HR/100 PA 7TH 5.07 HR/100 AB 8TH 5.64 RBI 4TH 120 STOLEN BASES 4TH 21 CAUGHT STEALING 4TH 9 AVERAGE 5TH .327 SLG 3RD .594 OBA 8TH .381 OPS 3RD .974 RUNS CREATED 2ND 131 RCAA 2ND 59 RCAP 5TH 35 WP 3RD .746 RUNS CREATED/GAME 7TH 8.02 TOTAL BASES 1ST 358 EXTRA BASE HITS 1ST 83 ISOLATED POWER 5TH .267 SECONDARY AVERAGE 4TH .380 TOTAL AVERAGE 4TH .993 BPA 3RD .615 INTENTIONAL WALKS 3RD 20 GIDP 10TH 16 SACRIFICE FLIES 2ND 9 PLATE APPEARANCES 3RD 671 OUTS 7TH 441	1962 NL RUNS 4TH 127 HITS 6TH 191 DOUBLES 10TH 28 HOME RUNS 2ND 45 HR/100 OUTS 2ND 10.51 HR/100 PA 2ND 6.75 HR/100 AB 2ND 7.60 RBI 4TH 128 AVERAGE 5TH .323 SLG 2ND .618 OBA 5TH .390 OPS 2ND 1.008 RUNS CREATED 3RD 139 RCAA 2ND 64 RCAP 2ND 54 OWP 2ND .752 RUNS CREATED/GAME 2ND 8.77 TOTAL BASES 3RD 366 EXTRA BASE HITS 3RD 79 ISOLATED POWER 2ND .296 SECONDARY AVERAGE 4TH .421 TOTAL AVERAGE 3RD 1.050 BPA 3RD .643 INTENTIONAL WALKS 3RD 14 SACRIFICE FLIES 10TH 6	1963 NL GAMES 4TH 161 AT BATS 5TH 631 RUNS 1ST 121 HITS 2ND 201 DOUBLES 10TH 29 HOME RUNS 1ST 44 HR/100 OUTS 2ND 9.76 HR/100 PA 2ND 6.16 HR/100 AB 2ND 6.97 RBI 1ST 130 WALKS 3RD 78 STOLEN BASES 2ND 31 AVERAGE 3RD .319 SLG 1ST .586 OBA 2ND .391 OPS 1ST .977 RUNS CREATED 1ST 149 RCAA 1ST 79 RCAP 1ST 61 OWP 1ST .798 RUNS CREATED/GAME 1ST 8.92 TOTAL BASES 1ST 370 EXTRA BASE HITS 1ST 77 ISOLATED POWER 3RD .268 SECONDARY AVERAGE 1ST .433 TOTAL AVERAGE 1ST 1.063 BPA 1ST .648 INTENTIONAL WALKS 2ND 18 PLATE APPEARANCES 2ND 714
1964 NL RUNS 4TH 103 HITS 8TH 187 SINGLES 8TH 131 HOME RUNS 9TH 24 HR/100 OUTS 10TH 5.84 RBI 10TH 95 WALKS 9TH 62 STOLEN BASES 6TH 22 AVERAGE 3RD .328 SLG 8TH .514 OBA 3RD .393 OPS 6TH .907 RUNS CREATED 7TH 112 RCAA 5TH 47 RCAP 6TH 36 OWP 6TH .727 RUNS CREATED/GAME 6TH 7.36 SECONDARY AVERAGE 7TH .326 TOTAL AVERAGE 6TH .912 BPA 8TH .554 GIDP 2ND 22	1965 NL RUNS 5TH 109 HITS 10TH 181 DOUBLES 1ST 40 HOME RUNS 6TH 32 HR/100 OUTS 4TH 7.69 HR/100 PA 5TH 5.01 HR/100 AB 6TH 5.61 STOLEN BASES 6TH 24 AVERAGE 2ND .318 SLG 2ND .560 OBA 5TH .379 OPS 2ND .938 RUNS CREATED 3RD 121 RCAA 3RD 51 RCAP 5TH 37 OWP 2ND .729 RUNS CREATED/GAME 2ND 7.85 TOTAL BASES 4TH 319 EXTRA BASE HITS 3RD 73 ISOLATED POWER 6TH .242 SECONDARY AVERAGE 4TH .382 TOTAL AVERAGE 2ND .980 BPA 2ND .603 SACRIFICE FLIES 4TH 8	1966 NL GAMES 6TH 158 RUNS 2ND 117 HOME RUNS 1ST 44 HR/100 OUTS 3RD 9.57 HR/100 PA 2ND 6.40 HR/100 AB 2ND 7.30 RBI 1ST 127 WALKS 3RD 76 STOLEN BASES 7TH 21 SLG 6TH .539 OPS 8TH .895 RUNS CREATED 4TH 117 RCAA 8TH 42 RCAP 7TH 32 OWP 8TH .689 RUNS CREATED/GAME 8TH 6.87 TOTAL BASES 4TH 325 EXTRA BASE HITS 5TH 68 ISOLATED POWER 5TH .260 SECONDARY AVERAGE 3RD .416 TOTAL AVERAGE 6TH .929 BPA 4TH .590 INTENTIONAL WALKS 4TH 15 SACRIFICE FLIES 2ND 8 PLATE APPEARANCES 6TH 688
