Hank Aaron HOF statue, USPS stamp in the works
Nine teams spending less this year than last
ATLANTA — The 50th anniversary of Hank Aaron’s 715th home run was marked Monday with announcements of a new statue at Baseball’s Hall of Fame and a new commemorative stamp from the U.S. Postal Service.
Meanwhile, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred helped honor Aaron in Atlanta by joining the Braves in announcing the $100,000 endowment of a scholarship at Tuskegee University, a historically Black university in Aaron’s home state of Alabama.
Manfred noted the Henry Louis Aaron Fund, launched by the Braves following Aaron’s death in 2021, and the Chasing the Dream Foundation, created by Aaron and wife Billye, were designed to clear paths for minorities in baseball and to encourage educational opportunities.
“I got to know Hank later in his life and he had that amazing presence that the great ones usually have, and he was undoubtedly a force for change in our society,” Manfred said at the Atlanta History Center, where a new exhibit honoring Aaron was unveiled.
“I’m sure that commitment to improving the life of others was in part a product of what he went through as a player. Hank’s legacy goes way beyond baseball.”
The exhibit will remain open through the 2025 All-Star Game in Atlanta.
Aaron’s 715th home run topped the record 714 hit by Babe Ruth in a career from 1914-35. Aaron hit 755 home runs from 1954-76, a mark that stood until Barry Bonds hit 762 from 1986-2007, a feat assisted by performance-enhancing drugs.
Baseball’s Hall of Fame will unveil a bronze statue of Hank Aaron on May 23 on the first floor of its museum in Cooperstown, New York.
Aaron was elected to the hall in 1982. A 25-time All-Star, he set a record with 2,297 RBIs. He continues to hold the records of 1,477 extra-base hits and 6,856 total bases.
The Postal Service announced it will release a stamp picturing Aaron in his batting stance wearing his Atlanta Braves uniform. The date of issue and dedication ceremony will be announced later.
Among Aaron’s teammates from the 1974 Braves team who attended the event at the Atlanta History Center were Dusty Baker, who was on deck when Aaron hit the homer off Los Angeles Dodgers lefthander Al Downing, and Tom House, the reliever who caught the ball in the bullpen.
Baker retired as Houston’s manager following the 2023 season.
Billye Aaron joined Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Baker and others on the field as the Braves marked the anniversary in a ceremony before Monday night’s game against the New York Mets. Following a video replay of the record homer, Baker said “Babe was a bad dude, but Hank was badder.”
Delta announced a $150,000 contribution to the Henry Louis Aaron Fund. The Braves had “715” painted on the grass in center field.
CUTTING LOOSE: San Diego cut payroll by $96 million in the past year, the New York Mets by $50 million and the Los Angeles Angels by $49 million, among nine teams that slashed spending in a tepid free-agent market.
The average salary increased 1.5% to $4.98 million on opening day, according to a study by The Associated Press. That was down from a 6% rise in 2022 following the end of the spring training lockout and an 11.1% increase last year to $4.91 million.
Other teams cutting were the Chicago White Sox (by $47 million), Colorado ($33 million), Minnesota ($32 million), Detroit ($20 million), Boston ($15 million) and Milwaukee ($12 million).
DEGROM MAKES PROGRESS: Twotime Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom began throwing from 90 feet Monday, another step in his rehab from right elbow surgery 10 months ago with hope of pitching for the Texas Rangers down the stretch this season.
Texas signed deGrom to a $185 million, five-year deal during the winter before the 2023 season, when he was limited to 30 1/3 innings before the end of April, and then had surgery June 12.
If all goes well in deGrom’s rehab, he will follow three weeks at 90 feet with three weeks throwing from 105 feet, and then two to three weeks at 120 feet before finally getting back on a mound no earlier than June.