“If you were an African-American when Hank Aaron was young … and even now in too many places, there are still so many days when people wonder if anything will ever be on the level again. Baseball did that for him. Amidst all the racism, nobody fooled with his numbers.
“He treated other people like he knew they wanted and deserved the same thing, whether they could play baseball or not. He wanted everybody to have their baseball, some way to be on the level. To be seen as who they were, to be judged for what they were. That’s his legacy to me.”
Born in Mobile, Ala., Aaron will be eternally Atlanta’s, laid to rest at the South-View Cemetery at the south end of town.
For this is a city Aaron helped change when the Braves moved here in 1966. That is the reckoning of civil rights leader, former mayor and former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young.
On Wednesday, Young recalled the day the new team paraded through town, when he overheard “a bunch of country boys who happened to not be my color.”
As Aaron passed aboard a convertible, one of them said to his buddies, “You know, that fella is going to have to be able to buy a home anywhere he wants to in this town. We got to be a big-league city now.”
“Just his presence before he ever got a hit changed this city,” Young said.
One after another they came forth Wednesday to illuminate the other facets of the home run king.
Aaron was a constant on the field – hitting 20 or more home runs for 20 consecutive seasons, never striking out more than 97 times in a season. “Spring would come, the trees would blossom, the birds would chirp and Aaron would begin wearing out the pitchers. It was a blessing,” Clinton said.
Yet that was but a hint of how Aaron would lead his life for the 44 years after his retirement. Wednesday, Clinton said, “was a tribute to a consistent life of caring and doing and being a certain way.”
Not a single ballplayer spoke Wednesday.
Rather, precious time was reserved for Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, the president and dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine. She spoke of the millions the Aarons have given the school, and the student pavilion named after Aaron’s wife, Billye.
“The world knows Hank Aaron as a trailblazing athlete, a man who faced incredible odds as he beat Babe Ruth’s home run record. But to Morehouse School of Medicine he was all that and much more. He was a stellar citizen, a businessperson, an advocate, a philanthropist, a mentor and a friend,” she said.
The former president of Sterling Motorcars, Tom Morehead, spoke of how his friend opened a BMW dealership in the late 1990s “motivated by the fact he wanted the industry to change its complexion; he wanted the complexion to look like individuals like us.”
Quiana Lewis, now in a Ph.D. program at Johns Hopkins University, was chosen to speak for the hundreds of young students Aaron’s Chasing The Dream Foundation has supported. “Mr. Aaron’s investments early in life provided so many youth the springboard they needed to realize their dreams,” she said.
Former baseball commissioner Bud Selig recalled the day in 1957 when the New York Times juxtaposed a photo of white teammates carrying Aaron off the field after a pennant-clinching home run alongside one of Black students being set upon by police in Little Rock, Ark.
On this day, Braves chairman Terry McGuirk chose to defer all talk of Aaron’s playing career. Instead he recalled Aaron’s sharp, straight-edged honesty in one long-ago Turner Broadcasting board meeting when McGuirk was over-selling their Braves holding. Asked what he thought, Aaron replied, “The team is so slow it will take four singles to score a run.”
“That ended my presentation,” McGuirk said. And, Aaron, by the way, was right, McGuirk said.
Credit: Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves
Beyond a purely seminal baseball moment, that 715th home run on the night of April 8, 1974 off the Dodgers’ Al Downing “wasn’t about only chasing down Babe Ruth,” Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Costas said in his video tribute Wednesday. “It was about staring down some of the worst of America and prevailing as an enduring symbol about what can be best about America,” he said.
Yes, Hank Aaron is undeniably on the short list of greatest ballplayers ever. But it was how he lived after he put down his bat that was such the enduring theme of his homegoing.
“The longer life went on for Hank Aaron, the more graceful he became,” Clinton said.
Then the president sent his friend off tenderly.
“Hank Aaron knew that in every heart he encountered there were scales that sometimes titled toward darkness and sometime towards light, and the state of grace required the will and heart to tilt them toward light. And that required love.
“His whole life was one long home run, now he has rounded the bases.
“He is home. Hallelujah.”
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The portrait that flanked his casket was not of Aaron in a ballplayer’s uniform but of an older man in a light brown suit looking hopefully heavenward. The images that flashed on the screen at the very start weren’t of his triumphs of 23 seasons with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers but rather those of Americans craving social justice, from black-and-white photos dating to the 1960s to George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement of today."},{"_id":"6XZ7T7KWEZHW5AJ6H3444SSGME","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631600},"type":"text","content":"Baseball, and Aaron’s famed 715th home run that passed Babe Ruth in 1974, mainly served as a convenient platform from which to broaden his legacy."},{"_id":"TT7S4NMI5RCBPLZLWSU377FNF4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631601},"type":"text","content":"“It’s interesting that he was so protective of baseball and its integrity,” former President Bill Clinton said from the rostrum. “I think one reason was that despite all the racism and all the threats and all the terrible things that happened to him when he was about to break (Ruth’s) home run record, he knew that when he was playing, baseball was on the level."},{"_id":"L2VGEP3MD5HKPMKNWFQPRHAMKI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631602},"type":"text","content":"“If you were an African-American when Hank Aaron was young ... and even now in too many places, there are still so many days when people wonder if anything will ever be on the level again. Baseball did that for him. Amidst all the racism, nobody fooled with his numbers."},{"_id":"YOFQ6WNHWRGQTCFPNMI5CTMNRE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631603},"type":"text","content":"“He treated other people like he knew they wanted and deserved the same thing, whether they could play baseball or not. He wanted everybody to have their baseball, some way to be on the level. To be seen as who they were, to be judged for what they were. That’s his legacy to me.”"},{"_id":"7O6WHFVBQNANLG4G43PHWFXXGU","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"WWWU3MP32VFS3BVL7ABOGG3OMY"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/photos-hank-aaron-funeral-in-atlanta/IGQDHT3O2ZEIHA6S6QFSWG4FFE/","content":"Photos from the services for Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"Z2FLSF5Z3JFK7GQ7TGRW5R35SE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631604},"type":"text","content":"Born in Mobile, Ala., Aaron will be eternally Atlanta’s, laid to rest at the South-View Cemetery at the south end of town."},{"_id":"ZKWAYAB43ZEZPOV7XVHJMLXLCQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631605},"type":"text","content":"For this is a city Aaron helped change when the Braves moved here in 1966. That is the reckoning of civil rights leader, former mayor and former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young."},{"_id":"KDZIRKMUXNADFHC6MYYX56VHKY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631606},"type":"text","content":"On Wednesday, Young recalled the day the new team paraded through town, when he overheard “a bunch of country boys who happened to not be my color.”"},{"_id":"23EF2TTHRBGE7JJGCNFJB6OPKM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631607},"type":"text","content":"As Aaron passed aboard a convertible, one of them said to his buddies, “You know, that fella is going to have to be able to buy a home anywhere he wants to in this town. We got to be a big-league city now.”"},{"_id":"TNZNI3EKHVBJ3APATBHLOHKTSI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631608},"type":"text","content":"“Just his presence before he ever got a hit changed this city,” Young said."},{"_id":"KJLCA2CZURHXJM4ZFTZSRUJT4E","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631609},"type":"text","content":"One after another they came forth Wednesday to illuminate the other facets of the home run king."},{"_id":"4JKHH3ZE3BB65NUYF4L6WRI7AU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631610},"type":"text","content":"Aaron was a constant on the field – hitting 20 or more home runs for 20 consecutive seasons, never striking out more than 97 times in a season. “Spring would come, the trees would blossom, the birds would chirp and Aaron would begin wearing out the pitchers. It was a blessing,” Clinton said."},{"_id":"WGBXVV3HONHNXPPFCVM4CXLBVQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631611},"type":"text","content":"Yet that was but a hint of how Aaron would lead his life for the 44 years after his retirement. Wednesday, Clinton said, “was a tribute to a consistent life of caring and doing and being a certain way.”"},{"_id":"QQVCIOSRM5CULBCJKTZO7QN2FA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631612},"type":"text","content":"Not a single ballplayer spoke Wednesday."},{"_id":"TLYVGJ2GTFA4JNNPU3VGR7L4LY","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"QDDBMKKOOJF7JE4YV3URQ7IDCY"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/mark-bradley-blog/hank-aarons-journey-was-one-of-the-greatest-american-lives/IPFLKR2DXJA5PBC7IZSB4ILVUY/","content":"Mark Bradley: Hank Aaron's great journey"},{"_id":"R2YO3AYZQNCLFMVFOVSBHZ2FXY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631613},"type":"text","content":"Rather, precious time was reserved for Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, the president and dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine. She spoke of the millions the Aarons have given the school, and the student pavilion named after Aaron’s wife, Billye."},{"_id":"T527T4ZHTFB2PIE6KIDK73OAOA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631614},"type":"text","content":"“The world knows Hank Aaron as a trailblazing athlete, a man who faced incredible odds as he beat Babe Ruth’s home run record. But to Morehouse School of Medicine he was all that and much more. He was a stellar citizen, a businessperson, an advocate, a philanthropist, a mentor and a friend,” she said."},{"_id":"S3KBS7IV2JCN5HMCJ5TL6FBNFQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631615},"type":"text","content":"The former president of Sterling Motorcars, Tom Morehead, spoke of how his friend opened a BMW dealership in the late 1990s “motivated by the fact he wanted the industry to change its complexion; he wanted the complexion to look like individuals like us.”"},{"_id":"KJ4IJTATQNERVJN2CGK5QZ7VHY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631616},"type":"text","content":"Quiana Lewis, now in a Ph.D. program at Johns Hopkins University, was chosen to speak for the hundreds of young students Aaron’s Chasing The Dream Foundation has supported. “Mr. Aaron’s investments early in life provided so many youth the springboard they needed to realize their dreams,” she said."},{"_id":"DPVRUNDHXJFCPMPWSCZ7IC5WLU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631617},"type":"text","content":"Former baseball commissioner Bud Selig recalled the day in 1957 when the New York Times juxtaposed a photo of white teammates carrying Aaron off the field after a pennant-clinching home run alongside one of Black students being set upon by police in Little Rock, Ark."},{"_id":"YMTGL2U5BZHZZHDRJLBDYSUW3I","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631618},"type":"text","content":"On this day, Braves chairman Terry McGuirk chose to defer all talk of Aaron’s playing career. Instead he recalled Aaron’s sharp, straight-edged honesty in one long-ago Turner Broadcasting board meeting when McGuirk was over-selling their Braves holding. Asked what he thought, Aaron replied, “The team is so slow it will take four singles to score a run.”"},{"_id":"ECF3CXEYMRADTMCBTRNPXC3H6Q","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631619},"type":"text","content":"“That ended my presentation,” McGuirk said. And, Aaron, by the way, was right, McGuirk said."},{"owner":{"sponsored":false,"id":"ajc"},"copyright":"Atlanta Braves","address":{"street_address":"Friendship Baptist Church","locality":"Atlanta","region":"GA"},"caption":"An attendee holds a program for the funeral services of Henry "Hank" Aaron, longtime Atlanta Braves player and Hall of Famer, on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021 at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta. Photo by Kevin D. 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But it was how he lived after he put down his bat that was such the enduring theme of his homegoing."},{"_id":"KEGZPKIC4JDZFCZFP4RFDWZ5UI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631622},"type":"text","content":"“The longer life went on for Hank Aaron, the more graceful he became,” Clinton said."},{"_id":"6FUXSMZLTZDI5GMAFTXNFBSEAU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631623},"type":"text","content":"Then the president sent his friend off tenderly."},{"_id":"7KWUPLLROJGUTIQWIWP3JDUY4E","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631624},"type":"text","content":"“Hank Aaron knew that in every heart he encountered there were scales that sometimes titled toward darkness and sometime towards light, and the state of grace required the will and heart to tilt them toward light. And that required love."},{"_id":"5NET7FW3XVAV7ITKLYBAWG7HFQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631625},"type":"text","content":"“His whole life was one long home run, now he has rounded the bases."},{"_id":"T4SOKFJZNZEO3PNLYF4S42TJIA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611792631626},"type":"text","content":"“He is home. Hallelujah.”"}],"display_date":"2021-01-28T00:07:43.990Z","headlines":{"basic":"Hank Aaron’s funeral a tribute to more than a baseball great"},"first_publish_date":"2021-01-28T00:07:43.990Z","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"path":"/sports","parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"https://www.ajc.com/","name":"Sports","description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","_id":"/sports","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"https://www.ajc.com/","TopNav":"https://www.ajc.com/","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"site_url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/","section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","site_title":"Atlanta Sports: High school, college and pro sports from the AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Sports"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Sports","_id":"/sports","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/"]},"order":{"default":1002,"TopNavRedesign":1010,"TopNav":1007,"ComposerNav":1136}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"},{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","parent":{"default":"/sports"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"/sports","name":"Atlanta Braves","description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"/sports","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"/sports","TopNav":"/sports","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","site_title":"Atlanta Braves Baseball | AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Atlanta Braves"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"]},"order":{"TopNavRedesign":2002,"TopNav":2002,"ComposerNav":1138}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports/atlanta-braves","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"}],"tags":[{"text":"ajc-sports.ajc"},{"text":"atlanta braves"},{"text":"hank-aaron"},{"text":"spcontent"}],"primary_section":{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","name":"Atlanta Braves"}},"type":"story","last_updated_date":"2021-01-28T19:33:30.502Z","canonical_url":"/sports/hank-aarons-funeral-a-tribute-to-more-than-a-baseball-great/NTMY77KPAFCWFHKNE4LJRBSGS4/","promo_items":{"basic":{"credits":{"by":[{"name":"Jenni Girtman","type":"author"}]},"subtitle":"Hank Aaron funeral","width":3000,"caption":"Mourners pay respects as the procession for baseball legend Hank Aaron begins Wednesday, Jan 27, 2021 at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)","type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/7IYTUJFFH2DK2RSAA56PHPLDLU.jpg","height":2059}},"_id":"NTMY77KPAFCWFHKNE4LJRBSGS4"},{"content_elements":[{"_id":"3DXB6TBXAVBWBKYYLSB3MGIV6M","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611788216745},"type":"text","content":"Former President Bill Clinton was among those reflecting on the life of Hank Aaron during the funeral service for Aaron on Wednesday at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta."},{"_id":"KYEFCTVKDJHETJQK2JIQU56DLU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611788216746},"type":"text","content":"Here are excerpts from Clinton’s remarks about his long-time friend:"},{"_id":"PG5QMFL4QVCMFIAXAAO62SNSRI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611788216747},"type":"text","content":"On his first memories of Aaron: “We didn’t get a television in my home until 1957. … I got that TV in time for the ’57 season. I saw this young Hank Aaron win the MVP, the (Milwaukee) Braves win the World Series. And from the time I was in grade school until the time I was a grown man, when Hank retired, I believed that Hank Aaron’s greatness as a baseball player was just part of the ordinary fabric of American life. You know, spring would come, the trees would blossom, the birds would chirp, and Aaron would begin wearing out the pitchers.”"},{"_id":"6RMH4KQ5YZEGRHIB25VDWN23TM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611788216748},"type":"text","content":"On Aaron’s life after his playing career: “When he retired from baseball, instead of becoming the man who used to be Hank Aaron, he just chased other dreams. He aspired to succeed in business and acquired the means to help others do things with their lives, and he did. He aspired to help young people overcome the barriers that he’d had to overcome by himself, and … through the ‘Chasing the Dream’ foundation, he did. He (aspired) to close the racial divide, not by tearing anybody down but by lifting people up, not by demeaning people but by opening their minds and opening their eyes and opening their hearts. And he did. And for that, Lord, (Aaron’s wife) Billye was the best teammate he ever could have had.”"},{"owner":{"id":"ajc"},"caption":"Former President Bill Clinton speaks with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms during funeral services for Henry "Hank" Aaron, longtime Atlanta Braves player and Hall of Famer, on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021 at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta. (Kevin D. 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I think one reason is, in spite of all racism and all the threats and all the terrible things that happened to him when he was about to break the home-run record, he knew when he was playing baseball, it’s on the level. If he got a hit, they couldn’t say he didn’t. ... And they kept score. If you were an African-American when Hank Aaron was young and even now in too many places … there’s still so many days when people wonder if anything will ever be on the level again. Baseball did that for him. Amidst all the racism, nobody fiddled with his numbers. ... He wanted everybody to have their baseball – some way to be on the level, to be seen for who they were, to be judged for what they were. That’s his legacy to me.”"},{"_id":"4THT3MWJ7FE6BHV2BXPB3NBRSA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611788216751},"type":"text","content":"On the hate mail Aaron received as he chased Babe Ruth’s record: “I think one reason he never got rid of all those boxes of hate mail he got, first they just spurred him on to break the home-run record, but then I think he kept it to remind himself that grace is not the absence of anger or resentment. It is the conscious choice not to surrender to them.”"},{"owner":{"sponsored":false,"id":"ajc"},"copyright":"Atlanta Braves","address":{"street_address":"Friendship Baptist Church","locality":"Atlanta","region":"GA"},"caption":"Former President Bill Clinton speaks during funeral services for Henry "Hank" Aaron, longtime Atlanta Braves player and Hall of Famer, on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021 at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta. Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves","source":{"system":"photo center","name":"AJC","edit_url":"https://ajc.arcpublishing.com/photo/XVGG3C7Q6NALJKZ56R3CZO5KKI","source_type":"staff","additional_properties":{"editor":"photo center"}},"taxonomy":{},"type":"image","distributor":{"mode":"reference","reference_id":"8aec2b8c-455c-4816-903d-79fc8fdf8019"},"version":"0.10.3","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/XVGG3C7Q6NALJKZ56R3CZO5KKI.jpg","licensable":false,"credits":{"affiliation":[{"name":"Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves","type":"author"}],"by":[{"name":"Kevin D. Liles","type":"author","byline":"Kevin D. 