Hank Aaron

  • 25 times All-Star (1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1959 ², 1960, 1960 ², 1961 ² 1961, 1962, 1962 ², 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975)
  • World Series Champion in 1957
  • 3 times Gold Glove Award (1958, 1959, 1960)
  • 1957 MVP of the National League
  • 1970 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
  • Major League Baseball All- Century Team
  • 30-30 Club
  • The No. 44 is no longer awarded in his honor at the Atlanta Braves
  • The No. 44 is no longer awarded in his honor with the Milwaukee Brewers

MLB Records:

  • 6,856 Bases
  • 2,297 RBI
  • 1,477 extra - base hits
  • 17 consecutive seasons with 250 or more hits

Henry Louis " Hank " Aaron ( born February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama, United States), also known as Hammerin ' Hank, is a former top players of the U.S. professional baseball. Its fame is mainly due to the fact that he succeeded in 1974 to surpass the record of the legendary Babe Ruth of 714 home runs. Overall, Aaron brought it to the end of his career on 755 home runs. In 1957 he won with the Milwaukee Braves to the World Series and was elected in the same year " Most Valuable Player " of the National League. In his career, he was three times awarded the " Gold Glove Award" and called 21 times in the All- Star team. Aaron's baseball career in Major League lasted from 1954 until 1976.

Career

Early years

Hank Aaron grew up in poverty in Mobile, but was already in high school, his extraordinary athletic ability, both in football and in baseball. Even in his last two years of high school played Aaron also in semi- professional teams of his home state. On November 20, 1951, he signed a contract with the Indianapolis Clowns, a team from the Negro League, and won them the 1952 Negro League World Series.

On 14 June 1952, the Boston Braves Aaron pledged for $ 10,000. By 1954, Aaron played in different leagues Minor until he was invited to spring training the Braves, as the left fielder Bobby Thomson -budgetary had broken his leg. On April 13, 1954 Aaron played his first game in the Major Leagues against the Cincinnati Reds for the now relocated to Milwaukee Braves. Together with Eddie Mathews and Del Crandall, they formed the powerful offensive of the Braves. In 1956, he won his first batting title in 1957 he almost won the Triple Crown (best in home runs, batting average and RBIs ). But Stan Musial and Willie Mays had a better batting average. However, his team was able to win the National League and defeat in the World Series the New York Yankees this year.

Another futile run for the triple crown he undertook in 1963. In home runs and RBIs, he led, but the batting average he had Tommy Davis and Robert Clemente to defer. The Western Division of the National League won with his team in 1969 Aaron still, however, subject to the Braves in the National League Championship Series 0-3 against the New York Mets.

Chasing the record

Aaron Hunt after the record was overshadowed by strong racist concomitants, as Aaron, an African American, was preparing to dethrone the white Babe Ruth. After Hank Aaron stood by season end in October 1973, just with 713 home runs, was in the first days of April 1974 plenty of opportunity with a flood of hate mail ( in the style of "dear nigger Hank for the racists in America until the beginning of the new season ... " ) blow off steam, to death threats. These machinations were well received in the U.S. public to be so ugly that there were many voices who denounced this as a great shame for the country. Thus, as the widow of Babe Ruth felt compelled to take Aaron as impeccable sportsman publicly against the attacks in protection and to give their abhorrence of doing the diehards expression. Aaron himself described this campaign later understandably as a traumatic experience, the long hard indulged him.

Since the Atlanta Braves, for whom he played at that time, the 1974 season began with three away games, they wanted Aaron did not use to be able to experience the record improvement possible in their own stadium can. The " Commissioner of Baseball", however, decided that he had on the field in two of those three games. Here, Aaron scored a home run. This meant a tie with Babe Ruth.

On 8 April 1974 Aaron then proposed, before a home crowd and the largest number of audience in the history of the Braves in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers his 715th home run. As we heard repeatedly, there was at this game a drastically increased presence of police and FBI in the stadium, which had taken the death threats apparently very seriously.

In November of the same year Hank Aaron was sold to the Milwaukee Brewers, for whom he played two seasons, primarily as a designated hitter. His last home run, No. 755, he proposed on July 20, 1976 against the California Angels.

25 years after Aaron had surpassed the old record, led the Major League 1999 a prize for the best offensive player and called him Hank Aaron Award.

On 22 September 2006 Barry Bonds has drawn level by the San Francisco Giants with the number of Aaron defeated in the National League home runs with 733. The rest of his 755 home runs had once scored in the American League Aaron. Barry Bonds is, however - has long been suspected based on specific indicators to take steroids - in contrast to Aaron.

After Baseball

Aaron ended his active career in 1976 and became one of the largest majorities ever, elected in 1982 in the Baseball Hall of Fame. After his playing career, he returned to the Braves and worked in the administrative field. Again, he was one of the first African-Americans who worked in the higher levels of management. Other tasks he took over at Turner Broadcasting. His autobiography, titled I Had a Hammer appeared in 1990.

For his 65th birthday, Aaron was honored for his outstanding career as a player and personality, in which the Major League Baseball Hank Aaron Award shouted into the life, which is awarded annually to the best hitters in the American and National League. In the same year he was chosen by The Sporting News on 5th place in the 100 best baseball players of the century and into space Century Team Major League. With the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the USA, he was awarded on July 9, 2002.

He is now owner of a car dealership, where every purchaser of a new vehicle receives a signed baseball from the boss as an encore.

His positions as a player

372970
de