Incredible wrist strength, super durable, consistent and yet somehow underrated. Humble and dignified always. A pro's pro, RIP to the king.
William (Not The Fridge) Perry, for oneHas anyone else received both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the Rising Sun?
I think he, probably, surpasses Ruth and Aaron most likely overtakes him.You have to wonder what Ted Williams would have done without missing prime years for both WWII and the Korean War.
Without comparing eras; there are plenty of players who were better at their peaks (Ruth, Bonds, Ted, Gehrig, Mantle, etc.) but what separates Aaron from those guy's was his unbelievable consistency and durability. Williams would probably have been able to have that kind of longevity because he was so good in his final season, but he did miss seasons due to the war(s) which shouldn't really be held against him, but it does allow Aaron to enter into kind of a class of his own when it comes to longevity.Was Aaron the best hitter ever?
You put my unformed thoughts into words. Nice post.Without comparing eras; there are plenty of players who were better at their peaks (Ruth, Bonds, Ted, Gehrig, Mantle, etc.) but what separates Aaron from those guy's was his unbelievable consistency and durability. Williams would probably have been able to have that kind of longevity because he was so good in his final season, but he did miss seasons due to the war(s) which shouldn't really be held against him, but it does allow Aaron to enter into kind of a class of his own when it comes to longevity.
Aaron was also a good defensive player in his prime and also was a very good baserunner during an era when the stolen base was not in vogue. If he played in a more running-friendly era he could have had multiple 40/40 seasons.
If you get rid of his rookie season and his age 40+ years, you get 19 seasons of consistent, borderline-MVP level production. No missed time, no one or two bad seasons. Excellence every year, for two decades. If you were starting a team, you would be tempted to take that over any other player in history, who may have a higher peak but will never match the durability.
And Jess with help sums Hank up in numbers.View: https://twitter.com/craigjedwards/status/1352680047140888582?s=21
The lowest trine of Henry Aaron’s career is worthy of a section of its own of just how good it is historically.
As Craig mentions, by WAR, it’s 30.7. Flawed a stat as it may given inconsistencies in evaluating fielding, let’s put that into perspective:
By bWAR, that’s equal to the peak of the *best* 7 seasons of Sam Rice, HOF. Ditto Ross Youngs (30.5) and Harry Hooper (30.0), both HOF. It exceeds the entire career marks of four members of the Hall of Fame: Lee Smith (28.9), Trevor Hoffman (28.0), Lloyd Waner (27.9), and Freddie Lindstrom (27.5).
143 wRC+? If that was his career mark/rate alone, that would be tied for 49th all time with names like Albert Pujols, Roger Connor, and longtime teammate Eddie Mathews.
28 homers? You know how many players have 7+ 28+ homer seasons? 65.
Greenberg his whole career only had 6 such seasons. Jim Rice, Bench, Cepeda, Santo? 5. Rolen, Edgar Martinez, Larry Walker, Yaz? 4.
10-year-old me was there for it. I knew he was the home run king and I'm sure I was applauding. It wasn't until years later I truly came to appreciate all he went through -- making his incredible accomplishments all the more amazing.Here's Hank homering off Bill Lee at Fenway in 1975:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgWBIfvDonI
Statements from all (but one) living presidentsPresident Biden with a statement on the Passing of Hank Aaron
No. The only other person they might have done it for was ClementeSo does #44 get the 42 treatment? I don't think you can find a better person to represent what your league should be.
I know you're right. I hope when MLB honors him they focus on his accomplishments off the field as well as on.No. The only other person they might have done it for was Clemente
There's an interesting vignette in Bill James' 2nd Historical Abstract with Aaron saying that even after he changed he would still occasionally grab a bat and grip it cross-handed when if first got into his hands - like an old reflex. I don't know how long that lasted.He stopped hitting cross-handed in the minors.
