Hank Aaron Re-Examined

[Dr. Cheese]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/sp...20aaron&st=cse

This article makes the point that among non-steroid users, he was extremely productive late in his career. Hank Aaron did not have the flash of Willie Mays or the staggering season numbers of Babe Ruth, but a reasonable case can be made for him being the greatest hitter of all time (although Ted Williams certainly needs to be in the discussion too.)

[Relic]

I was just a kid but I do actually remember him breaking Babe Ruth's record. He was just an awesome hitter. I'm not sure why some feel the need to question it... unless I'm misunderstanding the article (didn't read the whole thing yet)

[LSquared]

I didn't realize there were folks who try and diminish Aaron.

I was a teenager when he broke Ruth's record, and I remember it well. He was a great all-around player.

I gotta agree w/ Sporting News ranking him 5th on their all time "Greatest Players" list.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spo...eatest_Players

[EBodious]

he did it without drugs. he did it with racially charged death threats. awfully impressive.


pete rose had the same kind of determination and work ethic. too bad he blew it all away.

[aborgman]

Originally Posted by EBodious

he did it without drugs.

No, he did it without steroids.

Hank Aaron has admitted to (at a minimum) "experimenting" with "greenies" - the most common form of amphetamine used by players during his playing days.


Willie Mays kept a bottle of "red juice" - a liquid form of greenies - in his locker.

Etc.

[Dr. Cheese]

In terms of offense, Hank Aaron was amazingly consistent. He ended up the career homerun leader, but he never hit more than 44 homeruns in a season. He ended up being third alltime in base hits with only three 200 hit seasons. He would two batting titles. He won about five or six Gold Gloves too. Looking at the injuries Ken Griffey Jr. had (a player who maybe had more baseball ability) i is amazing that he was able to play as wellas he did for 23 years.

I also love that he stood up for himself. He wasn't as dynamic as an Ali, but he did not back down when things got tough. I remember seeing him break the record. I was eating dinner after playing a Little League game myself. I got into sports fairly late for a boy, but he was my first sports hero.

[Joshua]

There is only one home run king in my opinion; hammerin' Hank Aaron...

[Dr. Cheese]

When Hank Aaron first became homerun champ, many said his season by season numbers were weak compared to Babe Ruth. I think another analogy is more apt. I compare Babe Ruth to Wilt Chamberlain since both were physical specimens that no one else could match up with when they were at their peak. Hank Aaron is more like Kareem Abdul Jabbar in that he was a top tier athlete at a time when there were many athletes of similar ability.

[Staccato]

Let's not forget that when baseball players (or golfers) picked up their bat/clubs in that era to swing-the equip. was not made with today's high tech. or exacting standards.
I'd be so thrilled to watch ONE tourney in which today's golfers are playing with vintage clubs out of a museum, and see how they fare up against each other with that old equipment...

[FilterFunk]

All-time ranks:

Home runs - 2nd
RBI - 1st
Hits - 3rd
Total bases - 1st
Extra base hits - 1st
Runs scored - 4th

Plus, he was a solid fielder who won a few Gold Glove awards. Even though it's subjective, you could easily make a case for Hammerin' Hank being the greatest baseball player of all time.

[FilterFunk]

Originally Posted by aborgman

No, he did it without steroids.

Hank Aaron has admitted to (at a minimum) "experimenting" with "greenies" - the most common form of amphetamine used by players during his playing days.


Willie Mays kept a bottle of "red juice" - a liquid form of greenies - in his locker.

Etc.

Yup. A whole lot of athletes in various sports took "greenies" and "uppers" back in the day. Has to be said.

[MJ5150]

Bonds may have his name in the record book, but Hank Aaron is the all time HR leader for MLB.

Best player of all time? I'll take Ken Griffey Junior.

-Mike

[stratovani]

How great was Hank Aaron? He could hit my favorite pitcher, Sandy Koufax. Now that's the mark of a great hitter because nobody could hit Koufax!

http://major-league-baseball.suite10...t_sandy_koufax

[Jeff K]

I'm an old guy (59). What fantastic outfielders we had back then. I grew up near Pittsburgh, so I've been a Pirates fan all my life. (Your condolences are accepted.)

My personal hero back then was Roberto Clemente; but Willie Mays and Hank Aaron were awesome. I used to go to games at the old Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Saw Willie & the Giants play there, as well as Hank and the Milwaukee Braves (among other teams). Good times indeed...

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by Jeff K

......I've been a Pirates fan all my life.....

I don't go as far back as you, but I do remember watching the greatest outfield of all time....Bonds, Bonilla, and Van Slyke. Andy was at the end of his career then, but he still had the cannon arm. I remember the Slyke Zone.....he'd just dare anyone to turn first and stretch that single into a double.

-Mike

[Jeff K]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I don't go as far back as you, but I do remember watching the greatest outfield of all time....Bonds, Bonilla, and Van Slyke. Andy was at the end of his career then, but he still had the cannon arm. I remember the Slyke Zone.....he'd just dare anyone to turn first and stretch that single into a double.

-Mike

Yeah, that was a fun time for us Pirates fans. (We haven't had many fun times for a long time.) Also fun were the Stargell/Parker/Candelaria, etc. days. And I remember Bill Mazeroski's walk-off, Series-clinching home run in the bottom of the 9th of Game 7 against those hated Yankees... (And actually, the Yankees outplayed us that year (1960). The 4 games that the Pirates won were all one-run victories if I remember right. The 3 games the Yanks won were all blowouts.)

I sure wish my mom hadn't thrown out all my baseball cards from that era. I had tons of them, including Clemente, Mantle, Maris, Mayes, Aaron, etc. Probably be worth something today...

[burk48237]

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/sp...20aaron&st=cse

This article makes the point that among non-steroid users, he was extremely productive late in his career. Hank Aaron did not have the flash of Willie Mays or the staggering season numbers of Babe Ruth, but a reasonable case can be made for him being the greatest hitter of all time (although Ted Williams certainly needs to be in the discussion too.)

I have no desire to diminish Aaron, a class guy to say the least. But Willie Mays missed two seasons for the Korean war and hit over 50 homers in the seasons before he left and when he returned. Add another 100 homers to Willie Mays totals and you no doubt have Aaron chasing Willie. Mays was a superior fielder, and a base stealing threat. There is no doubt in my mind he was the best of all time. Williams was a great hitter, probably a better average hitter, but his power numbers while good don't stack up. He was a great player no doubt, but a different kind of player then Mays.

[LSquared]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I don't go as far back as you, but I do remember watching the greatest outfield of all time....Bonds, Bonilla, and Van Slyke. Andy was at the end of his career then, but he still had the cannon arm. I remember the Slyke Zone.....he'd just dare anyone to turn first and stretch that single into a double.

-Mike

Add me to the list of sad Pirates fans.... I grew up with them, back in the 70's. I'll always remember going to a World Series game w/ my Dad in '71.....

But it's been ugly for the Bucs for a long time, doen't seem like it'll get better anytime soon...

[BartmanPDX]

LOVE Hank, and I don't even like baseball. He put up with so much too.

I've never liked Ted Turner, but the thing he did which ticked me off the most was naming the stadium in Atlanta after himself. The least he could have done was called it "Henry Aaron Field at Ted Turner Stadium" or something like that.

[SoComSurfing]

Hammerin' Hank was the master of his craft in his day, and remains among the top ambassadors for the game today. The article from the OP sums it up perfectly:

Aaron, meanwhile, will remain baseball’s prime example of how to age with a pure and potent grace.