1967 NL GAMES 9TH 155 AT BATS 6TH 600 RUNS 1ST 113 HITS 6TH 184 DOUBLES 2ND 37 HOME RUNS 1ST 39 HR/100 OUTS 2ND 8.88 HR/100 PA 1ST 5.83 HR/100 AB 2ND 6.50 RBI 3RD 109 STOLEN BASES 10TH 17 AVERAGE 8TH .307 SLG 1ST .573 OPS 3RD .943 RUNS CREATED 1ST 126 RCAA 2ND 55 RCAP 5TH 41 OWP 4TH .735 RUNS CREATED/GAME 4TH 7.75 TOTAL BASES 1ST 344 EXTRA BASE HITS 1ST 79 ISOLATED POWER 1ST .267 SECONDARY AVERAGE 5TH .390 TOTAL AVERAGE 2ND .965 BPA 2ND .608 INTENTIONAL WALKS 5TH 19 SACRIFICE FLIES 7TH 6 PLATE APPEARANCES 7TH 669	1968 NL GAMES 4TH 160 RUNS 10TH 84 HITS 10TH 174 DOUBLES 6TH 33 HOME RUNS 5TH 29 HR/100 OUTS 5TH 6.26 HR/100 PA 6TH 4.29 HR/100 AB 6TH 4.79 RBI 7TH 86 WALKS 8TH 64 STOLEN BASES 4TH 28 SLG 4TH .498 OPS 5TH .852 RUNS CREATED 4TH 104 RCAA 2ND 45 RCAP 2ND 40 OWP 3RD .736 RUNS CREATED/GAME 5TH 6.06 TOTAL BASES 2ND 302 EXTRA BASE HITS 2ND 66 ISOLATED POWER 5TH .211 SECONDARY AVERAGE 4TH .355 TOTAL AVERAGE 4TH .852 BPA 3RD .546 INTENTIONAL WALKS 3RD 23 GIDP 1ST 21	1969 NL RUNS 10TH 100 DOUBLES 10TH 30 HOME RUNS 2ND 44 HR/100 OUTS 2ND 10.73 HR/100 PA 2ND 6.89 HR/100 AB 2ND 8.04 RBI 7TH 97 WALKS 7TH 87 CAUGHT STEALING 5TH 10 SLG 2ND .607 OBA 7TH .396 OPS 2ND 1.003 RUNS CREATED 3RD 127 RCAA 4TH 58 RCAP 5TH 41 OWP 6TH .750 RUNS CREATED/GAME 5TH 8.36 TOTAL BASES 1ST 332 EXTRA BASE HITS 1ST 77 ISOLATED POWER 2ND .307 SECONDARY AVERAGE 3RD .464 TOTAL AVERAGE 3RD 1.032 BPA 2ND .635 INTENTIONAL WALKS 2ND 19
1970 NL RUNS 9TH 103 HOME RUNS 5TH 38 HR/100 OUTS 2ND 9.97 HR/100 PA 3RD 6.35 HR/100 AB 4TH 7.36 RBI 5TH 118 SLG 7TH .574 OPS 6TH .958 RCAA 10TH 42 OWP 7TH .693 RUNS CREATED/GAME 6TH 8.15 EXTRA BASE HITS 9TH 65 ISOLATED POWER 4TH .275 SECONDARY AVERAGE 5TH .436 TOTAL AVERAGE 6TH 1.016 BPA 5TH .615 INTENTIONAL WALKS 5TH 15	1971 NL RUNS 6TH 95 HOME RUNS 2ND 47 HR/100 OUTS 1ST 13.51 HR/100 PA 1ST 8.20 HR/100 AB 1ST 9.49 RBI 3RD 118 AVERAGE 5TH .327 SLG 1ST .669 OBA 3RD .410 OPS 1ST 1.079 RUNS CREATED 2ND 135 RCAA 2ND 73 RCAP 3RD 60 OWP 2ND .804 RUNS CREATED/GAME 1ST 10.47 TOTAL BASES 2ND 331 EXTRA BASE HITS 2ND 72 ISOLATED POWER 1ST .341 SECONDARY AVERAGE 3RD .485 TOTAL AVERAGE 1ST 1.178 BPA 1ST .689 INTENTIONAL WALKS 1ST 21	1972 NL HOME RUNS 4TH 34 HR/100 OUTS 1ST 9.74 HR/100 PA 1ST 6.25 HR/100 AB 1ST 7.57 WALKS 4TH 92 SLG 5TH .514 OBA 4TH .390 OPS 5TH .904 OWP 8TH .675 RUNS CREATED/GAME 5TH 6.96 ISOLATED POWER 5TH .249 SECONDARY AVERAGE 1ST .463 TOTAL AVERAGE 5TH .945 BPA 6TH .572 INTENTIONAL WALKS 3RD 15 GIDP 7TH 17 1973 NL HOME RUNS 4TH 40 RUNS CREATED 9TH 103 RCAA 5TH 47 RCAP 9TH 36

