‘God knew what he was doing’

When Ralph Garr was a rookie in spring training in 1968, he remembers one of the earliest times Hank Aaron had a direct influence on him.

Garr was chasing down balls that pitchers were hitting into the outfield. The pitchers were having fun, joking around and enjoying watching Garr run. But Garr, who eventually earned the nickname “Road Runner,” was getting exhausted. Because he was a rookie, he was hesitant to say he needed a break. Aaron noticed, though. “They were running me so, but I was scared, as a rookie, to tell them I was tired,” Garr said. “Henry Aaron came over there where we were. He said, ‘Fellas, if y’all don’t mind, would you let him go over there and get a little water, please?’ They said, ‘OK.’

“I was scared to tell them I was tired and that I wanted to go get some water because they were grinning and having fun. That’s where Henry Aaron looked out for me. It wasn’t a problem or anything because the guys were having fun and enjoying themselves, but Henry saw I was a little tired.”

Garr played with Aaron with the Braves from 1968-75. He saw some of Aaron’s greatest seasons up close. He was right there as Aaron chased

the all-time home run record in 1973. And he was there when Aaron broke it April 8, 1974.

“Everybody was so happy for him breaking Babe Ruth’s record,” Garr said. “There were a lot of people — he got a lot of hate mail, but that didn’t overshadow all the good people who really enjoyed the fact that he broke the record. Even the two young men who ran out on the field were very cordial when Henry was running around the bases.

“So when you look back, there

AJC 2021 Ralph Garr was Hank Aaron’s teammate for seven seasons (1968-75) and his friend for more than 50 years. “He was an excellent teammate and an even better human being,” Garr says.