Hank Aaron, RIP

[Mister Tee]

I knew if anyone got here to post this before me it would be you.

I feel like the entire baseball universe in which I grew up is being wiped out over the course of one calendar year.

Hank Aaron's numbers speak for themselves -- someone pointed out that you could subtract every one of his 755 home runs and he'd still be left with 3000 hits. He was also, by every account, a sterling human being.

But, in a weird way, he might have gone under-appreciated had he not famously broken the Babe's home run record. He'd have still had those great numbers, and his teammates would still have been deliriously happy to play alongside him. But he was never the face of baseball that Mr. 714 had been, and, even in his generation, he never had the charisma and fame of Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. (Playing in Milwaukee/Atlanta vs. NY/San Francisco may have contributed to that.) So, it took that unforgettable march on Ruth's record to give him his due as one of the true all-time greats. Which he no doubt fully deserves.

[danfrank]

Another childhood hero gone. Back in the day when kids routinely memorized baseball statistics and records, the number “714” was one that everybody knew. When Aaron, who was much more than a home run hitter, approached that home run record, he received numerous death threats, as many were indignant that a black man could break the Babe’s hallowed record. But beat it he did. It was one of the great moments in sports history. Sad that he is gone.