Trivia

Despite hitting more career home runs than any other player, Hank Aaron's single-season high was 47. This figure puts him in a tie for the 64th-best season mark by a hitter. His second-best total, 45, is only tied for 100th-best. However, the compensating fact is his career was remarkably stable with no major absences or interruptions such as medical leaves. This enabled him to make his records with a steady accumulation of points that more flamboyant players were unable to match.

His uniform number 44, assigned early in his major league career, proved to be an amusing coincidental "good luck" number, as he hit 44 home runs in four different season. Also, his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth's record, came off a pitch by the Dodgers' Al Downing, who also bore number 44 on his back.

Although Hank Aaron is still the all time home run hitter in Major League Baseball, he is second under former Japanese baseball player Sadaharu Oh (868) as the all time home run hitter in recorded baseball history (Negro League player Josh Gibson was said to have also hit well over 800 home runs, but recordkeeping in the Negro Leagues was fragmentary).

For 50 years, from 1954 to 2004, Henry Aaron was baseball's premiere player.... from an alphabetical standpoint. (In an uncategorizable oddity, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar still holds the same position in the NBA. The odds are lengthy that baseball's all-time HR and RBI leader would also happen to be its all-time #1 alphabetical player; that the NBA's points leader held the same distinction is astronomically unlikely.) Prior to Aaron's arrival on the major league scene in 1954, the alphabetically premiere players had been:

• Ed Abbaticchio - debut in 1897
• Bert Abbey - debut in 1892
• Dan Abbott - debut in 1890
• George Adams - debut in 1879
• Bob Addy - debut in 1876

(Source: The Baseball Encyclopedia)

Aaron's brother Tommie was #2 in this esoteric category. Both Aarons were bumped down one notch in baseball's player register in April 2004, when San Francisco Giants relief pitcher David Aardsma made his debut.

Tommie Aaron and Hank Aaron combined for the most major league home runs by brothers (Tommie hit 13 career home runs).

It is jokingly said that Hank Aaron has an Erdős number of 1 because he and Paul Erdős both autographed the same baseball when Emory University awarded them honorary degrees on the same day.

In 2002, Aaron played himself in an episode of Futurama called, A Leela of Her Own.

See also

• List of lifetime home run leaders through history
• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• Hank Aaron has been featured in several video games, including Baseball Stars

External links

• Baseball Hall of Fame
• Career statistics from Baseball Reference
• Baseball Page
• Baseball Library
• Hickok Sports
• New Georgia Encyclopedia
• Hank Aaron stats, biography and information.

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