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I think about all of that talent that never had a chance to bloom and be seen and be felt. He felt that. That was a big part of his life, wanting to make sure that all of the young people … never had to stay in a separate room but got a chance to shine.”"},{"_id":"Y2Q7L4I3WJDMZKZOG7OO6IGXG4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611788216753},"type":"text","content":"On Aaron’s contribution to Clinton winning the presidency: “Hank was the big draw (at a Clinton rally in Georgia during the 1992 campaign). I just sort of was on the program. … He was unbelievable, just talking to people, and three days later after that 25,000-person rally, I carried Georgia by 13,000 votes. And for the rest of his life, he never let me forget who was responsible for winning. Hank Aaron never bragged about anything except carrying Georgia in 1992, and he probably did.”"},{"_id":"S2UAN27FKND6PIVLUZ3HUNFF4I","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611788216754},"type":"text","content":"And finally: “His whole life ... was one long home run, and now he has rounded the bases.”"},{"_id":"FRR2HZRWIRHABGWEQVOCBFDOFM","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"O4OVKTYXBFFN7BQI2LNBEYV7FI"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/photos-hank-aaron-funeral-in-atlanta/IGQDHT3O2ZEIHA6S6QFSWG4FFE/","content":"Photos from the services for Hank Aaron"}],"display_date":"2021-01-27T23:09:00.434Z","headlines":{"basic":"Bill Clinton on Hank Aaron: ‘His whole life was one long home run’ "},"first_publish_date":"2021-01-27T23:09:00.434Z","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","parent":{"default":"/sports"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"/sports","name":"Atlanta Braves","description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"/sports","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"/sports","TopNav":"/sports","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","site_title":"Atlanta Braves Baseball | AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Atlanta Braves"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"]},"order":{"TopNavRedesign":2002,"TopNav":2002,"ComposerNav":1138}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports/atlanta-braves","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"},{"path":"/sports","parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"https://www.ajc.com/","name":"Sports","description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","_id":"/sports","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"https://www.ajc.com/","TopNav":"https://www.ajc.com/","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"site_url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/","section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","site_title":"Atlanta Sports: High school, college and pro sports from the AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Sports"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Sports","_id":"/sports","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/"]},"order":{"default":1002,"TopNavRedesign":1010,"TopNav":1007,"ComposerNav":1136}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"}],"tags":[{"text":"atlanta braves"},{"text":"ajc-sports.ajc"},{"text":"hank-aaron"},{"text":"spcontent"}],"primary_section":{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","name":"Atlanta Braves"}},"type":"story","last_updated_date":"2021-01-28T19:13:33.348Z","canonical_url":"/sports/atlanta-braves/bill-clinton-on-hank-aaron-his-whole-life-was-one-long-home-run/VWSHVSEHMVD3LGMTEOB2QAJGTY/","promo_items":{"basic":{"credits":{"by":[{"name":"Kevin D. 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He hit .191 in 44 games with the Twins in 2020 after batting .272 with Minnesota in 2019. He has a .244 career batting average with 16 homers."},{"_id":"ZCLZGEJOMZCQHOH63QC7W4SPKI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611771857073},"type":"text","content":"Adrianza has played more games at shortstop and third base than any other position but also has seen time at second base, first base and in the outfield."},{"_id":"K77TOYP2T5F5VGQNLN7YFT5OWM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611771857074},"type":"text","content":"The agreement with Adrianza followed third baseman Pablo Sandoval’s minor league deal with the Braves this week. Sandoval would receive a $1 million, one-year contract if he is added to the 40-man roster."},{"_id":"VNXKEC3OZZEXFDTGW2ZD2KJZ7I","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611771857075},"type":"text","content":"The 34-year-old Sandoval hit .214 in 84 at-bats with the Braves and San Francisco Giants in 2020."},{"_id":"WNTAJPZLSRCADBH2JRP3MTQNI4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611771857076},"type":"text","content":"Austin Riley enters spring training as the favorite to start at third base for the Braves. 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It's the first time the BBWAA didn't choose anyone since 2013."},{"_id":"ARX5ZRUN3NFQFLNAOUTH2XCGSQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309802},"type":"text","content":"Braves star Andruw Jones got 33.9% in his fourth year. "},{"_id":"CZP67PIO5RDADLLJNB7TPNJ4OM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309795},"type":"text","content":"Schilling, a right-handed ace who won three World Series titles, finished 16 votes short of the 75% threshold necessary for enshrinement. He got 71.1% percent this time after coming up 20 votes shy at 70% last year."},{"_id":"CU6J6I7TXJE3DEEVA3BUUEU76Y","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309796},"type":"text","content":"Schilling's on-field accomplishments face little dispute, but he has ostracized himself in retirement by directing hateful remarks toward Muslims, transgender people, journalists and others."},{"_id":"COH3TCKMPJDD5AOSJRFN4BUGRM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309797},"type":"text","content":"“It’s all right, the game doesn’t owe me anything,” Schilling said during a live video stream on his Twitter account."},{"_id":"I5DQZ4Y77NC2ZMKJKTKU2L2YWY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309798},"type":"text","content":"He later wrote on Facebook that he has asked the Hall of Fame to remove his name from next year’s ballot. Hall of Fame Board Chairman Janes Forbes Clark said in a statement that the board “will consider the request at our next meeting.”"},{"_id":"W3C7PSXXU5AAVGE6SYW2RPGOHI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309799},"type":"text","content":"Bonds (61.8%) and Clemens (61.6%) made minimal gains and joined Schilling in falling short on their ninth tries. Both face suspicions of performance-enhancing drug use — Clemens has denied using PEDs and Bonds has denied knowingly using PEDs."},{"_id":"YAIDUN74P5BZNDR6E67G3HGXNQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309800},"type":"text","content":"Bonds also has been accused of domestic violence and Clemens of maintaining a decade-long relationship with a singer who was 15 when they met."},{"_id":"3KDYGZMKYVEOHCA734UI7TONKM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309801},"type":"text","content":"Schilling, Clemens and Bonds will be joined on next year's ballot by sluggers Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz. Rodriguez was suspended for all of the 2014 season for violating MLB's PED policy and collective bargaining agreement, and Ortiz's name allegedly appeared on a list of players who tested positive in 2003."},{"_id":"ARX5ZRUN3NFQFLNAOUTH2XCGSQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309802},"type":"text","content":"Omar Vizquel, an 11-time Gold Glove winner, dropped from 52.6% last year to 49.1% after his wife accused him of repeated domestic abuses in December. Rockies slugger Todd Helton, who pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and was sentenced to two days in jail last year, got 44.9% in his third time on the ballot."},{"_id":"PGZLSQIFSJGMZFIUNFM3PNUSCI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309803},"type":"text","content":"Some players missed out over old-fashioned baseball disagreements, too. Slick-fielding third baseman Scott Rolen moved from 35.3% to 52.9% and hard-throwing closer Billy Wagner, who also played for the Braves, from 31.7% to 46.4%."},{"_id":"2YVRQIEZ35FJRFEZTWQRIOCDQA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309804},"type":"text","content":"It’s the 19th time the BBWAA has failed to elect a Hall member and just the third time since 1971. With the Hall of Fame's Era Committees postponing their scheduled elections until next offseason because of the pandemic, there won't be a new Hall class for the first time since 1960."},{"_id":"FFJG36J22RAPBIBKE5BNPBU6C4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309805},"type":"text","content":"Cooperstown won’t be without celebration next summer, though. After the 2020 ceremony in the upstate New York village was canceled due to the pandemic, Yankees great Derek Jeter and five-tool star Larry Walker will take center stage on July 25, a year later than planned. They’ll be honored alongside catcher Ted Simmons and late players’ association chief Marvin Miller."},{"_id":"HCGEBLSCERDKDDGNONXYRCXLCE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309806},"type":"text","content":"BBWAA members are instructed to elect Hall members “based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.”"},{"_id":"G22SN6ORQREIXPSSD5U3HPCUDE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309807},"type":"text","content":"At a time when social justice movements are pushing for a broader reckoning on sexual misconduct and racial inequality, character evaluation took on an outsized role in this election cycle. While the Hall’s inductees already include racists, cheaters, philanderers and criminals, the current voting bloc has — narrowly, in many cases — taken a stand against candidates they think have insufficient integrity."},{"_id":"4GMXMLIHUZCFDJZP6GMKBXRRAA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309808},"type":"text","content":"A record 14 voters sent blank ballots, topping the 12 sent in 2006."},{"_id":"ZIQYOLHT75BCZIFIMRFRFIUNFY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309809},"type":"text","content":"Schilling — a six-time All-Star over 20 seasons with Baltimore, Houston, Philadelphia, Arizona and Boston — has been embroiled in controversy throughout his retirement."},{"_id":"EWPRQEBGMBCUFMXJMEYPBRHINE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309810},"type":"text","content":"He launched a video game company, 38 Studios, that went bankrupt shortly after receiving a $75 million loan guarantee from Rhode Island, then was fired as an ESPN analyst after he sent a tweet comparing Muslim extremists to Nazi-era Germans and posted a derogatory Facebook comment about transgender people."},{"_id":"VQ5AOEEPX5DZZD47X74AUGEKX4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309811},"type":"text","content":"Months later, Schilling was again criticized after using social media to applaud a T-shirt calling for journalists to be lynched."},{"_id":"D24TLM3L3NG4HK6AKCOFENRZKQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309812},"type":"text","content":"On Jan. 6, the day of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, he said the following in a message on his Twitter account:"},{"_id":"LQDTO7GEC5BCPOOYUY2J3AYWAQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309813},"type":"text","content":"“You cowards sat on your hands, did nothing while liberal trash looted rioted and burned for air Jordan’s and big screens, sit back .... and watch folks start a confrontation for (expletive) that matters like rights, democracy and the end of govt corruption.”"},{"_id":"WPBDTYWSQZCHZI2LFKU2SYMXPY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309814},"type":"text","content":"That tweet was sent a few days after Hall of Fame ballots were due."},{"_id":"IEBMMLWJ4VHFTBTOHEJD43DB5Y","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309815},"type":"text","content":"Schilling wrote on Facebook that he would like the veterans committee to review his Hall case. That panel — comprised of former players, managers and others in the game, along with some writers — is tasked with evaluating players who don't get election via the BBWAA vote."},{"_id":"AOS7VOEBHVDVJGDTOJ25HAUV4Y","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309816},"type":"text","content":"“I’ll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter and who are in a position to actually judge a player,” Schilling wrote. “I don’t think I’m a hall of famer as I’ve often stated but if former players think I am then I’ll accept that with honor."},{"_id":"MPCMWRC5TBADBM5ZSW4A3MMA4I","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309817},"type":"text","content":"“In my heart I am at peace," he also wrote. “Nothing, zero, none of the claims being made by any of the writers hold merit.”"},{"_id":"B2JGFUHYWRGO3ITJGCL5YFQDNE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309818},"type":"text","content":"Bonds’ ex-wife testified in 1995 during divorce proceedings that he beat and kicked her. Bonds said he never physically abused her but once kicked her after she kicked him."},{"_id":"6LQDARWPHBGFJIXG6QSPQWOBSM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309819},"type":"text","content":"In 2008, the New York Daily News reported that Clemens had a decade-long relationship with country singer Mindy McCready that began when she was 15 and he was a star for the Boston Red Sox. Clemens apologized for unspecified mistakes in his personal life and denied having an affair with a 15-year-old. McCready later told “Inside Edition” she met Clemens when she was 16 and that the relationship didn’t turn sexual until several years later."},{"_id":"EMDV2LUL7BACFFLCAEPYRQ7BXE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309820},"type":"text","content":"The BBWAA recently voted overwhelmingly to remove the name and imprint of former Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis from MVP plaques. Landis became commissioner in 1920, and there were no Black players in the majors during his more than two decades in charge."},{"_id":"RJAEK2NJ45A2HFZXWTNTCVUCPQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611709309821},"type":"text","content":"Further down the ballot, outfielder Gary Sheffield jumped from 30.5% to 40.6% on his seventh time on the ballot and Jeff Kent improved from 27.5% to 32.4% in his eighth year. 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Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com","type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/N4JRRQMTOCBG3K2ESQIW572QW4.jpg","height":443}},"_id":"NUTC2OHTNVEXHNDWCJYN7DC6LU"},{"content_elements":[{"_id":"6KXGMZW3AFDGPKRQFMLJCKGMPU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611706106690},"type":"text","content":"The Braves will donate $1 million to launch the “Henry Louis Aaron Fund” aimed at increasing minority participation in baseball on and off the field, team chairman Terry McGuirk said Tuesday."},{"_id":"PALFQQA3YJAR3CJ6OBHN7PU4IE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611706106691},"type":"text","content":"In addition, MLB and the Players Association will donate $500,000 apiece to the fund, raising its total to $2 million."},{"_id":"VWUK7JJUT5BP3J7DFX74BAJ7Y4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611706106692},"type":"text","content":"“Hank’s lifetime passion was to increase minority participation in baseball, whether that was on the field, in baseball operations, on the business side of the front office or at Major League Baseball (headquarters),” McGuirk said."},{"_id":"DQBFXK56UFCWPOW2GTZWPVO4PM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611706106693},"type":"text","content":"MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred cited “a strong desire to continue with the good work (Aaron) did throughout his life, particularly with encouraging minority participation in baseball.”"},{"_id":"TZDWVXAE3RHA7DD2JCJ25TQFOY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611706106694},"type":"text","content":"The Braves also plan to honor Aaron in “many more ways,” McGuirk said, and “will be announcing some of these things shortly.”"}],"display_date":"2021-01-27T00:13:48.119Z","headlines":{"basic":"Braves donate $1M to form ‘Aaron Fund’ for MLB minority participation"},"first_publish_date":"2021-01-27T00:13:48.119Z","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","parent":{"default":"/sports"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"/sports","name":"Atlanta Braves","description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"/sports","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"/sports","TopNav":"/sports","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","site_title":"Atlanta Braves Baseball | AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Atlanta Braves"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"]},"order":{"TopNavRedesign":2002,"TopNav":2002,"ComposerNav":1138}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports/atlanta-braves","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"},{"path":"/sports","parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"https://www.ajc.com/","name":"Sports","description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","_id":"/sports","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"https://www.ajc.com/","TopNav":"https://www.ajc.com/","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"site_url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/","section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","site_title":"Atlanta Sports: High school, college and pro sports from the AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Sports"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Sports","_id":"/sports","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/"]},"order":{"default":1002,"TopNavRedesign":1010,"TopNav":1007,"ComposerNav":1136}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"}],"tags":[{"text":"atlanta braves"},{"text":"ajc-sports.ajc"},{"text":"hank-aaron"},{"text":"spcontent"}],"primary_section":{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","name":"Atlanta Braves"}},"type":"story","last_updated_date":"2021-01-27T16:02:08.633Z","canonical_url":"/sports/atlanta-braves/braves-donate-1m-to-form-aaron-fund-for-mlb-minority-participation/JMMHL7NY6JERNAFYTV4LJ455J4/","promo_items":{"basic":{"credits":{"affiliation":[{"name":"Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves","type":"author"}],"by":[{"name":"Kevin D. Liles","type":"author","byline":"Kevin D. Liles"}]},"subtitle":"Hank Aaron memorial","width":6000,"caption":"Braves Chairman Terry McGuirk speaks during a memorial service celebrating the life and legacy of Hank Aaron at Truist Park on Tuesday. . Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves","type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/ZI4R27YJTNCAXN3EBTJVEVXMGA.jpg","height":4000}},"_id":"JMMHL7NY6JERNAFYTV4LJ455J4"},{"content_elements":[{"_id":"FVPKTOMKLZBXDAWBZ6GAKDLOTA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580485},"type":"text","content":"Hank Aaron lived a life of legend. Now upon his death comes the hard, nearly impossible, duty of others to speak on it and attempt to do it justice."},{"_id":"Q5SOIP4E6FGFTH65PUMRHGRQZA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580486},"type":"text","content":"Oh, how they tried Tuesday, honoring a man who Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said, “belongs on our sport’s Mount Rushmore; he stood on and off the field above all others.”"},{"_id":"DYZA6HEHWFA7TKIGSREXOYCFZU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580487},"type":"text","content":"On this day the long goodbye to Aaron took the form of a memorial service at the current Braves ballpark a county away from where he broke Babe Ruth’s home run record almost 47 years ago, the shot heard throughout humanity. Aaron died in his sleep Friday morning at the age of 86."},{"_id":"XGB2OD4R3RATBM5Q5YGW4MTLJE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580488},"type":"text","content":"Pick up Tuesday’s tributes there, again in Manfred’s words: “(Aaron) delivered to his racist detractors the message that greatness – greatness in a man from the Deep South, a Black man from the Deep South – could not be suppressed. Just as Jackie Robinson was the perfect person to change our game forever in 1947, Hank Aaron was the perfect person to meet the historic moment that he created in 1974.”"},{"_id":"CVMSARHBIRAFPHOYA3KB7VH3IQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580489},"type":"text","content":"At Truist Park a large green No. 44 – Aaron’s number – stood out vividly against the outfield grass wearing its winter beige. 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Tributes, both in person and on video, followed from Manfred, Negro League Museum President Bob Kendrick, players past (Jones, fellow Hall of Famers Tom Glavine and John Smoltz, Dale Murphy, Marquis Grissom) and players present (Freddie Freeman). Braves manager Brian Snitker fought through the emotion of once more retelling the story of how much how owed Aaron. For it was while Aaron oversaw the Braves’ minor league system that he redirected a young catcher whose modest talents were taking him nowhere and gave him his first job managing."