Wonderful Tribute to Hank Aaron at the All Star Game in Atlanta

[burntfrijoles]

Hammerin' Hank's 715 celebrated last night with hologram show. Brought tears to my eyes. He was always one of my favorite players. Mild mannered and courageous in the face of hate as he approached the Babe. One of baseball's true gentlemen.

 

[LocoTex]

Stunning!

 

[memorex]

It was a fitting tribute. On the other hand, the game was boring for the most part. I was watching the last half in bed, and by the eighth inning, I changed the channel to an 'X-Files' rerun and went to sleep.

 

[58Bassman]

A local morning radio show called him occasionally and when Milwaukee was preparing to demo MKE County Stadium, they sold off various items like railings, signs and seats. The guys on the radio show asked if Hank planned to buy any of the seats as a souvenier and he told them he would have to ask his wife.

Such a humble person.....

 

[burntfrijoles]

he told them he would have to ask his wife.

Even for Hank, "if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"

 

[Peegoo]

Hank Aaron is a personal hero of mine: a humble man with a big heart, and probably the best sports superstar role model there ever was--for children and adults alike.

 

[dkmw]

Thanks for posting! I was a Braves fan growing up and followed Aaron’s pursuit of the record closely. Nice memories to have.

 

[burntfrijoles]

Hank Aaron is a personal hero of mine: a humble man with a big heart, and probably the best sports superstar role model there ever was--for children and adults alike.

My favorite National League team as a kid was the Milwaukee Braves with Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette, Johnny Logan, Joe Adcock, Dell Crandall, Wes Covington et al. Aaron was the "straw who stirred the drink". He stood out even with all those guys around him. He was just a young man from Alabama.

 

[Lawdawg]

Genuinely moving tribute to Hammerin' Hank, got a little dust in my eyes watching it! Very proud of my home team, stadium and MLB for using technology the right way to recreate that moment.

 

[Stubee]

I didn’t catch the tribute but did see the Hank Aaron display at Cooperstown. It’s an incredible display, fitting for an all around great man.

 

[stxrus]

I completely forgot about the All Star game last night.
The posted tribute made me misty eyed. I can’t think of enough accolades for Hank Aaron.
The world would be a much better place if there more like Hank Aaron.

 

[P Thought]

the game was boring for the most part

Baseball itself can seem boring until you learn your way into watching it, understanding and appreciating its strategies, possibilities and probabilities. The All-Star game isn't really a baseball game; it's a spectacle, a jammed-together collection of each season's individual stars come together under one manager (and crew), whose focus is more on showcasing each player equally, more than winning or losing the game

The players are chosen because of their high averages in one or more aspects of the game, and each one will perform above or (more likely) below their average for three innings, or one for the pitchers

I watched the game for the first time in years, enjoyed it I guess for what it is. They had players miked up to the broadcast booth so the announcers could chat with them while the game was going on. . .interesting, maybe a bit dumb. I learned a couple things I didn't know: the game's been held for 90-some years; it no longer determines home-field advantage for the World Series; they don't play extra innings; they "settle" ties with a new home-run patsy-pitch contest

I watched because my boy Cal Raleigh was playing, and a couple other Mariners. I probably won't go out of my way to watch it next year. I'm looking forward to the season restarting now

Edit: I forgot! For the first time (I think), they introduced challenges on balls and strikes. That might be a game changer in the near future

 

[acoustic rob]

Would have been nice if they'd played Scully's home run call all the way to the end.

 

[memorex]

Living in the Cleveland area, I'm forced to be a Guardians fan. It was good to see Kwan get a chance to play later in the game. The rest was boring. Ramirez decided not to go, and if Kwan hadn't been in it, I wouldn't have watched at all.

 

[Chicago Matt]

I moved from Illinois to Atlanta at the age of 22 early in 1972, so I got to see Hank play many times over the next two years in the old Fulton County Stadium. It was a thrill. I used to sit on the right field wall, usually arriving to see batting practice. General admission at that time was $2.00. I couldn't afford NOT to go.

Ten years later, I had a gig 5 nights a week at the old Stadium Hotel, one block north of the stadium, in a 4 piece band. The bass player and I would go to the Stadium early with our instruments in gig bags, and sit as close to the wall in right as we could get, still general admission. We were usually able to watch 4 innings or so before heading up the street to the gig. That year they started the season with a 13 game winning streak, but by then it was all about Dale Murphy, Bob Horner, Glenn Hubbard, Rafael Ramirez and the knuckleballers, Gaylord Perry and Phil Niekro. Good times.

Sorry for going down the memory rabbit hole. It happens with old farts like me.

 

[canteytoque]

The local newspaper published sequential color photos of Aaron’s record-breaking swing. If you pasted them on index cards and flipped through them, you could watch it over and over!

 

[58Bassman]

When I worked for a boat dealer just West of Milwaukee, I turned my head to look at a building to the left of where I needed to stop at an intersection. I looked at the door and on the glass was the names of the companies occupying space in hte building, including Hank Aaron Enterprises- he owned several Arby's and that was where his businesses were based. Even after the Braves were moved to Atlanta, he had ties to MKE.