LEGEND HANK AARON DIES
‘I’m glad I served one up for him’: Oroville’s Gary Nolan remembers pitching to his hero at a young age
OROVILLE » Growing up as a child in Oroville, Gary Nolan was like many children playing Little League baseball, hoping to one day play Major League Baseball. After graduating from Oroville High School in 1966, Nolan got that opportunity at age 18 when he was drafted in the first round of the 1966 draft by the Cincinnati Reds.
Growing up in Butte County up as a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan, Nolan idolized players like the Giants’ Willie Mays and Willie McCovey, as well as the Braves’ Henry “Hank” Aaron. In
his first year pitching, Nolan faced all three batters, finishing his rookie season with a record of 14 wins, eight losses and 206 strikeouts for the Reds.
“I had the pleasure, I say pleasure, but it was actually a thrill for me at 18 to pitch against them when I joined the Reds,” Nolan said. “To be honest with you, those were my three heroes.”
Aaron died Friday at the age of 86.
Aaron, who played 23 seasons with the Braves between Milwaukee and Atlanta before joining the Milwaukee Brewers for the final two seasons of his career, joins two other Major League Baseball Hall of Famers who have died in the first month of 2021 thus far. Former Los Angeles Dodgers’ manager Tommy Lasorda passed away Jan. 7 and Dodgers’ pitcher Don Sutton died just four days prior to Aaron on Monday.
In 2020, the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame lost seven members including: Lou Brock, Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Whitey Ford, Joe Morgan and Phil Niekro.
“Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron is most well known in baseball as the player who held the home run record of 755 from 1974 until 2007. Aaron passed Babe Ruth on the alltime list on April 8, 1974 in Atlanta against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Al Downing.
Nolan said he remembers watching Vin Scully announce the game on television when Aaron passed Ruth and the fans in Atlanta stormed the field.
“I was very happy for Henry. He’d suffered a lot,” Nolan said. “He had to endure a lot in that whole stretch. A lot of nasty things and I was very happy when he did what he did. He certainly deserved it. He was such a good man, such great guy and had so much humility that I was extremely happy for him.”
In addition to his home runs, Aaron was the first player in Major League Baseball history to record both 500 home runs and 3,000 hits in his career. He is one of five players to achieve 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. Others include Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro and, most recently, Albert Pujols who got hit No. 3,000 in 2018.
Despite Mays, Murray, Palmeiro and Pujols joining Aaron in the 500 home run and 3,000 hit club, Aaron stands alone in one category. Aaron would still have 3,000 hits if you subtracted all 755 of his home runs.
Aaron finished his career with 3,771 hits, behind only Pete Rose’s 4,256 and Ty Cobb’s 4,189. He also never struck out 100 times or more in any season of his career. Aaron repeatedly said to his peers how much he enjoyed the thrill of getting a single-base hit, Nolan said.
On May 17, 1970 Aaron got hit No. 3,000 off of Nolan’s teammate Wayne Simpson. Two days prior Aaron homered off of Nolan for hit 2,997. Nolan says he remembers the hit off of Simpson, but doesn’t remember the specific Aaron home run.
“Looking back now at my age and everything, hell, I’m glad I served one up for him,” Nolan said. “What the heck.”
Nolan’s plan of attack as a pitcher on hitters like Aaron and Mays was never to strike either of them out, but rather to try and jam the batter with an inside pitch for a popup or groundout. Still, jamming one of the best hitters in history was a tall task.
“Hank had great technique, he had fast hands. He was, as far as overall hitting is concerned, probably one of the best hitters in the game,” Nolan said. “He had a swing, quick wrists, he had very big hands and he had strong forearms. He and Mays were two legends.”
Nolan and Aaron’s last interaction was around 2005 Nolan said, at a celebrity softball game at Turner Field, the home of the Atlanta Braves until 2016.
“Baseball is a unique fraternity,” Nolan said. “Even though you don’t see guys all the time they’re always in your heart. You have those memories and good feelings about each other, and I certainly do with Hank Aaron and all the guys that have passed in the last three or four months.”
“Baseball is a unique fraternity. Even though you don’t see guys all the time, they’re always in your heart.
You have those memories and good feelings about each other, and I certainly do with Hank Aaron and all the guys that have passed on in the last three or four months.”
— Gary Nolan, Oroville native and former MLB player