},{"_id":"BT7LZLW7HRB6TB7E5UWVNWMLEE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580492},"type":"text","content":"It has been a hard 10 months for a Braves lifer like the 65-year-old Snitker, who has watched pillar upon pillar of his franchise fall. First Bill Bartholomay, who brought the team to Atlanta from Milwaukee, died in March. Then in the last month Hall of Fame knuckleballer Phil Niekro and long-time Braves announcer and Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton died. 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To illustrate, the commissioner repeated a story that aptly summarized Aaron’s place in the firmament of star athletes: “The great Muhammad Ali once said that Hank was the only man I idolized more than myself.”"},{"_id":"6JIRGBUZSZGNZGJGU3R7TTKX4Q","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580500},"type":"text","content":"Those who have done stout work in the community – like Grissom, whose baseball academy encourages minority participation in the sport – pointed to Aaron’s example of community involvement as a guiding light."},{"_id":"QGLD2Z7JP5HJXH4NVGIK24NURQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580501},"type":"text","content":"“He lit a fire in me that is still lit today,” Grissom said."},{"_id":"VL7XPKBGRRGY5JXZE6S3RQZ3E4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580502},"type":"text","content":"“I wanted to be like him. 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When he wasn’t suggesting Snitker try this managing thing or that the team draft Jones ahead of some pitcher named Todd Van Poppel, his mere presence around the team set a standard."},{"_id":"H6BVFYM5MNDD5JF3AVIEWXS6C4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580505},"type":"text","content":"“It’s been an honor of a lifetime to be able to wear the same uniform that Hank Aaron wore,” Murphy said during his video tribute."},{"_id":"WGMRM647XJEHVMKD37WJQYZQMA","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"NPGMOZXD2JBPRJHWKD7ATAL4L4"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/hank-aaron-news/","content":"The AJC's complete coverage on the life of Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"LYCNQD7XQBBWJPNBVTBUFZ6YFM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580506},"type":"text","content":"“Hank’s spirit permeated our whole organization. If you wanted to be a ballplayer, this is the way you play. If you want to represent your organization, this is how you act. If you want to serve your fellow man, this is what you do.”"},{"_id":"JIKGXZS2JBGTDB32QENKJOHAY4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580507},"type":"text","content":"Said Jones: “He set the perfect example for everyone in the Atlanta Braves organization on how to deal with adversity: You just spread a little grace on it and go play ball. Keep swinging, as he would say.”"},{"_id":"QVWXMS3OYRFEHGBQLNYREHF4NU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580508},"type":"text","content":"Another duty of those speaking on Aaron’s life was to underscore its everlasting value."},{"_id":"HWUQZ3Y3EJAX5PQIHNB5CGVBX4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580509},"type":"text","content":"Smoltz started, saying, “I promise you Hank’s memory will live forever. Baseball won’t forget. Atlanta won’t forget.”"},{"_id":"2VVRS23LWZE5PB3TN7TNS7DLPY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580510},"type":"text","content":"And Jones closed: “If Hank were to have one last message for us, it would be to respect each other, to help each other and keep love in your heart."},{"_id":"4PGA66UJTZGMJL75DSALDAGF4Y","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702580511},"type":"text","content":"“Hammer, you were a transcendent baseball player, but you also were a transcendent figure in American history. 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Liles/Atlanta Braves","type":"author"}],"by":[{"name":"Kevin D. Liles","type":"author","byline":"Kevin D. Liles"}]},"subtitle":"Hank Aaron memorial","width":5702,"caption":"Braves Manager Brian Snitker speaks during Tuesday's memorial service for Hank Aaron at Truist Park. Photo by Kevin D. 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We love you.”"},{"_id":"3WHLSBWE3NA3BMG6ZL3YFSPREE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122266},"type":"text","content":"Here are excerpts from the tributes."},{"_id":"UJBA7Z2LHBBWXJ2GFXDU677XR4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122267},"type":"text","content":"Rob Manfred, MLB commissioner:"},{"_id":"3FAOY3OI35G2HGD5VP5GZQHSYU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122268},"type":"text","content":"“The man we gather to remember today belongs on our sport’s Mount Rushmore. He stood on and off the field above all others. While he made his name here in Atlanta and in Milwaukee, his loss has been felt across our great nation. Henry Aaron was a giant of a man. His accomplishments were quite literally the stuff of legends."},{"_id":"33YJWMWSHBBHRJHNXUTW42NR7A","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122269},"type":"text","content":"“There was so much more to Hank Aaron than his feats on the field. Hank Aaron was not just a great player; he was truly a great man. Hank Aaron carried himself with a sense of dignity. When you were around Hank, you could sense an aura of greatness, and people were naturally drawn to that aura."},{"_id":"4BMCTYFHLRABHLUXJJ4LQWPTYI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122270},"type":"text","content":"“Hank Aaron was humble. I knew Hank for more than two decades, and I never once heard him talk about his own accomplishments on the field. In fact, when others would talk about Hank’s great career, he would acknowledge that conversation only with that wonderful smile of his."},{"_id":"U5NQ634PKVB5ZFP57DZ5MLESBM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122271},"type":"text","content":"“Hank Aaron was an agent of change in our society. As he chased Babe Ruth’s record, he received vile, racist threats. Through that wrenching period, he courageously demonstrated the strength to keep going. He persevered and delivered to all African-Americans an accomplishment in which they could take great pride. He also delivered to his racist detractors the message that greatness – greatness in a man from the Deep South, a Black man from the Deep South – could not be suppressed. Just as Jackie Robinson was the perfect person to change our game forever in 1947, Hank Aaron was the perfect person to meet the historic moment that he created in 1974.”"},{"_id":"F3BDNUZNIVEFDJJ5HQ625BLUD4","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"THCHBD7MGVCULBRDYN6M2WLNIE"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/hank-aaron-news/","content":"The AJC's complete coverage on the life of Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"5WTYSUPZORHMDJGNVMCZFTB3RU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122272},"type":"text","content":"Terry McGuirk, Braves chairman:"},{"_id":"N3YH4P6V4JBZFHBDUY4KEPKDQE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122273},"type":"text","content":"“Over the last several days, Hank’s list of on-field accomplishments has been mentioned repeatedly – and rightfully so because it’s hard to fathom the depth of talent and the fact he still holds some of these records 40-years-plus after he retired."},{"_id":"TTQAMEKHMRGIBPFUHKSFLZ7RAI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122274},"type":"text","content":"“To us, though, he will always be known as our home-run king. And for our organization, Hank was much more than those stats, much more than the greatest ballplayer of all time. He helped guide our organization ever since his playing days ended. I love hearing the stories about players first meeting Hank and the reverence they felt being around him. But once they were able to speak to him, it was his knowledge and respect for the game which always stood out. Doing things the right way was one of his mantras."},{"_id":"4NSZNQWPQ5EGHF7BRAPT6STYQU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122275},"type":"text","content":"“Just as important as his guidance for our organization has been, his extraordinary community outreach and philanthropy have surpassed any major-league record he attained. … The world -- not just Alabama, Milwaukee or Atlanta – the world is a better place because of Henry Louis Aaron and (his wife) Billye.”"},{"_id":"LGCZB7HHBRG2BLCEUVPMUAAEGI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122276},"type":"text","content":"Marquis Grissom, former Braves outfielder:"},{"_id":"FSRVGQ7KJ5HXDLGV5QI4Q4R5KM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122277},"type":"text","content":"“In 1987, I was in college at Florida A&M University, where I was coached by Robert Lucas, brother of Bill Lucas, former GM of the Atlanta Braves. Also there was Lary Aaron, who was the outfield coach. One trip we were making was from Tallahassee, Florida, to North Carolina A&T, and coach Robert Lucas said, ‘We’re going to stop in Atlanta and go by and see Hank Aaron.’ In my mind, I’m, like, ‘Yeah, right.’ And, lo and behold, Lary told me, ‘Yeah, we’re really going to stop by and see my dad.’ That was my first encounter with Henry Aaron."},{"_id":"6EQUJMX3YZGJTPL5JQWWOAIL2Q","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122278},"type":"text","content":"“During the visit at his house, he sat us all down and talked with us one by one. Those famous words came out of his mouth: ‘You’ve got to get your education. If you get an opportunity, do your very best.’ And he said, ‘As a man, you’re going to get one good opportunity in your lifetime. You’ll be lucky if you get two.’"},{"_id":"FSCMS24AFZET3OEBNIDST6TOJY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122279},"type":"text","content":"“Those words … stuck with me, lit a fire inside of me that is still lit today. That’s why I love and admire and respect Henry Aaron. 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You’ve got to remember he was facing (Bob) Gibson, (Sandy) Koufax, (Don) Drysdale, guys like that. He said, ‘Chipper, I fear no man when I have a bat in my hand.’"},{"_id":"44NAFHAYEFEKPGZAXPSK4LFXRM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122283},"type":"text","content":"“I’ve been asked many times in the last few days to describe Henry Aaron in one word. Without hesitation, that one word is simply ‘beautiful.’ The swing, the smile and the spirit, all beautiful."},{"_id":"C3W6KZDI35BUFE7CR7AY6MCBAU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122284},"type":"text","content":"“He set the perfect example for everybody in the Atlanta Braves organization on how to deal with adversity. You just spread a little grace on it, and you go play ball. Keep swinging, as he would say. I feel that if Hank were to have one last message for all of us, it would be to respect each other, to help each other and to keep love in your heart.”"},{"syndication":{"search":true},"subheadlines":{"basic":"Braves manager Snitker gives emotional speech about Hank Aaron"},"description":{"basic":"Braves manager Snitker gives emotional speech about Hank Aaron"},"language":"en","taxonomy":{"primary_site":{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","type":"site","version":"0.5.8","primary":true},"sites":[{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","type":"site","version":"0.5.8","primary":true},{"path":"/sports","name":"Sports","_id":"/sports","type":"site","version":"0.5.8","primary":false}],"sections":[{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","_website":"ajc","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","type":"section","version":"0.6.0","primary":true},{"path":"/sports","_website":"ajc","name":"Sports","_id":"/sports","type":"section","version":"0.6.0","primary":false}],"tags":[{"text":"spcontent"},{"text":"hank-aaron"},{"text":"atlanta-braves"}],"primary_section":{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","_website":"ajc","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","type":"section","version":"0.6.0","primary":true},"seo_keywords":[]},"source":{"system":"video center","edit_url":"https://ajc.arcpublishing.com/goldfish/video/60106e75c9e77c000171459a"},"type":"video","related_content":{"redirect":[],"basic":[]},"tracking":{"in_url_headline":"braves-manager-snitker-gives-emotional-speech-about-hank-aaron"},"short_url":"/sports/atlanta-braves/braves-manager-snitker-gives-emotional-speech-about-hank-aaron/43bb7b61-c94e-45ed-9575-d1c2be289210/","duration":361621,"promo_image":{"credits":{},"width":1920,"caption":"snitker","type":"image","version":"0.5.8","url":"https://d1fegwn2wjh0cs.cloudfront.net/01-26-2021/t_1b6366070774499d90627e421cb253d3_name_snitker_aaron_memorial.jpg","height":1080},"credits":{},"first_publish_date":"2021-01-26T19:39:50Z","additional_properties":{"KYLA6LECWJC7PHKACAUZSIESQQ":"01-26-2021/t_1b6366070774499d90627e421cb253d3_name_snitker_aaron_memorial.jpg","subsection":"Atlanta Braves","videoCategory":"vod","videoId":"60106e75c9e77c000171459a","vertical":false,"embedContinuousPlay":true,"imageResizerUrls":[],"advertising":{"commercialAdNode":"/sports/atlanta-braves","playVideoAds":true,"forceAd":false,"allowPrerollOnDomain":false,"enableAutoPreview":true,"autoPlayPreroll":false,"enableServerSideFallback":false,"playAds":true,"enableAdInsertion":false,"videoAdZone":""},"disableUpNext":false,"videoAdZone":"","platform":"desktop","playVideoAds":true,"playlist":"/sports","useVariants":false,"has_published_copy":true,"playlistTags":["/sports"],"firstPublishedBy":{"name":"Ryon Horne","email":"ryon.horne@ajc.com","lastname":""},"anglerfishArcId":"KYLA6LECWJC7PHKACAUZSIESQQ","comments":[],"isWire":false,"gifAsThumbnail":false,"published":true,"lastPublishedBy":{"name":"Rudy ISAZA","email":"Rudolf.Isaza@ajc.com","lastname":""},"permalinkUrl":"/sports/atlanta-braves/braves-manager-snitker-gives-emotional-speech-about-hank-aaron/43bb7b61-c94e-45ed-9575-d1c2be289210/","forceClosedCaptionsOn":false,"doNotShowTranscripts":false,"_id":"IBLWQPQDRREANNHD6VQAYWV4AI"},"last_updated_date":"2021-01-26T20:45:49Z","owner":{"sponsored":false},"subtitles":{},"embed_html":"
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That’s how I got to see him for the person he was, got to know him and work with him. None of us ever felt like we were working for Hank, always with him."},{"_id":"ZZYERMO3YZARFM4QPQKIWOBRRM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122287},"type":"text","content":"“Hank would never call without first asking how you were doing, how the family was or if I needed anything. Then we’d talk about the team. In his role as farm director, he developed young managers and coaches and in return allowed us to develop the players he entrusted to us. We all wanted to do well for him and reward that trust."},{"_id":"P3NXIUEFLFC6RE2OPQQ3QX2RRU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122288},"type":"text","content":"“I’ll miss the friend and mentor that I had in my life.”"},{"_id":"JS75HJPIDRGRRKVD3Z6OJNE2FE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122289},"type":"text","content":"Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City (on video):"},{"_id":"SCBRP4BHOFHYLCNMKHCBRKG4OU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122290},"type":"text","content":"“Henry Aaron means the world to me. He is my all-time favorite major-league baseball player. He was my childhood idol as a kid growing up in tiny Crawfordville, Georgia."},{"_id":"ZGXHUGLMCZCSDPNKQNP33NT5QM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122291},"type":"text","content":"“I am tremendously honored and humbled to reflect on where his illustrious professional baseball career began, in the Negro Leagues. My favorite photograph in the (museum’s) entire exhibition is a relatively nondescript photograph of a then-18-year-old Henry Aaron standing at the train station in Mobile, Alabama, and at his feet is a duffel bag. When I had the opportunity to tour him through the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for the first time in 1999, he told me, ‘Bob, I may have had two changes of clothes in that bag, $1.50 in my pocket and a ham sandwich that my momma had made me, and I was going to go chase that dream.’ (He was) headed to the Indianapolis Clowns, a skinny, cross-handed hitting shortstop. When he gets to the Clowns, they put the right hand on top, and the rest, as they say, is history."},{"_id":"5RSVYB5Y7FEWNMKKQPTDQ2HBFY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“Henry Aaron will go down in this game as one of its all-time greatest players, but more importantly Henry Aaron will go down in the annals of American history as one of the greatest human beings to ever walk the face of this earth.”"},{"_id":"MBDFI7ZXMBGHTENRK34554OSCU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122293},"type":"text","content":"Dusty Baker, Houston Astros manager and former Braves teammate of Aaron’s (on video):"},{"_id":"XKG365BYRVDQ3JWBVRD6HVWZGE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122294},"type":"text","content":"“You (Aaron) meant as much to me as anybody in my whole life. I just want to thank you for giving me love, discipline. Sometimes, you know, you had to tell me like it was. But I really appreciated (you) helping me be the man that I am."},{"_id":"7VTYWNMG3JFAPEBXAZK26EDXFE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122295},"type":"text","content":"“We all love you. We’ll see you in Heaven.”"},{"_id":"KMJF4ZMOYBCGTPE4TB5YOZ2QRU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122296},"type":"text","content":"Dale Murphy, former Braves player (on video):"},{"_id":"H7J4AXAWS5CN7FQ4FRP4WLUGNM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122297},"type":"text","content":"“As I have (grown) older and understood the challenges that Hank faced in not only being a ballplayer but serving his fellow man as well, my admiration and respect is beyond measure. I’ll never understand how he did it and how he carried himself with such grace and dignity. But I’ll always be thankful for the chance to rub shoulders with Hank Aaron."},{"_id":"6TL5TYDQB5GELFWY3U3VRU74BY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122298},"type":"text","content":"“I felt something different when I was in his presence, and I’ve been around a lot of ballplayers that have achieved a lot of records. But there was something special about Hank. Hank was the epitome of how we should all be as human beings.”"},{"_id":"DEHW27P2INEZFKRCRWD6MB5XTU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122299},"type":"text","content":"Freddie Freeman, Braves first baseman (on video):"},{"_id":"57GBVDFTC5EIRGIVXNJ7RJBNBY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122300},"type":"text","content":"“Hank Aaron, a man that was the epitome of love. From every conversation, every handshake and every smile, that’s how he made me feel."},{"_id":"XGSJ4DX7ZNA3LMEDBYN767EZJQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122301},"type":"text","content":"“God gave him the talent, and he used that talent to become the greatest baseball player of all time. But more importantly, he used it to make our city, our country and the world a better place.”"},{"_id":"KNFSHX2SYVBAJPH5KY2ORW6IIE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611702122302},"type":"text","content":"
