BASEBALL ROYALTY
Berry Tramel remembers “most underrated superstar” Hank Aaron
Hank Aaron was No. 1 on the list for decade after decade before finally he fell to No. 2, in 2004. That's when David Aardsma pitched for the Giants and became the first name listed on the all-time alphabetic major-league roster.
Three years later, of course, Aaron dropped to No. 2 on another list, of career home runs, usurped by the ill-gotten gains of Barry Bonds.
But for 30 years, baseball had this wonderful symmetry of the all-time home run king also being first in line for roll call of anyone who ever played in the big leagues.
Aaron, who died Friday at age 86, had become baseball royalty. A symbol of perseverance and grace. Black skin meant Aaron faced the racial venom that went with not only being the star of the first major-league franchise, any sport, in the Deep South, but also with approaching Babe Ruth's hallowed home run record.
Mickey Mantle died young. Aaron's lowkey charm played well against the crusty Willie Mays. Aaron's status and popularity soared. It was greater after he retired. That's because he played most of his career in the shadows.
The man who broke the most famous record in sport, the Babe's 714 home runs, somehow soared under the radar until the homestretch of a marathon career.
In fact, you can make the argument that Henry Louis Aaron was the most underrated superstar in American sports history. Those shadows? Aaron started with the ultimate shadowball, the Negro Leagues, playing for the Indianapolis Clowns in 1952, at age 18.
By 20, Aaron was in the National League, but his great contemporaries, Mays and Mantle, debuted three years earlier and already were American icons.
Mantle and Mays played home games
1.2 miles apart, Mantle in Yankee Stadium and Mays across the Harlem River in the Polo Grounds. They were New York heroes, with all the trappings that go with that glorious time and that glorious place. Aaron played in Milwaukee.
But Aaron was in the shadows even in Milwaukee. Aaron eventually caught Mantle and Mays and even the Sultan of Swat. But Aaron's great White Whale was his Braves teammate, Eddie Mathews.
Mathews came up with the Boston Braves in 1952, then was on the original Milwaukee roster in 1953. When the Braves moved to Atlanta for the 1966 season, Aaron had hit 398 home runs. But he was not the Milwaukee all-time leader. Mathews, with only a one-year headstart, had 452 home runs as a Milwaukee Brave.
Aaron wasn't even the best-known ballplayer in his own clubhouse.
The move from Milwaukee to Atlanta meant Aaron's slugging pace would not wither with age. Aaron went from one of the toughest home run parks, Milwaukee's County Stadium, to one of the easiest home run parks, Atlanta Stadium. Aaron's home runs continued.
And apparently, no one noticed.
Baseball savant Bill James found a baseball periodical called “Player Win Averages,” written by Eldon and Harlon Mills. Before the 1970 season, it published the following paragraph: “The twenty-second of September, 1969, is a day to remember. For on that day a player performed a feat that only one other player in the history of baseball has accomplished, and it very likely will never happen again. Willie Mays hit the 600th home run of his career. Only Babe Ruth (who else?) had done that before him.”
At the time, Aaron had 554 home runs, was only 36 years old and was coming off a 44-homer season.
Aaron clubbed No. 600 on April 27, 1971, and American baseball seemed to have an awakening. Craig Muder of the Baseball Hall of Fame wrote:
“For almost 20 seasons, Henry Aaron quietly established himself as one of baseball's best all-around players. But on April 27, 1971, Aaron's public profile jumped from the sports world to the world stage when his chase of the game's most revered record became reality. Aaron connected for his eighth home run of the 1971 season … the homer was the 600th of Aaron's career – and came with Aaron still near the prime of his career at 37 years old. To that point, only Babe Ruth and Willie Mays had joined Club 600, with the legendary Ruth sitting on top of this list with 714 home runs. Aaron … suddenly appeared well within striking distance of the Babe's mark.”
Anyone with a sliver of math skills and baseball knowledge should have known Aaron was on a fast track for Ruth's record. But maybe we didn't look in the shadows 50 years ago.
Here's all you need to know about Aaron. He was a great ballplayer without the home runs. Yes, Hammerin' Hank was the greatest home run hitter (sorry, Barry Bonds) ever. But Aaron was great without all those jogs around the diamond.
In 1963, Aaron had 31 stolen bases, second in the National League, behind only Maury Wills' 40. Five years later, at age 34, Aaron had 28 stolen bases, fourth-best in the league, behind only Lou Brock, Wills and Willie Davis.
Aaron had 3,771 hits, which remains third all-time behind only Pete Rose and Ty Cobb. If you take away Aaron's 755 career home runs, still he had over 3,000 hits.
Aaron's 6,856 total bases remain the alltime record. His 2,297 runs batted in remain the all-time record. His 4,471 combined RBIs and runs remain the all-time record.
Aaron was a career .305 hitter, even though he played a good chunk of his career in the 1960s, when the mound was high and pitchers dominated. Aaron hit .328 as a 22-year-old in Milwaukee and .328 as a 30-year-old in Milwaukee and .301 as a 39-year-old in Atlanta.
Aaron was a mountainpeak ballplayer, and by all accounts a mountainpeak man. Even if it took us all much too long to realize it.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-7608080 or at btramel@ oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.