And he could have sat with the rich celebrities in the super boxes but sat with the regular people in the dog pound. A regular person.From Peter King's column this morning ... Hank Aaron, member of the Dawg Pound
2. HANK AARON AND THE BROWNS. The man who broke Babe Ruth’s career home-run record, once thought unbreakable (more about him later in the column), died Friday in Atlanta. Aaron was a huge Cleveland Browns fan. So huge that he used to buy single tickets in the Dawg Pound (the end zone with the crazy fans), fly from his Atlanta home to Cleveland on three or four Sunday mornings every autumn, bundle up, sit anonymously and alone in the stands, and fly back to Atlanta Sunday evening. Who knew? Ernie Accorsi, the GM of the Browns in the eighties, did. One summer day in 1986, at Browns training camp in Kirtland, Ohio, Accorsi thought he spied Aaron behind the ropes, watching practice with fans. Accorsi, a huge baseball fan, sidled up near Aaron and introduced himself. “I know you!” Aaron said. “It’s an honor to meet you.” That started a relationship that Accorsi, of course, was thrilled to have. “He told me he sat in the Dawg Pound, alone, for games, and I told him, ‘Hank, we can get you better seats than that.’ He said, ‘I don’t want ‘em. I love sitting there.’ “
Accorsi said Aaron became a Browns fan early in life because they were the first team, under Paul Brown, to sign and feature black stars—Bill Willis, Marion Motley, Len Ford, all of whom earned busts in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Aaron subscribed to the Cleveland Plain Dealer by mail to follow the team during the season. And once every week or 10 days, Accorsi’s phone would ring, and Aaron would want some scoop on his team. “He’s everything everybody has said about him,” Accorsi said. “A gentleman. Completely humble. And he loved his Browns.”
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/01/25/tom-brady-bucs-chiefs-super-bowl-fmia-peter-king/?cid=nbcsports
And Howard Bryant's new book about Hank Aaron shows how mean Mays was to Hank.He will always be the Home Run King. RIP Hamerin Hank. Better then Mays from age 36 on. And a nicer person then Mays. Willie always seems stuck on himself kind of.
I'm not sure the denizens of the dawg pound are regular people. It's like Mr. Rogers going to Sex Pistols concerts.And he could have sat with the rich celebrities in the super boxes but sat with the regular people in the dog pound. A regular person.
The point is Hank chose to sit their instead of the Celebrity Super Boxes.I'm not sure the denizens of the dawg pound are regular people. It's like Mr. Rogers going to Sex Pistols concerts.
Definitely, that was him being who he was. He wanted to be with the people who loved the game. One of many reasons to admire him.The point is Hank chose to sit their instead of the Celebrity Super Boxes.
Tommy Aaron with like 15 or less or something like that.My favorite trivia question was always the brother combo with the most HRs. Surprised to see who is second on that list.
Yes, the Aarons were in first place.Tommy Aaron with like 15 or less or something like that.
Eddie Murray and his brother?My favorite trivia question was always the brother combo with the most HRs. Surprised to see who is second on that list.
The Upton brothers are sitting at 471; Justin is only 33 so he could squeak out 38 more homers.Yes, the Aarons were in first place.
Willie Mays is a pretty surly dude in general. He was mean to my 3 year old son at a card show years ago.And Howard Bryant's new book about Hank Aaron shows how mean Mays was to Hank.
Mays came to Temple U. in April of 1980 to speak. Somebody asked him a question who is the best baseball player in the game today. He said his buddy Bobby Bonds???????? I asked him a follow up question right after that and asked him........do you think Bonds is better then Jim Rice, Dave Parker, Fred Lynn, Dave Winfield, Mike Schmidt, Eddie Murray and I'm sure others I didn't think of and he still said yes???? Wrong and obviously biased and strange answer.Willie Mays is a pretty surly dude in general. He was mean to my 3 year old son at a card show years ago.
It was his opinion which he was entitled to, but statistically wrong if you look at the other players stats. He was bias towards his buddy Bobby.That’s an opinion, not sure how it can be “wrong”
We all have opinions on “best”and “worst”. And often there are many factors that go into those opinions beyond statistics. And we can all be right. Or wrong.It was his opinion which he was entitled to, but statistically wrong if you look at the other players stats. He was bias towards his buddy Bobby.