CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A scout texted me on Friday morning following the death of Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. He said his daughter once interned at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He said the one player she was in awe of was Hank Aaron.
I know how she felt. A long time ago, I used to cover the Browns. Every once in a while Aaron would show up at practice. Yeah, that Hank Aaron. The man who broke Babe Ruth’s record of 714 homers on April 8, 1974 despite death threats because he was a Black man chasing the Sultan of Swat.
It turned out Aaron was a big Browns fan from the days of Otto Graham and Marion Motley. He told reporters there were times when he’d wear a disguise and sit in the Dawg Pound at old Cleveland Stadium to watch games.
Every Friday morning when the Browns’ season would overlap the Indians’ season, Bob DiBiasio would get a phone call. When the phone rang, DiBiasio, then director of public relations for the Indians, knew Hammerin’ Hank was on the other end of the line.
“This was before the Internet,” said DiBiasio, who just completed his 41st year with the Indians. “Hank wanted to know what was up with the Browns for the upcoming game on Sunday. It was during the Kardiac Kids period. He wanted to check on who was healthy.
“I’d make sure I’d keep tabs on what all the reporters -- Chuck Heaton, Bill Scholl, Hal Lebovitz, Russ Schneider -- were writing on the Browns. I would keep him apprised of what the papers were saying about the Browns. We’d talk for about 20 minutes. Every Friday, it was automatic.”
In 1987, when DiBiasio became PR director for the Atlanta Braves, he walked into Aaron’s office and told him he’d been his Browns’ source. Aaron appreciated DiBiasio’s legwork.
When the Indians unveiled a statue of Frank Robinson, the first Black manager in the big leagues, on May 27, 2017, the first guest Robinson asked to attend the ceremonies at Progressive Field was Aaron. They were inducted into the Hall of Fame together in 1982. Think of the greatness that entered Cooperstown that day.
Robinson, the only man to win the MVP award in both leagues, a 14-time All-Star, Triple Crown winner and author of 586 home runs. Aaron, who retired as MLB’s home run leader with 755, a 25-time All-Star, two-time batting champion, MVP and still baseball’s all-time leader with 2,297 RBI and 6,856 total bases. Now that’s a dynamic duo.
Aaron was in a wheelchair at the presentation, but stood when he congratulated Robinson. The competitive fire between the two still existed. Aaron, in that soft voice of his, said he was still jealous of Robinson winning the Triple Crown in 1966.
“That was the one thing I could never do,” said Aaron.
Now they are both gone. Robinson, 83, died in 2019. Aaron was 86 when he died Friday, extending a terrible period for the Hall of Fame. Since the start of 2020, Hall of Famers Lou Brock, Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Whitey Ford, Joe Morgan, Phil Niekro, Tommy Lasorda and Don Sutton have passed.
What kind of player was Aaron? If you subtracted his 755 home runs, he still finished his career with 3,016 hits. How’s this for baseball poetry? Joe Adcock, one of Aaron’s teammates with the Milwaukee Braves, after watching Aaron hit said, “Trying to sneak a fastball past Hank Aaron is like trying to sneak a sunrise past a rooster.”
Aaron hit off his front foot and had quick and powerful wrists. He was born in Mobile, Ala., and quit high school to play for the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro Leagues in 1952. The Braves signed him after that season. In a MLB Network special, Aaron said he left home to play with the Clowns with an extra pair of pants and $2 in his pocket.
He played 23 years in the big leagues and was a study in consistency. He never hit more than 47 homers in a season, but hit 20 or more in 20 straight seasons and 30 or more 15 times. He ended his career as a .305 hitter, batting .300 or better 14 times.
“Henry’s like the Mississippi River. He keeps going and going,” Braves teammate Johnny Logan once said.
Aaron was MLB’s all-time home run leader for 30 years (1974-2007) until Barry Bonds passed him on Aug. 7, 2007 when he hit his 756th homer. But the accusations of steroid use hung over Bonds then and now and many fans still recognize Aaron as the true home run king.
When Bonds broke the record, Aaron did not attend, but he sent a congratulatory video message that was played on the scoreboard at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Then Commissioner Bud Selig, a close friend of Aaron’s, was not a fan of Bonds. His tenure as commissioner had been embroiled by steroids and Bonds represented the tip of syringe. Selig was in attendance when Bonds tied the record, but not when he broke it.
But this day should be about Aaron. So roll this question through your mind. Which number provokes better memories? Aaron’s 755 home runs or Bonds’ 762?
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