"}],"display_date":"2021-01-26T23:01:31.103Z","headlines":{"basic":"Tributes to Hank Aaron, ‘a giant of a man,’ at Truist Park "},"first_publish_date":"2021-01-26T23:01:31.103Z","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","parent":{"default":"/sports"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"/sports","name":"Atlanta Braves","description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"/sports","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"/sports","TopNav":"/sports","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","site_title":"Atlanta Braves Baseball | AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Atlanta Braves"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"]},"order":{"TopNavRedesign":2002,"TopNav":2002,"ComposerNav":1138}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports/atlanta-braves","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"},{"path":"/sports","parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"https://www.ajc.com/","name":"Sports","description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","_id":"/sports","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"https://www.ajc.com/","TopNav":"https://www.ajc.com/","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"site_url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/","section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","site_title":"Atlanta Sports: High school, college and pro sports from the AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Sports"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Sports","_id":"/sports","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/"]},"order":{"default":1002,"TopNavRedesign":1010,"TopNav":1007,"ComposerNav":1136}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"}],"tags":[{"text":"atlanta braves"},{"text":"ajc-sports.ajc"},{"text":"hank-aaron"},{"text":"spcontent"}],"primary_section":{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","name":"Atlanta Braves"}},"type":"story","last_updated_date":"2021-01-27T15:47:43.871Z","canonical_url":"/sports/atlanta-braves/tributes-to-hank-aaron-a-giant-of-a-man-at-truist-park/YWYRLOBSEVBJDN2QSM6JLCPCLY/","promo_items":{"basic":{"credits":{"affiliation":[{"name":"Kevin D. 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What he did for the game, what he did for the game racially, he’s one of the greatest.”"},{"_id":"HYTH33ZS7VDYLKWQ63WZILOWWU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611698496844},"type":"text","content":"Aaron, a civil rights icon and the best player in Braves history, died Jan. 22 at age 86. Many in the baseball world gathered Tuesday for a private celebration of Aaron’s life."},{"_id":"DFFDJ6VHERFZTE7RCIVFIVATL4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611698496845},"type":"text","content":"Leading to the 1 p.m. service, former Braves filed into the stadium through the third-base gate, including Andruw Jones, Jeff Francoeur, Ron Gant, Brian Jordan, Brian McCann, Terry Pendleton and Gary Matthews, among others. At the nearby Phil Niekro statue, fans signed a large card dedicated to Aaron."},{"_id":"6DOJDI5VY5AXLLZVUJUFMZDJ2I","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611698496846},"type":"text","content":"“Thank you for being a timeless example of humility and greatness in a world of hate and envy! Godspeed! #44 forever,” wrote one signee. “God bless you and the legacy you have left will live on forever,” another wrote. Several signed “755″ on the card, a tribute to Aaron’s home-run total. People also placed a baseball and flowers in the Niekro statue’s glove. Niekro, a Hall of Fame knuckleballer and beloved Brave, died Dec. 26."},{"_id":"MCUPWHAOJ5EATP4Z3GXTOIVDAE","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"M24SK6XBWBCJPIBQIN3LGM4CWI"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/hank-aaron-memorial-services-at-truist-park/ZH5A3CVPSFB2ZJ2PSIHUF3GHKE/","content":"Photos from the memorial"},{"_id":"GFVWM4QZZJBHPNJ2YUKV66VABM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611698496847},"type":"text","content":"Braves manager Brian Snitker, Hall of Famer Chipper Jones and former outfielder Marquis Grissom were among those who spoke in the Monument Garden, where Aaron’s statue is displayed. Several other franchise greats, including John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Dale Murphy and Freddie Freeman sent their condolences through a video. Braves chairman Terry McGuirk announced the Henry Louis Aaron Fund to increase minority participation in baseball before Timothy Miller closed by singing “Amazing Grace.”"},{"_id":"4IIWGOFC4RACDH67PESHCZDGNQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611698496848},"type":"text","content":"Outside, groups of fans gathered to watch on the screen at the Georgia Power Pavilion."},{"_id":"JRIVCF6X2ZCFBM5ZGYOGYNT5RE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611698496849},"type":"text","content":"“I’m a big fan of the Braves and I’ve always been a huge fan of Hank Aaron,” said Randy George, who was visiting from Anderson, South Carolina. “I just wanted to come out here and pay my respects. He’s meant a lot to the Braves. He has always been a leader and spark for this franchise. I hate it for the family. I hate that he’s passed. But he’ll always be in our hearts, and he’ll always be in the Braves’ hearts. 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There was a motorcycle procession on Battery Avenue SE shortly before the service began."},{"_id":"5GDR562LU5H2HAQSK66PYH2ZXU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611698496851},"type":"text","content":"Aaron’s funeral will be held 1 p.m. Wednesday at Friendship Baptist Church. 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I think it’s just important that we quell these kind of rumors because we don’t want people to be dissuaded from getting the vaccine.”"},{"_id":"YOIHWJTHLVEUZB55Q2NGZM5LAA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611684384830},"type":"text","content":"At the time of his vaccination, Aaron said he was proud."},{"_id":"7UD2QBECUBGFTN7TMGNHVFI4AM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611684384831},"type":"text","content":"“[Getting vaccinated] makes me feel wonderful,” Aaron said. “I don’t have any qualms about it at all, you know. I feel quite proud of myself for doing something like this. ... It’s just a small thing that can help zillions of people in this country.”"},{"_id":"UMMLEJIAZNH6FFGPD35EUE2BTM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611684384832},"type":"text","content":"A memorial service was held Tuesday for Aaron at Truist Park. 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That’s what he taught (former teammate) Dusty (Baker) and me: If you can’t help somebody, don’t hurt nobody."},{"_id":"7RQSYSEEWFHBXFOKYQAOFHX22M","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611616080070},"type":"text","content":"“That’s what I love about him: He just made all of us care about one another. He didn’t care what color you were. All of us were human beings, and we should love and respect one another at all times."},{"_id":"GV2JDGTJHFALJJFM5WPV223TI4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611616080071},"type":"text","content":"“I used to room with Hank Aaron sometimes ... when we’d go on the road in spring training. He did so much for me and Dusty and everybody that we just want the world to know what a wonderful man he was, other than being a remarkable baseball player.”"},{"_id":"MY4ZXK5W6FF2FLKA5TY2AGYKUQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611611047934},"type":"text","content":"
"},{"owner":{"sponsored":false,"id":"ajc"},"copyright":"Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved","address":{"locality":"North Port","country_name":"USA","region":"Fl"},"syndication":{},"caption":"Former Atlanta Braves outfielder Ralph Garr in the dugout during a spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019 in North Port, Fla. 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The speedy outfielder split the 1969 and 1970 seasons between Atlanta and the minor leagues, became a big-league regular in 1971 and played for the Braves through 1975. His .353 batting average, 214 hits and 17 triples led the National League in 1974. Hitting leadoff or second in the batting order, he averaged 29 stolen bases a year from 1971 through 1974 -- and could have had more steals if not for the slugger hitting behind him."},{"_id":"ASXBWQXVJFDB3DEJIWSAYPKSDM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611616080075},"type":"text","content":"“I came up (nicknamed) as the ‘Road Runner,’ and the Braves advertised that for a while,” Garr said. “But when Mr. Aaron was batting third, you didn’t need (a lot of stolen bases) because he could drive you in from first base pretty good, too.”"},{"_id":"7PA4MDREDJAMZGUQGATCZ6UEHM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611616080076},"type":"text","content":"The Braves traded Garr in December 1975, and he played five more seasons with the Chicago White Sox and California Angels. He had a career batting average of .306."},{"_id":"LRBCGPRO7VE2JFYSBEGSSQPSMI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611616080077},"type":"text","content":"Garr is now in his 37th year as a scout for the Braves, a career that started because Aaron invited his friend to visit him at the baseball winter meetings in Houston in 1984. During that visit, Garr expressed interest in working for the Braves. Aaron, then the team’s director of player development, and Paul Snyder, then the director of scouting, hired Garr as a scout and minor-league baserunning coach."},{"_id":"JQUT4NSAD5EZZFGIRBGCIY2TFY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611616080078},"type":"text","content":"“I have enjoyed every minute of it,” Garr said. “I was able to watch (Tom) Glavine and (John) Smoltz and Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones and all those wonderful ballplayers come up through the Braves organization. It has been a wonderful experience for me and my family."},{"_id":"QZSE2BYNJVD7RM6EU7LT7PQEUU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611616080079},"type":"text","content":"“It all started because Hank Aaron called me and I went down there to the winter meetings as a friend and ended up being hired.”"},{"_id":"MZ5XULL5X5CZRH33UXSJVRUEEY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611616080080},"type":"text","content":"From his early playing days through his long scouting career, Garr relied upon Aaron’s advice."},{"_id":"PECXM2YO3VFH5GPQEP773I2BAE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611616080081},"type":"text","content":"“He wasn’t a guy who made a whole lot of noise and everything and said a whole lot,” Garr said, “but if you ever went to him for advice, he would really take pride in giving you the best advice he thought possible for that situation.”"},{"_id":"UEXEKV3A3RE6REHSJCJ2OKPQOM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611616080082},"type":"text","content":"When they were teammates as players, “he would always tell me that you’ve got to be true to yourself and work on your weakness some, but stay with your strength and work hard every day and do what you know is right and play the game hard,” Garr said. “And (his) No. 1 thing was: Be a good teammate, and respect the game of baseball.”"}],"display_date":"2021-01-25T23:12:21.889Z","headlines":{"basic":"Former teammate Ralph Garr: Hank Aaron ‘did so much for me’ "},"first_publish_date":"2021-01-25T23:07:24.655Z","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","parent":{"default":"/sports"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"/sports","name":"Atlanta Braves","description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"/sports","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"/sports","TopNav":"/sports","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","site_title":"Atlanta Braves Baseball | AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Atlanta Braves"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"]},"order":{"TopNavRedesign":2002,"TopNav":2002,"ComposerNav":1138}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports/atlanta-braves","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"},{"path":"/sports","parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"https://www.ajc.com/","name":"Sports","description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","_id":"/sports","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"https://www.ajc.com/","TopNav":"https://www.ajc.com/","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"site_url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/","section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","site_title":"Atlanta Sports: High school, college and pro sports from the AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Sports"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Sports","_id":"/sports","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/"]},"order":{"default":1002,"TopNavRedesign":1010,"TopNav":1007,"ComposerNav":1136}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"}],"tags":[{"text":"atlanta braves"},{"text":"ajc-sports.ajc"}],"primary_section":{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","name":"Atlanta Braves"}},"type":"story","last_updated_date":"2021-01-25T23:12:45.840Z","canonical_url":"/sports/atlanta-braves/former-teammate-ralph-garr-aaron-did-so-much-for-me/DQU4RMVHZVFRFGXEAEHZV2Q6L4/","promo_items":{"basic":{"credits":{"by":[{"name":"AJC file photo","type":"author","byline":"AJC file photo","slug":"ajc-file-photo"}]},"subtitle":"Looking back: Former Brave Ralph Garr","width":2854,"caption":"Former Braves outfielder Ralph Garr finished his major-league career as a .306 hitter. 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The Braves welcome fans to continue to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Henry Aaron by visiting his statue inside of Monument Garden at Truist Park tomorrow Sunday, January 24 from 1pm-5pm ET. pic.twitter.com/fT4fTrbbsO
— Truist Park (@TruistPark) January 23, 2021
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He led the league in RBIs four times and accrued 11 seasons with more than 100 runs batted in. Aaron also is the all-time leader in total bases (6,856) and extra-base hits (1,477)."},{"_id":"OAXBHJYSAFEU7JWNMPQMAV6YKQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738505},"type":"text","content":"3,771 and 2,174: Aaron ranks third all-time with 3,771 hits, outpaced by only Pete Rose and Ty Cobb. A commonly referenced yet absurd statistic: If you remove Aaron’s 755 homers, he’d still be part of the 3,000-hit club. He’s also fourth all-time with 2,174 runs scored, trailing only Rickey Henderson, Cobb and Bonds."},{"_id":"GJ23LQJ3RVEUHHRKD6N6T5SWQA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738506},"type":"text","content":"25: Aaron was a 25-time All-Star, most in history (MLB had two All-Star games from 1959-62). He was an All-Star in 21 consecutive seasons from 1955-75 with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers."},{"_id":"VWQWZEHSRNFEJNNRCHUFIHBREQ","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"UL4I2OUBRZDLPCQXY7PFDSXC3U"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/atlanta/hank-aaron-condolences/197566249?cid=view","content":"Read and sign the guestbook for Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"HZ2TA7IW5JDEFKQ6PIFO5Y724A","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738507},"type":"text","content":"1957: This was a notable season in Aaron’s career because he achieved two milestones: A championship and an MVP. Aaron won his only World Series title when his Milwaukee Braves bested the defending champion New York Yankees. It was a star-studded series featuring eight Hall of Fame players, including Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Aaron."},{"_id":"VZ3TEYDRNJGXRJPMN2UJ7FGBGQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738508},"type":"text","content":"Aaron, 23, won his only MVP after hitting .322/.378/.600 with a league-leading 44 homers and 132 RBIs. It was the second consecutive season Aaron led the majors in total bases, a feat he accomplished eight times in his career."},{"_id":"7J3S4W6HBBB2HBRDFZZOTVBVZQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738509},"type":"text","content":"1973: A sign of his consistency and dominance even in the later years: In his age-39 season, Aaron hit .301 with 40 homers and 96 RBIs. He had 20 seasons in which he exceeded 20 home runs."},{"_id":"MHD4W6W6OJCEVDZ6DXSRVMFMXQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738510},"type":"text","content":"1,402 vs. 1,383: Remarkably, Aaron walked more than he struck out. In fact, he never struck out 100 times in a season – his highest total was 97 strikeouts in 1967."},{"_id":"6QFBFRNDBVCZZLGFPV7TO4QE5A","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738511},"type":"text","content":"2 + 3: Aaron twice won the batting title, hitting .328 in 1956 and .355 in 1959. He also won three Gold Gloves, doing so from 1958-60 as an outfielder."},{"_id":"GHMPLOYPDFBCTLAMXSWNHZ2JD4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738512},"type":"text","content":"Career slash line: Aaron hit .305/.374/.555 across 3,298 games. He averaged 37 homers and 113 RBIs – with 69 walks against 68 strikeouts – annually over a 162-game pace."},{"_id":"GVI2JSEJI5ECXJZ4ZKFRGVN76Y","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738513},"type":"text","content":"Through the years: Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, his first year on the ballot. The Braves retired his No. 44 in 1977, while the Brewers retired No. 44 in 1976. Major League Baseball created the “Hank Aaron Award” on Feb. 5, 1999, Aaron’s 65th birthday. The award goes to the best offensive player in the National and American League. Aaron received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. 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During that chase, Aaron remained graceful and courageous in the face of constant hate and vitriol. Aaron became an icon and inspiration well beyond his on-field achievements."},{"_id":"WAURMWBQZVBNPOGS4KE2IUDA44","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738501},"type":"text","content":"There’s no player with a longer list of eye-popping numbers, but we put together some of Aaron’s best:"},{"_id":"Q5BLNPOFLVADBBL33UE74SAR4M","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738502},"type":"text","content":"755: The number most associated with Aaron is 755, his career home run total. Aaron set the record (which was previously 714) on April 8, 1974 when the Braves were hosting the Dodgers at then-Atlanta Stadium."},{"_id":"HS27WPEHPZHS3PAXVGFBRO6ATI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738503},"type":"text","content":"Aaron’s high mark stood for 33 years. When Barry Bonds surpassed the total in 2007, Aaron shared in his congratulatory video: “My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams.”"},{"syndication":{"search":true},"subheadlines":{"basic":"Baseball legend Hank Aaron died at the age of 86. Here he talks with the AJC about his legacy in a 2014 interview."},"description":{"basic":"Baseball legend Hank Aaron died at the age of 86. 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He led the league in RBIs four times and accrued 11 seasons with more than 100 runs batted in. Aaron also is the all-time leader in total bases (6,856) and extra-base hits (1,477)."},{"_id":"OAXBHJYSAFEU7JWNMPQMAV6YKQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738505},"type":"text","content":"3,771 and 2,174: Aaron ranks third all-time with 3,771 hits, outpaced by only Pete Rose and Ty Cobb. A commonly referenced yet absurd statistic: If you remove Aaron’s 755 homers, he’d still be part of the 3,000-hit club. He’s also fourth all-time with 2,174 runs scored, trailing only Rickey Henderson, Cobb and Bonds."},{"_id":"GJ23LQJ3RVEUHHRKD6N6T5SWQA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738506},"type":"text","content":"25: Aaron was a 25-time All-Star, most in history (MLB had two All-Star games from 1959-62). He was an All-Star in 21 consecutive seasons from 1955-75 with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers."},{"_id":"VWQWZEHSRNFEJNNRCHUFIHBREQ","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"UL4I2OUBRZDLPCQXY7PFDSXC3U"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/atlanta/hank-aaron-condolences/197566249?cid=view","content":"Read and sign the guestbook for Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"HZ2TA7IW5JDEFKQ6PIFO5Y724A","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738507},"type":"text","content":"1957: This was a notable season in Aaron’s career because he achieved two milestones: A championship and an MVP. Aaron won his only World Series title when his Milwaukee Braves bested the defending champion New York Yankees. It was a star-studded series featuring eight Hall of Fame players, including Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Aaron."},{"_id":"VZ3TEYDRNJGXRJPMN2UJ7FGBGQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738508},"type":"text","content":"Aaron, 23, won his only MVP after hitting .322/.378/.600 with a league-leading 44 homers and 132 RBIs. It was the second consecutive season Aaron led the majors in total bases, a feat he accomplished eight times in his career."},{"_id":"7J3S4W6HBBB2HBRDFZZOTVBVZQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738509},"type":"text","content":"1973: A sign of his consistency and dominance even in the later years: In his age-39 season, Aaron hit .301 with 40 homers and 96 RBIs. He had 20 seasons in which he exceeded 20 home runs."},{"_id":"MHD4W6W6OJCEVDZ6DXSRVMFMXQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738510},"type":"text","content":"1,402 vs. 1,383: Remarkably, Aaron walked more than he struck out. In fact, he never struck out 100 times in a season – his highest total was 97 strikeouts in 1967."},{"_id":"6QFBFRNDBVCZZLGFPV7TO4QE5A","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738511},"type":"text","content":"2 + 3: Aaron twice won the batting title, hitting .328 in 1956 and .355 in 1959. He also won three Gold Gloves, doing so from 1958-60 as an outfielder."},{"_id":"GHMPLOYPDFBCTLAMXSWNHZ2JD4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738512},"type":"text","content":"Career slash line: Aaron hit .305/.374/.555 across 3,298 games. He averaged 37 homers and 113 RBIs – with 69 walks against 68 strikeouts – annually over a 162-game pace."},{"_id":"GVI2JSEJI5ECXJZ4ZKFRGVN76Y","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738513},"type":"text","content":"Through the years: Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, his first year on the ballot. The Braves retired his No. 44 in 1977, while the Brewers retired No. 44 in 1976. Major League Baseball created the “Hank Aaron Award” on Feb. 5, 1999, Aaron’s 65th birthday. The award goes to the best offensive player in the National and American League. Aaron received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. In November 2020, Aaron announced Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman as the NL MVP during MLB Network’s award broadcast."},{"_id":"OAB5HLHU7VHILO63OGECRADNHQ","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"3SPNUXGZORGAFCNV43RYXNQENI"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/the-ajc-remembers-the-life-of-baseball-legend-hank-aaron/JEENBRNDBJCO7MIXBSNMHG3TQI/","content":"More from the AJC on the life of Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"YYZI4H37XVAPVB5PXUMMK7ZMZQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611363561928},"type":"text","content":"
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They shared their thoughts with the media on Braves icon Hank Aaron, who died at age 86 on Friday."},{"_id":"CWZL7LE5AZCOJBLM4G7BLYED74","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611405792920},"type":"text","content":"Glavine on his days as a Braves minor leaguer when Aaron was the team’s vice president of player development: “You had some interaction with him from time to time. Obviously, as a young player, it was cool – Hank Aaron, Hall of Famer, one of the greatest of all time. So casual conversations were OK, (but) you never wanted to be called into Hank’s office. If you were, that meant you were going home. So you always (tried) to avoid Hank’s office. You wanted the conversations to be away from his office. … When I got drafted by the Braves, I didn’t know a whole lot about Atlanta, but I knew about Hank Aaron. Certainly a franchise that it was neat to be part of because of everything that he accomplished as a player. ... He was always very willing to talk with people, young players especially, and give whatever advice he could.”"},{"_id":"5DFCXY2C25CKJBZ2HU6FKWJ2PA","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"6UVWLV3LLBAFLCNSBUSKNIQPM4"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/hank-aaron-news/","content":"The AJC's complete coverage on the life of Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"BDHM5FTVZBGAVMLHIMZDG5CSIE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611405792921},"type":"text","content":"Smoltz on his interactions with Aaron: “Seeing Hank every year at spring training or at the stadium was something special. Never took it for granted. … Hank was the type of guy that every time you saw him, he had a smile on his face. Loved the game. Obviously, as far as I’m concerned, the truest home-run hitter in the game in baseball history. … You just knew every year was going to start out good when you got to spring training and Hank was sitting there. I just loved being around him. You know, Hank was so unassuming. There is not a superstar I’ve ever been around that went through as much as he did, both in life and in the game, and he was just a gentle guy that was there to say hello. You felt like you were in the presence of greatness every time you walked in. ... And as I retired, getting to see him at the Hall of Fame every year was such a joy to go up to him and shake the hand of a guy that transformed the game of baseball.”"},{"owner":{"id":"ajc"},"workflow":{"status_code":4},"caption":"Hank Aaron throws out the first pitch to Bobby Cox with John Smoltz looking on at the Braves home opener against the Padres at SunTrust Park on Friday, April 14, 2017.","source":{"system":"Methode","source_type":"other","source_id":"5a5dd140-2177-11e7-9132-9f722ea7e1ce","additional_properties":{"editor":"photo center"}},"type":"image","distributor":{"mode":"reference","reference_id":"8aec2b8c-455c-4816-903d-79fc8fdf8019"},"version":"0.10.3","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/5LWM73YCFTSWD7AEUNNHADHLEU.jpg","licensable":false,"display_date":"2017-04-15T01:03:36Z","credits":{"by":[{"affiliation":"Curtis Compton","name":"ccompton@ajc.com","type":"author","byline":"ccompton@ajc.com","slug":"ccompton-ajc-com"}]},"subtitle":"Hank","width":2400,"first_publish_date":"2017-04-15T01:03:36Z","_id":"5LWM73YCFTSWD7AEUNNHADHLEU","additional_properties":{"fullSizeResizeUrl":"/photo/resize/Dg1Pc6PnLHQUzDKrsio6r9E9GCI=/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-ajc/public/5LWM73YCFTSWD7AEUNNHADHLEU.jpg","comments":[],"proxyUrl":"/photo/resize/Dg1Pc6PnLHQUzDKrsio6r9E9GCI=/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-ajc/public/5LWM73YCFTSWD7AEUNNHADHLEU.jpg","takenOn":"2017-04-15T01:03:36Z","originalUrl":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/5LWM73YCFTSWD7AEUNNHADHLEU.jpg","published":true,"resizeUrl":"http://thumbor-prod-us-east-1.photo.aws.arc.pub/Dg1Pc6PnLHQUzDKrsio6r9E9GCI=/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-ajc/public/5LWM73YCFTSWD7AEUNNHADHLEU.jpg","thumbnailResizeUrl":"/resizer/8q6I1Y_Tfyc70ZiNkQmkkJfmbTw=/300x0/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-ajc/public/5LWM73YCFTSWD7AEUNNHADHLEU.jpg","version":0,"originalName":"https://www.ajc.com//rw/Pub/p8/AJC/2017/04/14/Images/hank9.jpg","mime_type":"image/jpeg","restricted":false,"galleries":[{"headlines":{"basic":"Photos: Aaron throws out ceremonial first pitch"},"_id":"NOM7E2TTSQ2JT73ZFITDZX7MLA"}],"_id":"322WJUYA75BPXHVMX37LVZHG4Q"},"created_date":"2020-06-26T02:13:12Z","last_updated_date":"2020-06-26T02:13:12Z","publish_date":"2017-04-15T01:03:36Z","height":1719},{"_id":"FVG54S7EIVE5XPBHTIF3FM5JVI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611405792922},"type":"text","content":"Maddux on the first time he met Aaron: “Yeah, it (was) a special day. You’re nervous. ‘Hey, I got to meet Hank Aaron.’ You’re nervous, and it’s just an honor. … We would see him in Atlanta numerous times throughout the season. Very pleasant, and he never talked down to anybody. Ever. Everything was positive. You know, he was there, and it was special every time you got a chance to say hi to him. ... Just a special human being and special baseball player.”"},{"_id":"SW67RAB7C5BNNFNURT34FET5Q4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611405792923},"type":"text","content":"Glavine, Maddux and Smoltz are, like Aaron, in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Aaron was inducted in 1982, Glavine and Maddux in 2014 and Smoltz in 2015."},{"_id":"3GPC7YUUQNHCBBWCXZQAXAORH4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611405792924},"type":"text","content":"
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Today’s AJC digital newspaper – the AJCePaper – Subscribers can look for it - delivered to your email inbox - or go to Ajc.com/epaper
Posted by AJC on Friday, January 22, 2021
","provider_url":"https://www.facebook.com","_id":"https://www.facebook.com/ajc/posts/10159168019567299","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":1611499945344},"provider_name":"Facebook","type":"facebook-post","version":"1.0"},"type":"oembed_response"},{"_id":"XKENOFIFRVE4LOBOOXYSXH6D7M","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350197541},"type":"text","content":"Readers can also find continuing coverage about Aaron, including photos, video and exclusive articles and columns by the AJC staff on ajc.com. Here are some of the stories published today:"},{"_id":"2R4ZCZ3U4NAGRDEJJYMX3Y45XE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350197542},"type":"text","content":"Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron: Passes into history"},{"_id":"ZPCQPMSK3FBMLKRGPIIYVBW5L4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350197543},"type":"text","content":"Photos: Hank Aaron through the years"},{"_id":"WGNRIELWBRCRDKHKAECXKCRVCQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350197544},"type":"text","content":"AJC Editor Kevin Riley: Aaron - A humble Atlanta hero"},{"_id":"JZLICBYFPBAABP2X3ZEYSTWDBA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350197545},"type":"text","content":"Mark Bradley: A great player, a greater man"},{"_id":"L57BJNKSIJGILCBBTBBALS2MVU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611364011062},"type":"text","content":"Bill Rankin: First-person - Watching my childhoon idol make history"},{"_id":"NGBMEL5MUVFIJJL4OQOWVCEFIE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611364011063},"type":"text","content":"Video: He was more than baseball"},{"_id":"Q3KL7X34UNEOROK4EDKNPQ4TYI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"The historic moment: 46 years later, recalling Hank Aaron’s historic 715th home run"},{"_id":"OAKAVHBB4RG6NBX2Z565YW7WHA","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"3ZMF7LWFPZHANO73EMQBVCVEZY"},"type":"interstitial_link","content":"Hank Aaron - Full coverage","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/hank-aaron-news/"}],"display_date":"2021-01-23T13:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Sunday in the AJC: Keepsake coverage of Braves legend Hank Aaron"},"first_publish_date":"2021-01-23T13:00:00Z","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","parent":{"default":"/sports"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"/sports","name":"Atlanta Braves","description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"/sports","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"/sports","TopNav":"/sports","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","site_title":"Atlanta Braves Baseball | AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Atlanta Braves"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"]},"order":{"TopNavRedesign":2002,"TopNav":2002,"ComposerNav":1138}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports/atlanta-braves","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"},{"path":"/sports","parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"https://www.ajc.com/","name":"Sports","description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","_id":"/sports","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"https://www.ajc.com/","TopNav":"https://www.ajc.com/","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"site_url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/","section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","site_title":"Atlanta Sports: High school, college and pro sports from the AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Sports"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Sports","_id":"/sports","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/"]},"order":{"default":1002,"TopNavRedesign":1010,"TopNav":1007,"ComposerNav":1136}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"}],"primary_section":{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","name":"Atlanta Braves"},"tags":[{"text":"hank-aaron"},{"text":"atlanta braves"},{"text":"ajc-sports.ajc"},{"text":"spcontent"}]},"type":"story","last_updated_date":"2021-01-24T14:54:12.981Z","canonical_url":"/sports/atlanta-braves/sunday-in-the-ajc-keepsake-coverage-of-braves-legend-hank-aaron/IGEGZ337YRFUPH3YIRBQCRW3C4/","promo_items":{"basic":{"content_elements":[{"caption":"Christine Becker lays down flowers at a Henry Aaron memorial at Truist Park. Aaron died Friday at age 86. STEVE SCHAEFER FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/GJBZTVJ2CCVXJDFZVTZS5HCLHY.jpg"},{"caption":"Adeler and Tony Rouser take a selfie in front of a Henry Aaron memorial at Truist Park. STEVE SCHAEFER FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/YOP37FD6MHQTZB3J6YF44NHBBY.jpg"},{"caption":"Joe Boblirsch takes a photo of a Henry Aaron memorial at Truist Park. STEVE SCHAEFER FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/KYOGAAMXONWSYJDM2ARK23NQEI.jpg"},{"caption":"Len Singh pays his respects at a Henry Aaron memorial at Truist Park Atlanta Friday. STEVE SCHAEFER FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/ALKODIL2637MNA6IZD6B77HZKE.jpg"},{"caption":"Amrit Bhavinani got emotional with tears as he came to the 715 mark on the wall at the old Atlanta-Fulton County stadium site where Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/WE2NCXMXASXDPZGDZJB2NLTDVM.jpg"},{"caption":"Bringing poinsettias, Bhavinani said Aaron was his hero and has his motto above his bed a home “Just keep swinging.” (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/XWPTBHEFUAF6YPG6NMIFZR2CCM.jpg"},{"caption":"Amrit Bhavinani left this tribute to Aaron. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/RV44N7AJGGTEIAM2GKPTFW636E.jpg"},{"caption":"The 715 mark on the wall at the old Atlanta-Fulton County stadium honors Aaron. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/REJ3TWFX3M6VI76GD5XMEZIU2A.jpg"},{"caption":"“We are absolutely devastated by the passing of our beloved Hank,” Braves Chairman Terry McGuirk said in a statement released by the team. “He was a beacon for our organization first as a player, then with player development, and always with our community efforts. His incredible talent and resolve helped him achieve the highest accomplishments, yet he never lost his humble nature. Henry Louis Aaron wasn’t just our icon, but one across Major League Baseball and around the world." (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/D57SY2WJV4OIDUWF6TB7WFXAFM.jpg"}],"credits":{"by":[]},"headlines":{"basic":"Photos: Fans pay their respects to legendary Hank Aaron"},"promo_items":{"basic":{"subtitle":"Henry Louis Aaron, nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank",","width":3000,"caption":"Christine Becker lays down flowers at a Henry Aaron memorial at Truist Park. Aaron died Friday at age 86. STEVE SCHAEFER FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION","type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/GJBZTVJ2CCVXJDFZVTZS5HCLHY.jpg","height":2205}},"type":"gallery"}},"_id":"IGEGZ337YRFUPH3YIRBQCRW3C4"},{"content_elements":[{"_id":"R6O6K34VLZBHPJQW2N3Y77B7NA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1594140506782},"type":"text","content":"President Joe Biden hailed Hank Aaron for his “courage and dignity,” as tributes continued pouring in Friday for baseball’s greatest hitter in the wake of his death at age 86."},{"_id":"B4FTXKKKBNDJHDSH6CXE2B5NH4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“When I watched Henry Aaron play baseball, I knew I was watching someone special,” the newly inaugurated president said, in a statement from the White House. “It wasn’t just about watching a gifted athlete master his craft on the way to a Hall of Fame career as one of the greatest to ever play the game. It was that each time Henry Aaron rounded the bases, he wasn’t just chasing a record, he was helping us chase a better version of ourselves. "},{"_id":"UOB2KOBTPFF6LCYJVMTPNP5A2U","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“With courage and dignity, he eclipsed the most hallowed record in sports while absorbing vengeance that would have broken most people. But he was unbreakable. He stemmed the vicious force of white supremacy, in death threats, hate mail, and in hardened hearts.”"},{"_id":"Z4UAAMV6BBACTDJLGNDUR35HCU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611333544750},"type":"text","content":"Aaron’s cause of death has not been released."},{"_id":"VSYRPZ5ITVG75KY7D3U64JG5UM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“What I deeply admired and respected about him is that each time he rounded those bases — an astonishing 755 trips home — he melted away more and more of the ice of bigotry to show that we can be better as a people and as a nation,” Biden said. “Henry Aaron became, in the words of President Carter, ‘the first Black man for whom white fans in the South cheered.’”"},{"_id":"2E2JJHAOWJHHHOPUSK7PKRFHGY","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"5R2SI2YDGBGAJN6LGIWCPPLLYE"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
STATEMENT FROM FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER ON THE PASSING OF HANK AARON pic.twitter.com/Bp4Jh21MZ3
— The Carter Center (@CarterCenter) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"5MK3FE7NINBIRNYFNMIXUTZUGU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“It was not only his bat, but his character that won over those hearts and minds,” Biden continued. “For generations of athletes and civil rights advocates who followed, he showed how to be proud and be unafraid to stand up for what is right and just. Jill and I count ourselves among the many millions of Americans who are grateful for the memories he gave us and our families. As a nation, we will still chase the better version of ourselves that he set for us. As we do, we mourn his passing and send our prayers to his beloved Billye, their children and grandchildren, and the entire Aaron family."},{"_id":"2HTY3T7TYBFUZNPLPU4VO4ZNOI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“God bless, Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron, an American hero.”"},{"_id":"FKRL6UBN2BC6ZCXNMMKDMNET3M","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"» Read and sign the online guestbook for Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"WWWIRZTBXRE2NGHLMAMBS6J5AY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Biden’s former boss, Barack Obama, issued his own statement earlier Friday, as did many Hollywood celebrities and other national political leaders."},{"_id":"ANJWF7UBWFC33FA6E5NTC6JS6U","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"WTTVMRKM3ZGU3ATXEU5MPRDSWY"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
Hank Aaron was one of the best baseball players we’ve ever seen and one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to the Aaron family and everyone who was inspired by this unassuming man and his towering example. pic.twitter.com/2RZdc82Y18
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 22, 2021
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Henry “Hank” Aaron joined the team today. Truly one of the most incredible human beings on and off the field. Gave so much to life. Every time he played he left us filled with hope and inspiration. People came from all over the world to see him play ball. Amazing. RIP #sswa pic.twitter.com/Wiggl5MBKf
— Edward James Olmos (@edwardjolmos) January 22, 2021
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When I was a kid, learning about Hank Aaron’s life and career meant learning for the first time that folks were still treated differently because of the color of their skin. Also it meant learning about an amount of dignity that I couldn’t possibly comprehend. #RIPHankAaron
— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) January 22, 2021
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Hank Aaron was quite possibly the greatest power hitter to ever walk the earth, and he did it playing in the Deep South while receiving constant death threats. RIP to a legend pic.twitter.com/PpEkLm1iDn
— John Wilson (@johnmilkson) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"Z4UAAMV6BBACTDJLGNDUR35HCU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611333544750},"type":"text","content":"» How Henry Aaron made baseball a form of civil rights activism"},{"_id":"PCYTBCQMRZAEPOK5W7G4DYZXLI","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"HWEETM5HNBBEJM7IPO2YL3SHVI"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
Hank Aaron, who faced down racism as he eclipsed Babe Ruth as baseball’s home run king, hitting 755 homers and holding the most celebrated record in sports for more than 30 years, has died at 86.
The Atlanta Braves, his team for years, confirmed the death https://t.co/AG2NIRwm7M
— Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) January 22, 2021
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As a child, Hank Aaron hid under his bed when the KKK stormed through his neighborhood.
As an 18 year old, he left Mobile, Alabama with two sandwiches and two dollars.
He retired as baseball's home run king and died today a hero. So inspiring.
— Paul Hembekides (@PaulHembo) January 22, 2021
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What a loss. ? Hank Aaron, baseball great who became a voice for civil rights, dies at 86 https://t.co/l4B2Dhnf3M
— Katie Couric (@katiecouric) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"VDZCWO3PTBELLGZNH2NYIA34OI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717652},"type":"text","content":"Aaron made his last public appearance just 2 1/2 weeks ago, when he received the COVID-19 vaccine. He said he wanted to help spread the to Black Americans that the vaccine was safe."},{"_id":"S63REI3LNNHADOYZJ5FPVT6HAU","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"JS6QYBMRAFABFFHTALZTXCK544"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
Home run king Hank Aaron has passed away. A baseball legend, Hammerin' Hank finished his career with 755 home runs while battling racism in the Deep South. He left a mark on the diamond and in our communities. Rest in power #44! ?? pic.twitter.com/aAzJdvXx61
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"V2F7EJX2QBDCXJZZTPOZ6QSIBU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717654},"type":"text","content":"“I don’t have any qualms about it at all, you know. I feel quite proud of myself for doing something like this,” he said. “It’s just a small thing that can help zillions of people in this country.”"},{"_id":"SHZBI53N6FE7DHSCD57K7QJIQY","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"7O44SMVKHNHIHE33UV6ETUPPVA"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
Hank Aaron:A hero against racial odds.He could not stay in the same hotel w/his teammates. A champion. He rode on the people’s shoulders as we looked upon him in adoration.A hero.We rode on his shoulders.He lifted us to higher heights.He was the undisputed champion of home runs. pic.twitter.com/08WT5tjw0D
— Rev Jesse Jackson Sr (@RevJJackson) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"VR5KMY2JM5HEXO5EKD7LMWIDII","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717656},"type":"text","content":"“Hammerin’ Hank” set a wide array of career hitting records during a 23-year career spent mostly with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, including RBIs, extra-base hits and total bases."},{"_id":"QLON2XKHWNGALFIGJILY4LL5RE","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"AIZENLDGFJB63NLMNNJ73RTISE"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
Hank Aaron was not only a home run king, but a king of justice. In the face of racism and vitriol, he broke through barriers with grace on his way to becoming one of the greatest baseball players of all-time. We've lost a true trailblazer and American icon.
May he rest in peace. https://t.co/HXD5bqGbnm
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"QNYIYDLD55FWFIFHILXBTFWYCA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717658},"type":"text","content":"But the Hall of Famer will be remembered for one swing above all others, the one that made him baseball’s home-run king. Before a sellout crowd at Atlanta Stadium and a national television audience, Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record with No. 715 off Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers."},{"_id":"NEG654PRPRA7BD5UBMVDANYBCM","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"E2O7VLHQWRGJPBXGHO7ZLBUH2Q"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
No alltime great could come close to Hank Aaron in terms of consistency. For 19 straight seasons, he slugged between .514 and .669 and hit between 24 and 47 home runs.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"WBDGPJ3Y5BHMZKLWY2CV2PKWBI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717660},"type":"text","content":"It was a title he would be hold for more than 33 years, a period in which the Hammer slowly but surely claimed his rightful place as one of America’s most iconic sporting figures, a true national treasure worthy of mention in the same breath with Ruth or Ali or Jordan."},{"_id":"V3YU24HK6ZCGJPY3I3FWHCCJ5I","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"H7Y5ROSEAVFUHKXQ5FL3WLLCQQ"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
A slugger has rounded the bases for the last time. Hank Aaron was a trailblazer and a hero who had to stare down hatred. He was also one of the best ballplayers to ever play the game. He was a joy to watch and a marvel to behold. May he Rest In Peace.
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) January 22, 2021
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I was never much into sports as a kid but I liked listening to baseball on the radio. Hank Aaron was the star player when I first started paying attention. From all accounts he was a class act - humble and kind. pic.twitter.com/JG7uFGsJlw
— David Sobolov (@volobos) January 22, 2021
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We celebrate the life and journey of the great, #HankAaron. He was a great athlete and a great person. May he Rest In Peace and Power. pic.twitter.com/b2npJsaW5H
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"GCWCJVXKIVDRDE34IKJHUMUWEE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717664},"type":"text","content":"Aaron’s death follows that of seven other Baseball Hall of Famers in 2020 and two more -- Tommy Lasorda and Don Sutton -- already this year."},{"_id":"IF7O2NFYJ5COJFSGR7RLFQZ27A","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"3SQ63FETL5FZ7OIMBZ5Y3CTU4Q"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
From being a young man who couldn’t afford baseball equipment to an @MLB legend, Hank Aaron personified the American Dream.
A giant on the field and off, he used his influence to champion civil rights.
I pray his legacy continues to live through us as we model his example.
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"ZRH3AJ73TFETREH2Z5JMFTWUGI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717666},"type":"text","content":"The Hall of Famer finished his career with 755, a total surpassed by Barry Bonds in 2007 — though many continued to call the Hammer the true home run king because of allegations that Bonds used performance-enhancing drugs."},{"_id":"5VDLCHVVPBFJRN3KZMX4FIKYLY","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"67UNVBRXDRH2NNFB7DVWRXAOCY"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
Rest In Peace #HankAaron. A true baseball legend. pic.twitter.com/bDeuzfh8hx
— Barry L Bonds (@BarryBonds) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"FGWQFNVHO5HHZDD37LKBS5IANY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717668},"type":"text","content":"Bonds finished his career with 762, though Aaron never begrudged someone eclipsing his mark. His common refrain: More than three decades as the king was long enough. It was time for someone else to hold the record."},{"_id":"DWTPE5WUZRHDXMRNVLEM346OHA","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"76DALVHAXVG3PF2XBHB3QDYYQQ"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
He was not merely Hank Aaron, great baseball player. He was Hank Aaron, great American. After George Floyd's death, he said this to me last June: “I’m not able to move around much anymore. But if I could, I’d be out there marching. I’d be right there at the front of the line.”
— Mike Lupica (@MikeLupica) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"WUT776UXCFGAHNR6NTQOL2OMAA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717670},"type":"text","content":"Aaron played 21 seasons for the Milwaukee, then Atlanta Braves in the National League and two seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers in the AL, from 1954 through 1976."},{"_id":"PLGTJ2HBU5FOPO7DVMD5GLJS3Y","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"D7PCGDDJGRGBJJWMJJ2SUS64II"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
Hank Aaron will go down in history as one of the greatest athletes of all time, an icon that defined excellence in sport and a civil rights hero on and off the field. Rest in power. pic.twitter.com/aaB1WvBd43
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"UHZRRSYD3ZCM3LP2ACEZK6MAIA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717672},"type":"text","content":"» Relive the night Hank Aaron hit No. 715 in Atlanta"},{"_id":"VWK7KRQIKVBS7LBOR6RRKH7R4A","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"PYK2EXGAFNBSBLFANU4DUR42II"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
You've probably seen it countless times by now, but it's one of my favorite facts, so I'll say it again today:
If you take away Hank Aaron's 755 home runs, he still has over 3,000 career hits. pic.twitter.com/VjxnK6okJo
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"7TVXH6KEZBGHNKV54IMAXNUC64","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611333544755},"type":"text","content":"Aaron held the MLB record for career home runs for 33 years, and he still holds several MLB offensive records."},{"_id":"YPBVQGGTQND4TG6XX2GGVX5GX4","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"YTTBKW5YNZG23I6A3JAKZ2BC7I"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
#HankAaron was as decent, kind and inspirational a human being as ever walked this earth. Leading up to breaking Ruth’s record, he received roughly 3,000 pieces of hate mail a day... 3,000! BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN!#America
— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"ITDPAKYGFBCKPJPS5K3T2AETGU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717676},"type":"text","content":"“I just tried to play the game the way it was supposed to be played,” Aaron said."},{"_id":"KB422OPIXVGUJB3YYGC3RN67OE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717677},"type":"text","content":"» Video: Hank Aaron talks about a year of honors and career memories"},{"_id":"WDBUWN2YVVBYBGSQHVOU5J4Q2A","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717678},"type":"text","content":"Aaron’s journey to that memorable homer was hardly pleasant. He was the target of extensive hate mail as he closed in on Ruth’s cherished record of 714, much of it sparked by the fact Ruth was white and Aaron was Black."},{"_id":"55ZL5E256ZCMJM3YGCA3FVS7SQ","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"K7FOOCJRWFGGFMLVQOH25MHYHY"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
You know you’re a legend when you hit 755 HR way before steroids were a mainstream thing and still also had over 3,000 hits that weren’t home runs
Rest In Peace, Hank Aaron pic.twitter.com/ApnF0Ptbta
— NOTSportsCenter (@NOTSportsCenter) January 22, 2021
n"},{"_id":"SDOZFZVJM5HNDKL3JTA36IPCPE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717680},"type":"text","content":"“If I was white, all America would be proud of me,” Aaron said almost a year before he passed Ruth. “But I am Black.”"},{"_id":"DOXENVOBKFC5DD42SVU7WBHZDQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611333544759},"type":"text","content":"»Baseball legend Hank Aaron through the years"},{"_id":"VSOIZXWY7FHLNB2LXWOWYABXBE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717682},"type":"text","content":"After retiring in 1976, Aaron became a revered figure, even though he never pursued the spotlight. He was thrilled when the U.S. elected its first African-American president, Barack Obama, in 2008. Former President Bill Clinton credited Aaron with helping carve a path of racial tolerance that made Obama’s victory possible."},{"_id":"2746D5JATBFX5LKWHIYWLODVZM","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"7IRCMCK4BNA2XGQRZMCCLO3CQY"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
RIP to a LEGEND. Hank Aaron passed away today at the age of 86 pic.twitter.com/4SD9Ycf7A1
— FromTheWindup (@FromTheWindup) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"ZHG52IEVGBHWHPHXP4H5AZY7UY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717684},"type":"text","content":"Aaron was a true five-tool star. He posted 14 seasons with a .300 average — the last of them at age 39 — and claimed two National League batting titles. He finished with a career average of .305."},{"_id":"IT7TAH55QRD4NOEWVUIYQ6MU44","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"ALNCSDHTS5FFVL5BVQES5RELZE"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
RIP The Hammer—Hank Aaron has passed away. Could he play the game, or what?
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"CO2K3VEHOJDGTNQKFVTKKH66ZA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717686},"type":"text","content":"He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is one of only two players to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least 15 times."},{"_id":"LIDLNEWXEBAIZKMCZJU3JUWYOM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611333544762},"type":"text","content":"» Atlanta Constitution history: Hank Aaron hits No. 715"},{"_id":"7JKDM2EYLVC3VBEWXMK3DCVSFE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717688},"type":"text","content":"Aaron also was a gifted outfielder with a powerful arm, something often overlooked because of a smooth, effortless stride that his critics — with undoubtedly racist overtones — mistook for nonchalance. He was a three-time Gold Glove winner."},{"_id":"H4M3WQRKOBBI5CKOJDRGUZL3MQ","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"5GQAT5MFSFC5JLK3ZFWPKOMID4"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
Hank Aaron was not only one of baseball’s greatest players, he was also a remarkable American hero, whose perseverance and forbearance in the face of unspeakable racism is a testament to the human spirit. We will miss him.https://t.co/JtGbnOmLnO
— Ken Burns (@KenBurns) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"CQ5MNPMZJFBSVC4DII6B2MNBBM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717690},"type":"text","content":"Aaron posted seven seasons with more than 20 stolen bases, including a career-best of 31 in 1963 when became only the third member of the 30-30 club — players who have totaled at least 30 homers and 30 steals in a season."},{"_id":"JEWXPFKD6BCN3GVZWI3F6WVKR4","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"NXVLB2VRGBDONEKYE2WIIFE52Q"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
Hank Aaron was as important to the culture of our nation as just about any athlete who ever lived. An all time great player for whom his play barely scratches the surface of his signifigance. He will never be forgotten. #RIPHankAaron pic.twitter.com/lgwkhngRg4
— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) January 22, 2021
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RIP to the home run king, Hank Aaron pic.twitter.com/bJl5NjKwB0
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"PMTNWD5SLRGGXGUAZ74C5LJVOY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611333544767},"type":"text","content":"In 1982, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and was one of the original inductees into the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame."},{"_id":"3WGVMD37UJAYLKUR7FPSNVC4RM","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"PK576SS6UNETDJDDRRNN4CGUQM"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
3,771 Hits
755 Home Runs
25x All-Star
3x Gold Glover
World Series Champion
Hall of Famer
Icon.RIP Hank Aaron. ? pic.twitter.com/p39AAvnajz
— Tim and Sid (@timandsid) January 22, 2021
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Flat out crushed to hear the news about Hank Aaron. As a baseball fan, he meant the world to me. As a Black baseball fan, he meant even more. As a native Atlantan who also called SW ATL home ... you just have no idea.
Rest Well, Hammerin’ Home Run King. pic.twitter.com/tx0nKwrlyo
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) January 22, 2021
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“I never doubted my ability, but when you hear all your life you're inferior, it makes you wonder if the other guys have something you've never seen before. If they do, I'm still looking for it.” Hank Aaron #RestInPower pic.twitter.com/GwMl7hiBsL
— Janai Nelson (@JNelsonLDF) January 22, 2021
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I have never seen a man so revered walking into a room filled with other Hall of Famers than Hank Aaron. He was a giant in so many ways, and his death today, many who have spoken to him in recent weeks, has left his closest friends in disbelief.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"XZVVTOUV7BB25AABFKJLHPBLMY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717702},"type":"text","content":"Three years later, a nationwide vote named Aaron’s No. 715 as the second-most memorable moment in baseball history, eclipsed only by Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played."},{"_id":"45BT6CHZOZAJ5EGCQ5H7LCALUM","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"H6YUW5LINNGSTANJGVDZRZL6RI"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
I met Hank Aaron in 2016 at a conference I spoke at. He was so gentle and warm. If you never knew his story, you’d have no clue you sat next to a legend.
I’m struck by how many of our elders are passing on-and how much we have to ensure their stories are told. Rest in power ? pic.twitter.com/Qx9x9VFqNK
— brittany packnett cunningham will brb. (@MsPackyetti) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"N6X27X7OORD7JI2PP32TFJHLWI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717704},"type":"text","content":"Also in 2002, President George W. Bush awarded Aaron the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Bush praised Aaron for overcoming “poverty and racism to become one of the most accomplished baseball players of all time.”"},{"_id":"FKQ6BNEN2JHDXPDYG4JZNZGACY","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"Z7INB67UGRHKDDU4QEOO6PY7JY"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
The Hammer is gone. The Real All Time Home Run leader. 6’ 180 lbs, no steroids, just continued excellence. 755 dingers, but never 50 in a year. Met him once w/my little boy. He was a tough but sweet man. A real man who defied racism; became the best. https://t.co/jm29AyXxqA
— Chip Franklin InsideTheBeltway.com (@chipfranklin) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"RQUTT4L27JELHOAD6VO6GP2PMM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611333544773},"type":"text","content":"He was named a 2010 Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society in recognition of accomplishments that reflect the ideals of Georgia’s founders."},{"_id":"RCLWLNXXTBHGXKU77NHY32KBAI","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"QRCTE6EWGBCULIPKZCIQSPF5R4"},"type":"raw_html","content":"
Hank Aaron's legacy transcends his place as one of the greatest in the history of our national pastime. He represents the best of America, with his resiliency, grace, and relentless optimism. An extraordinary life. He is royalty. Always will be. RIP. @MLBNetwork @baseballhall
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 22, 2021
"},{"_id":"S3FYHOSP5NG4BM3JFHYXSDF54M","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717708},"type":"text","content":"“He might be the greatest player of all time,” said the late Tony Gwynn, a fellow Hall of Famer. “Just look at his numbers. Everybody characterizes him as a home run hitter because he’s held that record so long. But he was a great baserunner, a great defender, a great player period.”"},{"_id":"75TKF3ZFK5F47II4DJ75P4DAPQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342717709},"type":"text","content":"The Associated Press contributed to this report."},{"_id":"NEZGMIJG2BGXFHPPFX7FPKL5KM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611333544779},"type":"text","content":"
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Jones, himself a Hall of Famer, described Aaron as “a transcendent baseball player” and “a transcendent person in American history as well.” Another former Braves All-Star player, Brian Jordan, said he “almost dropped down to my knees” upon hearing Aaron had died."},{"_id":"7O67NIV7TZGJXLZ7XWMPCBHEWU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611357744225},"type":"text","content":"“I lost a hero,” Jordan said. “As a Black boy growing up loving the game of baseball, Hank Aaron was ‘That Guy.’”"},{"_id":"OCFVLRJZPVGJDG7TBFEMP5WXMY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611357744226},"type":"text","content":"Aaron last played for the Braves in 1974, the year he broke Babe Ruth’s career home-run record, but his place in the heart of the franchise was forever secure."},{"_id":"XUEUGAP4JZDPDPQ7GFJF6X6DJU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611357744227},"type":"text","content":"“He’s a guy who in most ways, in every way, basically is the Braves,” said Derek Schiller, the team’s president and CEO. “Our brand and our team are who we are because of Hank Aaron. I know there are a lot of guys who have worn the uniform, but none like Hank, obviously."},{"_id":"OKYQCFCFEBC55KFH4GCFSZ4H4Q","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611357744228},"type":"text","content":"“On behalf of Braves Country,” Schiller added, “we lost a legend. But more importantly, we lost an unbelievably great person, one of a kind.”"},{"subtype":"twitter","referent":{"referent_properties":{"additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":1611367232597}},"provider":"https://publish.twitter.com/oembed?url=","service":"oembed","id":"https://twitter.com/Braves/status/1352710445388492802","type":"twitter"},"_id":"SWTYNP77OJHUFABPJVTU6FAQP4","raw_oembed":{"author_name":"Atlanta Braves","cache_age":"3153600000","provider_url":"https://twitter.com","type":"twitter","version":"1.0","url":"https://twitter.com/Braves/status/1352710445388492802","author_url":"https://twitter.com/Braves","width":550,"html":"
44. pic.twitter.com/4u1GVHyE3D
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) January 22, 2021
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"}],"display_date":"2021-01-22T23:17:01.544Z","headlines":{"basic":"Braves mourn Aaron: ‘We lost a legend ... an unbelievably great person’"},"first_publish_date":"2021-01-22T23:17:01.544Z","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","parent":{"default":"/sports"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"/sports","name":"Atlanta Braves","description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"/sports","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"/sports","TopNav":"/sports","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","site_title":"Atlanta Braves Baseball | AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Atlanta Braves"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"]},"order":{"TopNavRedesign":2002,"TopNav":2002,"ComposerNav":1138}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports/atlanta-braves","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"},{"path":"/sports","parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"https://www.ajc.com/","name":"Sports","description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","_id":"/sports","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"https://www.ajc.com/","TopNav":"https://www.ajc.com/","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"site_url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/","section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","site_title":"Atlanta Sports: High school, college and pro sports from the AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Sports"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Sports","_id":"/sports","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/"]},"order":{"default":1002,"TopNavRedesign":1010,"TopNav":1007,"ComposerNav":1136}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"}],"tags":[{"text":"atlanta braves"},{"text":"ajc-sports.ajc"},{"text":"spcontent"},{"text":"hank-aaron"}],"primary_section":{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","name":"Atlanta Braves"}},"type":"story","last_updated_date":"2021-01-23T02:00:53.590Z","canonical_url":"/sports/atlanta-braves/braves-mourn-aarons-death-we-lost-a-legend-an-unbelievably-great-person/B32VBUVEHVGSRDL6MDZUKZKNLU/","promo_items":{"basic":{"content_elements":[{"caption":"Christine Becker lays down flowers at a Henry Aaron memorial at Truist Park. 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He was 86."},{"_id":"XOPH45HYXNCQVBIMEYLM5JHPQY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336024316},"type":"text","content":"Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron: Passes into history"},{"_id":"CUPEFJ5DSRBA3INWS77HPROMEM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336024317},"type":"text","content":"Photos: Hank Aaron through the years"},{"_id":"JRTJJ2SPJBEPHMUTDYNI2ORTAQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336024321},"type":"text","content":"AJC Editor Kevin Riley: Aaron - A humble Atlanta hero"},{"_id":"56MW62XSVRE43BAXNQXM7BMXZ4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Michael Cunningham: A hero to many, especially Black people"},{"_id":"PO7XDZUM6JGNZJAF77HY7CQ2DM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342393134},"type":"text","content":"Mark Bradley: A great player, a greater man"},{"_id":"LV3CBS6SH5AL3FMWTHQHSEYKME","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611355932702},"type":"text","content":"Mike Luckovich: AJC editorial cartoonist remembers Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"AKDXDTNCKJC4LNIUQB6X46KOQY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"‘I lost a hero’: Braves mourn Aaron"},{"_id":"Y25VQA2BV5G5ZE63E7RA6FLRVI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340782456},"type":"text","content":"Class act: Aaron’s humility surpassed his greatness"},{"_id":"KLCDMQUMNRAMVF7UUMPLGJXXAU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336024318},"type":"text","content":"RIP to a legend: America pays tribute to Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"GSC7XJVPKBBL3KRSNV2EDCJ32E","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336691762},"type":"text","content":"Sports world pays tribute to Aaron: Braves ‘absolutely devastated’"},{"_id":"B3X4WDZVCRBB3NZWHZIGN4KK4A","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Nique’s view: Dominique Wilkins says Aaron was a ‘gentle soul’"},{"_id":"K5A76WABM5CEDA2BLG64545HMM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"Hawks release statement on Aaron’s passing"},{"_id":"4CGODWQGSVD5RB3N2CRI2EIZGE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"No. 44 was No. 1: Falcons, Atlanta United retire No. 44 for one season"},{"_id":"IZ4ECXOVMVEXROUVZFA3NVRLYY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611352440025},"type":"text","content":"Brian Snitker: ‘Very blessed’ to have had friendship with Aaron"},{"_id":"5VXLCBZLFZDRLO6LIFHN4DNH5E","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611341186676},"type":"text","content":"By the numbers: A look at Aaron’s legendary career"},{"_id":"WYEGZFMFENBXRJUL46A4JEVO7U","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336024319},"type":"text","content":"No. 715: A look back at Aaron’s historic home run"},{"_id":"3E5AXBTG65GRZBKGJZHY62ILFY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336983522},"type":"text","content":"Vin Scully’s call of Hank Aaron’s 715th home run"},{"_id":"5XKO3X2HJBDNBOAYI45GCN3MUI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336024320},"type":"text","content":"Video: Hank Aaron ‘was more than baseball’"},{"_id":"JRTJJ2SPJBEPHMUTDYNI2ORTAQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336024321},"type":"text","content":"‘Forever iconic’: Atlantans on Hank Aaron’s ties to the city"},{"_id":"ZTTBDWZAXZFJ3KHDZEBGMKUS7U","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611338021951},"type":"text","content":"Bill Rankin: Watching my childhood idol make history"},{"_id":"ZKIXKCM3M5ADTN3PJ4KACH536A","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611338526521},"type":"text","content":"Video: Hank Aaron fan inspired by the legend"},{"_id":"IUBWLFKKYBA35FIHOK6D53VK34","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611343272221},"type":"text","content":"Pay tribute to Aaron: Monument Garden open for fans at Truist Park"},{"_id":"7ICQ4NAIFJB5FODBX7VHWDN3QY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611339377211},"type":"text","content":"Guest book: Sign Aaron’s guest book on ajc.com"},{"_id":"VZZFTTDCPFEKDB5PF6VRHPGPEE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336024322},"type":"text","content":"More: Complete coverage on ajc.com"},{"_id":"5U6NPLD7SZDC5OSU7X5UWKJCGE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"
"}],"display_date":"2021-01-22T22:16:18.005Z","headlines":{"basic":"The AJC remembers the life of baseball legend Hank Aaron"},"first_publish_date":"2021-01-22T17:17:26.377Z","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","parent":{"default":"/sports"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"/sports","name":"Atlanta Braves","description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"/sports","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"/sports","TopNav":"/sports","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","site_title":"Atlanta Braves Baseball | AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Atlanta Braves"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"]},"order":{"TopNavRedesign":2002,"TopNav":2002,"ComposerNav":1138}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports/atlanta-braves","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"},{"path":"/sports","parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"https://www.ajc.com/","name":"Sports","description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","_id":"/sports","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"https://www.ajc.com/","TopNav":"https://www.ajc.com/","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"site_url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/","section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","site_title":"Atlanta Sports: High school, college and pro sports from the AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Sports"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Sports","_id":"/sports","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/"]},"order":{"default":1002,"TopNavRedesign":1010,"TopNav":1007,"ComposerNav":1136}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"}],"tags":[{"text":"atlanta braves"},{"text":"ajc-sports.ajc"},{"text":"hank-aaron"},{"text":"ajc-leo"}],"primary_section":{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","name":"Atlanta Braves"}},"type":"story","last_updated_date":"2021-01-22T23:41:27.399Z","canonical_url":"/sports/atlanta-braves/the-ajc-remembers-the-life-of-baseball-legend-hank-aaron/JEENBRNDBJCO7MIXBSNMHG3TQI/","promo_items":{"basic":{"content_elements":[{"caption":"Braves legend Hank Aaron strikes a familiar pose during an interview in the living room of his home on the eve of his 80th birthday in 2014. 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BRIDGES JR. for SPORTS.","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/IGBRZB4VKNYCZFKPDQR2QUAACA.jpg"},{"caption":"Baseball home run king and Mobile, Ala. native Hank Aaron throws out the first pitch before the Team China-Team USA baseball game Sunday, July 22, 2007, at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile, Ala.(AP Photo/Press-Register, Chip English)","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/Q4HKC7CMWOHX7Y5AUTXBRSYHTA.jpg"},{"caption":"Home run king Henry Aaron and President Bill Clinton share a laugh during Aaron's gala 65th Birthday Party at Atlanta's Hyatt Regency Hotel in 1999. (AJC Staff Photo/David Tulis)","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/7QK6LXBIBMWMPNTC6HLQ36E3XE.jpg"},{"caption":"Atlanta Braves batting great Hank Aaron honors former third baseman Chipper Jones at a Hall of Fame luncheon during a ceremony at the Marriott Marquis ballroom on Friday, June 28, 2013, in Atlanta. David Tulis / AJC Special","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/YWAEQWGM4AEWXWWVRO7LGWSF4M.jpg"},{"caption":"Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, right, talks with baseball great Hank Aaron, center, during a spring training baseball workout Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/E6GWQOMME2QAWBD6FMC7OQL4YU.jpg"},{"caption":"Hank Aaron, right, and his wife Bille Aaron arrive at the unveiling of director and producer Tyler Perry's new motion picture and television studio in Atlanta on Saturday Oct. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/W.A.Harewood)","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/ENL2CO2GNHK33IF4XOJRUKCAXE.jpg"},{"caption":""He's just been held with such reverence by everybody," said baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who knew Aaron in Milwaukee. "I run into people who don't know him as well as I do, and they just say, 'Wow, what a wonderful person.' "","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/DNBNEDST2SM6S5LMZLHU7PTUMU.jpg"},{"caption":"Baseball Hall of Famer Henry Aaron, left, back in his hometown, escorts his mother Estella Aaron, center, of Mobile, Ala. to the Greater Morning Star Baptist Church Sunday, Sept 15, 1996 in Mobile. Mrs. Aaron was named the Church's 1996 Woman of the Year. At right is Henry Aaron's niece, Joyce Brown of Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Mobile Register, G.M. Andrews)","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/IFW7UFPM2AI6RFGSUYAWDF3DOE.jpg"},{"caption":"Braves legend Hank Aaron and Jason Heyward during spring training in March. File photo","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/LP7R5HM4M43A4UNBHFWWEBI6YY.jpg"},{"caption":"Historic Hank Aaron photo. File photo","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/A74ZRW6QY6RHTCV4NVHFAN7LYI.jpg"},{"caption":"Aaron's locker. Calvin Cruce / Staff","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/I7FEJO3JZF6GN7RXXWA7L62NKY.jpg"}],"credits":{"by":[]},"headlines":{"basic":"Baseball legend Hank Aaron through the years"},"promo_items":{"basic":{"subtitle":"Feb. 5, 2014","width":2800,"caption":"Braves legend Hank Aaron strikes a familiar pose during an interview in the living room of his home on the eve of his 80th birthday in 2014. Aaron died Jan. 22 at the age of 86. CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM","type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/X7AP4AKFGENWDNHS2GD7CVGPHI.jpg","height":1840}},"type":"gallery"}},"_id":"JEENBRNDBJCO7MIXBSNMHG3TQI"},{"content_elements":[{"_id":"GWFC2LFL2ZBT7JWZR2C6C4YMXM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417341},"type":"text","content":"If not for Hank Aaron, Braves manager Brian Snitker wouldn’t be in his fourth decade with the organization."},{"_id":"FISO252L65GYXII23JG3ZP5SUY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417342},"type":"text","content":"Aaron, a Hall of Famer, civil-rights activist and the best player in Braves history, died Friday at age 86. It was a difficult day for everyone in the Braves organization and throughout metro Atlanta. Snitker, on a Zoom call with reporters Friday afternoon, paused for a moment and fought off tears before reflecting on Aaron – the man who hired him."},{"_id":"5PLD5Y3YFRCDBNA3TL35JYJ5FE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417343},"type":"text","content":"“I wouldn’t be sitting here on this call if it wasn’t for Hank Aaron, plain and simple,” Snitker said. “He’s the reason I’m here. I’ve said many times, I’ve been blessed to be raised (by) and around Hall of Famers my entire career, none more important to my career, my family, my life than Hank Aaron. I was excited this year, too – we were going to spring training. I talked to Hank last year that I wanted him around. I said, ‘I’ll keep people off you. I want you at the cage. I want you to have a cup of coffee. I want these players to know who you are and what you’re about. I want you to be there.’"},{"_id":"HYLJSH3BBRCJBF5W5Y4T3T5SNM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611352272225},"type":"text","content":"“I hate that for them that they’re not going to be able to experience Hank Aaron. He’s the epitome of grace, professionalism, just the man he was. He never called me when I was a minor-league manager and the first thing out of his mouth wasn’t, ‘How’s your family?’ and ‘Can I do anything for you?’ It was all about that."},{"_id":"UCZUT6ZIZZBUTNAJFMVM5GI6PU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417344},"type":"text","content":"“It’s exactly what the Braves embody and who we are as an organization, and why we are different. I tell employees that in April and May. We are different. I tell our players that every year, and I’ve been fortunate in the last three or four years since I’ve had this job to get Hank to come the first time I address the team. I wanted them to see that this is what it’s about, and this is why we’re different. It’s the people who make your organization, men like Hank Aaron.”"},{"_id":"HEFXNNFKKVHEZE4D5VXPCDKS4A","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"PDLDOEHBQBCDVIKOQ2IA77O5BU"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/the-ajc-remembers-the-life-of-baseball-legend-hank-aaron/JEENBRNDBJCO7MIXBSNMHG3TQI/","content":"The AJC's complete coverage on the life of Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"IXPBBY2Z2VAIVFIZPL7ACYAJAE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417345},"type":"text","content":"As a minor leaguer, Snitker first met Aaron, then the Braves’ farm director, at DeKalb Junior College during a first-year players workout. In 1981, when it was evident Snitker wasn’t going to cut it as a player, Aaron, who’d become the organization’s senior vice president, offered another opportunity."},{"_id":"4WRC6VSEHRHVJGHWVCJQBIJITQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417346},"type":"text","content":"“I didn’t really interview,” Snitker said in 2017. “He just released me and offered me a coaching job.”"},{"_id":"QWTNMJQIXZDL7DC2HT3N6YJX54","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417347},"type":"text","content":"A long-time coaching career, and more important a close friendship, began. The two developed a tight bond, from playing racquetball in Florida during Snitker’s days as a minor-league manager to their relaxed chats at Truist Park in recent years."},{"_id":"25CT6VITQFHWZMIIQ7X3DNOXXU","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417348},"type":"text","content":"On the racquetball experience, Snitker said: “We’d go to the YMCA in Sarasota. I probably still have (marks) on the back of my legs because if you got in front of him – you talk about wrists and hands, that freaking racquetball would go right through you, and he didn’t care. After a while I learned to stay the hell out of his way.”"},{"_id":"MCBOAB7DKFCPTLL4VAPZXPZ75E","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"35N7KIMDBBFHFPJMMRSTC4UCY4"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/news/how-hank-aaron-used-his-legendary-status-to-help-others/VCF2PZYUK5G5TJBWFN5XDHY3RU/","content":"Off the field, Hank Aaron was known in Atlanta for his philanthropy"},{"_id":"KPGSUUZAHVAMPAOACQGVZC6W7Q","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417349},"type":"text","content":"Their friendship was invaluable during most of Snitker’s adult life. Aaron was a stable presence throughout Snitker’s 40-year coaching career that’s culminated with him managing the big-league club for the past several seasons. Under Snitker, the Braves have won three consecutive National League East titles and appear to be positioned for another era of sustainable success."},{"_id":"KSLA24I3EZFXRIZ4DKRUBMPOGI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417350},"type":"text","content":"Snitker always turned to Aaron for support and insight. Aaron was there for Snitker during all his milestones. The Hall of Famer was among the first people to call Snitker when he became the Braves’ full-time manager in 2016. Aaron was among the first to congratulate him on winning manager of the year in 2018. Aaron called to congratulate Snitker after each of the team’s recent division titles."},{"_id":"DFH5ZG5S6JA6LFVRWK3BO2WTZI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417351},"type":"text","content":"“I’m very blessed to have had that friendship with him,” Snitker said. “Hank is the reason I’m here. He was one of those guys like Bobby (Cox). If I called, he answered. Never went to voicemail. If I had a problem or needed some advice, I’d call Hank Aaron, and he’d answer the phone every time.”"},{"_id":"TXEPJB3NT5HTZDEWXD7CWD5N2U","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"7IJKHZ5XQRFI7BUOYCUU3PXBF4"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/mark-bradley-blog/hank-aaron-1934-2021-a-great-player-a-greater-man/FNQSQ7MCG5HKRAF7RREDKONJDU/","content":"Mark Bradley: A baseball great was a greater man"},{"_id":"BZAZCRY5XFERNM63TYUSKLGDOA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417352},"type":"text","content":"Since becoming a major-league manager, Snitker asked Aaron to speak with individual players – he always would. Aaron visited North Port, Florida, in February to see the team’s new spring training home and the naming of “Hank Aaron Way,” an entry point into the property. Aaron was one of the team’s biggest fans and like any supporter, he was glued to his TV during the Braves’ latest October run."},{"_id":"G64CBAYG3JGIZM4754OQJPCWKA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417353},"type":"text","content":"Recently, Snitker recalled running into Aaron at the ballpark. The two just sat in his office and chatted for a while."},{"_id":"DEB2C7HQXZE7TG2TGNPYHAUKLY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350417354},"type":"text","content":"“I pinch myself then thinking, ‘Are you kidding me? I’m sitting here talking to Hank Aaron,’” Snitker said. “Just a man of grace. What a person. I wish our team would look at the back of that baseball card because it’s stupid. … Just the times together and the time he took with us guys, the managers, the coaches. This was Hank Aaron and he was doing everything he could for us to help make us better. Just a sad day."},{"_id":"2YIY4SSC2RFGNCHCKRXIS6HZ4M","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611352272237},"type":"text","content":"“The friend, the man, the person, that’s the reason for the sadness. He did everything the right way. … We lost a really, really good man. Someone we all loved and adored.”"},{"_id":"N62622NWDJCCDMBEVPKD4WLBMY","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"FZ6JFDGUDNFFPCVXRJ2H4JWC6I"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/atlanta/hank-aaron-condolences/197566249?cid=view","content":"Read and sign the guestbook for Hank Aaron"}],"display_date":"2021-01-22T21:18:14.453Z","headlines":{"basic":"Brian Snitker remembers Hank Aaron’s impact on his life and career"},"first_publish_date":"2021-01-22T21:18:14.453Z","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","parent":{"default":"/sports"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"/sports","name":"Atlanta Braves","description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and 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Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","_id":"/sports","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"https://www.ajc.com/","TopNav":"https://www.ajc.com/","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"site_url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/","section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","site_title":"Atlanta Sports: High school, college and pro sports from the AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Sports"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Sports","_id":"/sports","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/"]},"order":{"default":1002,"TopNavRedesign":1010,"TopNav":1007,"ComposerNav":1136}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"}],"tags":[{"text":"atlanta braves"},{"text":"ajc-sports.ajc"},{"text":"spcontent"},{"text":"hank-aaron"}],"primary_section":{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","name":"Atlanta Braves"}},"type":"story","last_updated_date":"2021-01-24T19:10:05.760Z","canonical_url":"/sports/atlanta-braves/brian-snitker-remembers-hank-aarons-impact-on-his-life-and-career/6ZCF44KZVBCA5O44BKLJA6LUKA/","promo_items":{"basic":{"promo_image":{"url":"https://d1fegwn2wjh0cs.cloudfront.net/01-24-2021/t_25ecdaeda9d34f8a9cf6548b6bd7b5e9_name_https___www_ajc_com__rw_Pub_p11_AJC_2020_02_18_Images_021920_20braves_20photo_20CC12.jpg"},"credits":{"affiliation":[{"name":"Atlanta Braves"}],"by":[{"org":"Atlanta Braves","name":"","type":"author","slug":""}]},"headlines":{"basic":"Brian Snitker on Hank Aaron"},"type":"video","promo_items":{"basic":{"width":1920,"type":"image","url":"https://d1fegwn2wjh0cs.cloudfront.net/01-24-2021/t_25ecdaeda9d34f8a9cf6548b6bd7b5e9_name_https___www_ajc_com__rw_Pub_p11_AJC_2020_02_18_Images_021920_20braves_20photo_20CC12.jpg","height":1080}}}},"_id":"6ZCF44KZVBCA5O44BKLJA6LUKA"},{"content_elements":[{"_id":"RLICMXBBNBGN7M3JZQW4V5KCD4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1593360298712},"type":"text","content":"The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has published an ePaper tribute to Atlanta Braves legend Hank Aaron, who died early Friday at age 86."},{"_id":"PHUU3H5ENNBURDNZEDL626SWIA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350197538},"type":"text","content":"The full page keepsake is available now to subscribers via an email link or at ajc.com/epaper."},{"_id":"RGRDLBJ4JNBRHLYKFTIEUIRUZE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350197539},"type":"text","content":"The AJC will publish expanded print and ePaper coverage of Aaron’s life and legacy in our regular Saturday and Sunday editions."},{"subtype":"facebook-post","referent":{"referent_properties":{"additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":1611350197540}},"provider":"https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post/oembed.json/?url=","service":"oembed","id":"https://www.facebook.com/ajc/posts/10159168019567299","type":"facebook-post"},"_id":"EJLGKIIJ2JFRLGQBS5KTLCHD7A","raw_oembed":{"author_name":"AJC","author_url":"https://www.facebook.com/13310147298","width":552,"html":"
n
Today’s AJC digital newspaper – the AJCePaper – Subscribers can look for it - delivered to your email inbox - or go to Ajc.com/epaper
Posted by AJC on Friday, January 22, 2021
","provider_url":"https://www.facebook.com","_id":"https://www.facebook.com/ajc/posts/10159168019567299","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":1611350197540},"provider_name":"Facebook","type":"facebook-post","version":"1.0"},"type":"oembed_response"},{"_id":"XKENOFIFRVE4LOBOOXYSXH6D7M","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350197541},"type":"text","content":"Readers can also find continuing coverage about Aaron, including photos, video and exclusive articles and columns by the AJC staff on ajc.com. Here are some of the stories published today:"},{"_id":"2R4ZCZ3U4NAGRDEJJYMX3Y45XE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350197542},"type":"text","content":"Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron: Passes into history"},{"_id":"ZPCQPMSK3FBMLKRGPIIYVBW5L4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350197543},"type":"text","content":"Photos: Hank Aaron through the years"},{"_id":"WGNRIELWBRCRDKHKAECXKCRVCQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350197544},"type":"text","content":"AJC Editor Kevin Riley: Aaron - A humble Atlanta hero"},{"_id":"JZLICBYFPBAABP2X3ZEYSTWDBA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611350197545},"type":"text","content":"Mark Bradley: A great player, a greater man"},{"_id":"OAKAVHBB4RG6NBX2Z565YW7WHA","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"3ZMF7LWFPZHANO73EMQBVCVEZY"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/hank-aaron-news/","content":"Hank Aaron - Full coverage"}],"display_date":"2021-01-22T21:12:03.885Z","headlines":{"basic":"AJC ePaper includes a tribute page to Hank Aaron"},"first_publish_date":"2021-01-22T21:12:03.885Z","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","parent":{"default":"/sports"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"/sports","name":"Atlanta Braves","description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"/sports","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"/sports","TopNav":"/sports","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta Braves and major league baseball news, scores, schedules, rosters, photos and features.","site_title":"Atlanta Braves Baseball | AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Atlanta Braves"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Atlanta Braves","_id":"/sports/atlanta-braves","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/","/sports"]},"order":{"TopNavRedesign":2002,"TopNav":2002,"ComposerNav":1138}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports/atlanta-braves","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"},{"path":"/sports","parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"_website":"ajc","parent_id":"https://www.ajc.com/","name":"Sports","description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","_id":"/sports","additional_properties":{"original":{"parent":{"default":"https://www.ajc.com/","BottomNav":null,"TopNavRedesign":"https://www.ajc.com/","TopNav":"https://www.ajc.com/","ComposerNav":"https://www.ajc.com/"},"site":{"site_url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/","section_comments_enabled":"Yes","site_description":"Atlanta sports news: Complete college, pro and high school sports coverage from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including UGA, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta United, Falcons, Hawks, Georgia Tech","site_title":"Atlanta Sports: High school, college and pro sports from the AJC"},"navigation":{"nav_title":"Sports"},"inactive":false,"node_type":"section","_website":"ajc","name":"Sports","_id":"/sports","ancestors":{"TopNavRedesign":["https://www.ajc.com/"],"TopNav":["https://www.ajc.com/"]},"order":{"default":1002,"TopNavRedesign":1010,"TopNav":1007,"ComposerNav":1136}}},"_website_section_id":"ajc./sports","type":"section","version":"0.6.0"}],"tags":[{"text":"hank-aaron"},{"text":"atlanta braves"},{"text":"ajc-sports.ajc"},{"text":"spcontent"}],"primary_section":{"path":"/sports/atlanta-braves","name":"Atlanta Braves"}},"type":"story","last_updated_date":"2021-01-22T21:18:27.579Z","canonical_url":"/sports/atlanta-braves/ajc-epaper-includes-a-tribute-page-to-hank-aaron/MNMJBED5BNHOJLRSEHEY7DMXWU/","promo_items":{"basic":{"credits":{"by":[{"name":"Steve Schaefer","type":"author"}]},"subtitle":"Henry Louis Aaron, nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank",","width":3000,"caption":"Joe Boblirsch takes a photo of a Henry Aaron memorial at Truist Park Friday. STEVE SCHAEFER FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION","type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/KYOGAAMXONWSYJDM2ARK23NQEI.jpg","height":2000}},"_id":"MNMJBED5BNHOJLRSEHEY7DMXWU"},{"content_elements":[{"_id":"DZA2YUDIANA77DH5ADFYOGZ5VY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1593359832801},"type":"text","content":"Reaction from around the sports world to the death Friday of Hank Aaron:"},{"_id":"KPZKI7HRB5HCRL4OBLF4QRGXZY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336143239},"type":"text","content":"“We are absolutely devastated by the passing of our beloved Hank. He was a beacon for our organization first as a player, then with player development, and always with our community efforts. His incredible talent and resolve helped him achieve the highest accomplishments, yet he never lost his humble nature. Henry Louis Aaron wasn’t just our icon, but one across Major League Baseball and around the world. His success on the diamond was matched only by his business accomplishments off the field and capped by his extraordinary philanthropic efforts. We are heartbroken and thinking of his wife Billye and their children Gaile, Hank, Jr., Lary, Dorinda and Ceci and his grandchildren.” -- Braves Chairman Terry McGuirk"},{"_id":"QRWB5G5UANBLZEXUUPE7MYBCCQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336318350},"type":"text","content":"“Hank Aaron is near the top of everyone’s list of all-time great players. His monumental achievements as a player were surpassed only by his dignity and integrity as a person. Hank symbolized the very best of our game, and his all-around excellence provided Americans and fans across the world with an example to which to aspire. His career demonstrates that a person who goes to work with humility every day can hammer his way into history -- and find a way to shine like no other. Hank eagerly supported our efforts to celebrate the game’s best and to find its next generation of stars, including through the Hank Aaron Award, which recognizes offensive excellence by Major League players, and the Hank Aaron Invitational, which provides exposure to elite young players. He became a close friend to me in recent years as result of his annual visit to the World Series. That friendship is one of the greatest honors of my life. I am forever grateful for Hank’s impact on our sport and the society it represents, and he will always occupy a special place in the history of our game. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Hank’s wife, Billye, their family, the fans of Atlanta and Milwaukee, and the millions of admirers earned by one of the pillars of our game.” -- MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred"},{"_id":"4HT7P73UTRDRZMHCWPV5KTZDQI","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"BTXRUNXGS5DUBELX2MIHUUEEFE"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/atlanta/hank-aaron-condolences/197566249?cid=view","content":"Read and sign the guestbook for Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"6ST4STLJYJC3NJW3JFBZ6UTCMQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336143240},"type":"text","content":"“Hank Aaron’s incredible talent on the baseball field was only matched by his dignity and character, which shone brightly, not only here in Cooperstown, but with every step he took. His courage while pursuing the game’s all-time home run record served as an example for millions of people inside and outside of the sports world, who were also aspiring to achieve their greatest dreams. His generosity of spirit and legendary accomplishments will live in Cooperstown forever. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire staff of the Hall of Fame, we send our deepest sympathies to his wife, Billye, and his entire family.” -- Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the Baseball Hall of Fame"},{"_id":"XWE3RVPVRZFMTHPTUNMCEN4PMM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336143241},"type":"text","content":"“Rest in Peace to American hero, icon, and Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. I still remember where I was back in the day when he set the record, at that time, to become the home run all time leader. While a legendary athlete, Hank Aaron was also an extraordinary businessman and paved the way for other athletes like me to successfully transition into business. Hank Aaron is on the Mount Rushmore for the greatest baseball players of all time! Rest In Peace my friend. Cookie and I are praying for the entire Aaron family.” -- Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson"},{"_id":"CJXRZZ5SJFEQ3AZX7YAHAJ4ZAQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611342668044},"type":"text","content":"“We are heartbroken and saddened by this morning’s passing of baseball legend, trailblazer and icon, Henry “Hank” Aaron. He not only made a great impact on the diamond, but in society as well with his caring and genuine spirit, always taking the time to be a friend to all. As an original member of the Falcons Board of Directors, he served as a mentor to so many of our players throughout the years, providing a source of knowledge and support on what it takes to build a winning culture while always displaying a great deal of humility. We loved Hank and his wife, Billye, and we are truly saddened by his passing. May he rest in peace.” -- Falcons owner Arthur Blank"},{"_id":"S5QCH3V3VNE3HIF6BCZB7HTDQM","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611337438428},"type":"text","content":"“Nancy and I pass our condolences to all of Hank’s family today. So saddened to hear the news of Hank’s passing. There was a certain spirit, even a reverence, when in Hank Aaron’s presence that you could feel. Grace, strength, integrity. We were blessed to have known him.” -- Former Braves star Dale Murphy"},{"_id":"7OYSBCSFVBFNFCUTBFHT6MP5S4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“On behalf of the entire Georgia Tech athletics family, I extend my deepest condolences to Hank Aaron’s family and friends and the Atlanta Braves organization on his passing. My wife, Karen, and I were incredibly saddened to hear the news this morning. Some of my favorite stories that Karen has told me from her childhood are about how her father gave her a transistor radio when she was young so she could listen to ‘Hammerin’ Hank’ chase and eventually break Babe Ruth’s home run record while she was supposed to be sleeping in South Carolina. But his remarkable contributions to our hometown of Atlanta, our country and the world, in the face of unfathomable obstacles and resistance, transcend baseball. He will be greatly missed.” -- Georgia Tech Director of Athletics Todd Stansbury"},{"_id":"36CNYM2ZD5DOBCXLUNCNIWOMD4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[]},"type":"text","content":"“Atlanta and all of baseball lost an icon today. Hammerin’ Hank was a childhood hero for me and millions of other kids playing baseball. He was a role model who inspired players for decades with his talent, grace and humility.” -- Georgia Tech baseball coach Danny Hall"},{"_id":"6TGJI5SZ4VAUJIL5ASWZ3TGMZI","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"BGUNPIKXAJGKVNYCE75ZNFEU2Q"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/the-ajc-remembers-the-life-of-baseball-legend-hank-aaron/JEENBRNDBJCO7MIXBSNMHG3TQI/","content":"The AJC's complete coverage on the life of Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"ZIC6ONDXDNEANFONGKYBCQWY7I","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611336143243},"type":"text","content":"
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(AJC file photo by Curtis Compton)(","type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/ajc/3IROTV335FUXLWWA67PPNAV2KA.jpg","height":1406}},"_id":"GJ2TLNJVTNGDRN3GJALLMXZEBI"},{"content_elements":[{"_id":"WAN2BPURP5HSHPBPR7P4XYTIOE","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738499},"type":"text","content":"Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, the one-time home-run king, a civil-rights activist, and the best player in Braves history, died Friday morning at age 86."},{"_id":"TEJFCB6JB5EGJFXKRSR4G37XZY","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738500},"type":"text","content":"Aaron played from 1954-76, assembling a decorated career in which he set multiple records, including passing Babe Ruth and finishing with 755 home runs. During that chase, Aaron remained graceful and courageous in the face of constant hate and vitriol. Aaron became an icon and inspiration well beyond his on-field achievements."},{"_id":"WAURMWBQZVBNPOGS4KE2IUDA44","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738501},"type":"text","content":"There’s no player with a longer list of eye-popping numbers, but we put together some of Aaron’s best:"},{"_id":"Q5BLNPOFLVADBBL33UE74SAR4M","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738502},"type":"text","content":"755: The number most associated with Aaron is 755, his career home run total. Aaron set the record (which was previously 714) on April 8, 1974 when the Braves were hosting the Dodgers at then-Atlanta Stadium."},{"_id":"HS27WPEHPZHS3PAXVGFBRO6ATI","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738503},"type":"text","content":"Aaron’s high mark stood for 33 years. When Barry Bonds surpassed the total in 2007, Aaron shared in his congratulatory video: “My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams.”"},{"syndication":{"search":true},"subheadlines":{"basic":"Baseball legend Hank Aaron died at the age of 86. Here he talks with the AJC about his legacy in a 2014 interview."},"description":{"basic":"Baseball legend Hank Aaron died at the age of 86. 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He led the league in RBIs four times and accrued 11 seasons with more than 100 runs batted in. Aaron also is the all-time leader in total bases (6,856) and extra-base hits (1,477)."},{"_id":"OAXBHJYSAFEU7JWNMPQMAV6YKQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738505},"type":"text","content":"3,771 and 2,174: Aaron ranks third all-time with 3,771 hits, outpaced by only Pete Rose and Ty Cobb. A commonly referenced yet absurd statistic: If you remove Aaron’s 755 homers, he’d still be part of the 3,000-hit club. He’s also fourth all-time with 2,174 runs scored, trailing only Rickey Henderson, Cobb and Bonds."},{"_id":"GJ23LQJ3RVEUHHRKD6N6T5SWQA","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738506},"type":"text","content":"25: Aaron was a 25-time All-Star, most in history (MLB had two All-Star games from 1959-62). He was an All-Star in 21 consecutive seasons from 1955-75 with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves and (in 1975) the Milwaukee Brewers."},{"_id":"VWQWZEHSRNFEJNNRCHUFIHBREQ","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"UL4I2OUBRZDLPCQXY7PFDSXC3U"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/atlanta/hank-aaron-condolences/197566249?cid=view","content":"Read and sign the guestbook for Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"HZ2TA7IW5JDEFKQ6PIFO5Y724A","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738507},"type":"text","content":"1957: This was a notable season in Aaron’s career because he achieved two milestones: A championship and an MVP. Aaron won his only World Series title when his Milwaukee Braves bested the defending champion New York Yankees. It was a star-studded series featuring eight Hall of Fame players, including Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Aaron."},{"_id":"VZ3TEYDRNJGXRJPMN2UJ7FGBGQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738508},"type":"text","content":"Aaron, 23, won his only MVP after hitting .322/.378/.600 with a league-leading 44 homers and 132 RBIs. It was the second consecutive season Aaron led the majors in total bases, a feat he accomplished eight times in his career."},{"_id":"7J3S4W6HBBB2HBRDFZZOTVBVZQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738509},"type":"text","content":"1973: A sign of his consistency and dominance even in the later years: In his age-39 season, Aaron hit .301 with 40 homers and 96 RBIs. He had 20 seasons in which he exceeded 20 home runs."},{"_id":"MHD4W6W6OJCEVDZ6DXSRVMFMXQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738510},"type":"text","content":"1,402 vs. 1,383: Remarkably, Aaron walked more than he struck out. In fact, he never struck out 100 times in a season – his highest total was 97 strikeouts in 1967."},{"_id":"6QFBFRNDBVCZZLGFPV7TO4QE5A","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738511},"type":"text","content":"2 + 3: Aaron twice won the batting title, hitting .328 in 1956 and .355 in 1959. He also won three Gold Gloves, doing so from 1958-60 as an outfielder."},{"_id":"GHMPLOYPDFBCTLAMXSWNHZ2JD4","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738512},"type":"text","content":"Career slash line: Aaron hit .305/.374/.555 across 3,298 games. He averaged 37 homers and 113 RBIs – with 69 walks against 68 strikeouts – annually over a 162-game pace."},{"_id":"GVI2JSEJI5ECXJZ4ZKFRGVN76Y","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611340738513},"type":"text","content":"Through the years: Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, his first year on the ballot. The Braves retired his No. 44 in 1977, while the Brewers retired No. 44 in 1976. Major League Baseball created the “Hank Aaron Award” on Feb. 5, 1999, Aaron’s 65th birthday. The award goes to the best offensive player in the National and American League. Aaron received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. In November 2020, Aaron announced Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman as the NL MVP during MLB Network’s award broadcast."},{"_id":"OAB5HLHU7VHILO63OGECRADNHQ","additional_properties":{"comments":[],"_id":"3SPNUXGZORGAFCNV43RYXNQENI"},"type":"interstitial_link","url":"https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/the-ajc-remembers-the-life-of-baseball-legend-hank-aaron/JEENBRNDBJCO7MIXBSNMHG3TQI/","content":"More from the AJC on the life of Hank Aaron"},{"_id":"YYZI4H37XVAPVB5PXUMMK7ZMZQ","additional_properties":{"inline_comments":[],"comments":[],"_id":1611363561928},"type":"text","content":"
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