Happy Birthday to the late and great Hall of Famer, Hank Aaron. Playing twenty-three seasons between the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers, Aaron established himself as one of the few greatest players in baseball history. During his career, he broke the all-time career record in Home Runs and Runs Batted In, and still, to this date, he ranks top-5 all-time in multiple offensive statistical categories.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1954-1976):

.305 BA 3,771 HITS 755 HR 2,297 RBI 2,174 RUNS .374 OBP

  • 25x All-Star
  •  3x Gold Glove
  •  2x Batting Champion
  •  1957 NL MVP
  •  1957 World Series Champion

As a Hitter

   If I were to describe Hank Aaron in two words, I’d say he was “Highly Consistent.” Unlike Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron never hit 50, 60, or 70 Home Runs in a season. Hank Aaron reached 755 Home Runs by being ‘Highly Consistent”. Hank Aaron had fifteen years with 30 or more Home Runs and eight years with 40 or more. In terms of Runs Batted In, Aaron had eleven seasons driving in 100 or more Runs Batted In. While he ranks 2nd all-time in Home Runs, to this date, he is the all-time leader in Runs Batted In with 2,297. I wouldn’t describe Aaron as a power hitter, though, because he was an excellent all-around hitter. As well as being a two-time Batting Champion, Aaron had fourteen seasons batting .300 or higher and averaging 185 Hits a season. Never once did Aaron go down swinging in the triple digits in a season; in fact, he had more career Walks (1,402) than Strikeouts (1.383). As a baserunner, Aaron had six seasons in the middle of his career in which he stole 20 or more bases, not to mention he ranks 4th all-time in Runs, with fifteen seasons of scoring 100 or more Runs.

As a Defender

   Although the vast majority of his career, Aaron played Right Field, where he won three Gold Gloves. It’s worth noting that Aaron played 200 or more games all over the outfield, including First Base, during his career. However, he was meant to play Right Field, where throughout 2,174 Games and 18,878 Innings, he was a lifetime .980 Fielder. Among all-time Right Fielders he ranks 11th all-time with 40 Double Plays, 10th all-time with 179 Assists, and 4th all-time with 4,161 Putouts.

Best Years

   In regards to Aaron, there are too many great years to count. While he only won one MVP in 1957, he had eight seasons in which he finished in the top-5 of the MVP voting. You can easily say that 1957 was his best season. However, I would argue that his 1959 season was just as good or better. Below are Hank Aaron’s eight best years.

1956: .328 BA 200 HITS 26 HR 92 RBI .365 OBP 106 RUNS (153 Games)

1957: .322 BA 198 HITS 44 HR 132 RBI .378 OBP 118 RUNS (151 Games)

1958: .326 BA 196 HITS 30 HR 95 RBI .386 OBP 109 RUNS (153 Games)

1959: .355 BA 223 HITS 39 HR 123 RBI .401 OBP 116 RUNS (154 Games)

1961: .327 BA 197 HITS 34 HR 120 RBI .381 OBP 115 RUNS (155 Games)

1962: .323 BA 191 HITS 45 HR 128 RBI .390 OBP 127 RUNS (156 Games)

1963: .319 BA 201 HITS 44 HR 130 RBI .391 OBP 121 RUNS (161 Games)

1971: .327 BA 162 HITS 47 HR 118 RBI .410 OBP 95 RUNS (139 Games)

  What goes unnoticed is that from 1962-68, the strike zone was extended, arguably leading to the most significant Starting Pitching dominance era. Hitters were at an extreme disadvantage, and in those years, Aaron was in the prime of his career, ages 28-34. Still, Aaron was highly dominant at the plate. Had the strike zones not been extended, Aaron most likely could’ve made a run at reaching 800 Home Runs and closer to the 4,000 Hit and 2,500 Runs Batted In milestones.

Legacy

   Hank Aaron currently is the all-time leader in RBIs with 2,297, ranks second all-time in HR with 755, third all-time in Hits with 3,771, and fourth all-time in Runs Scored with 2,174. He, Willie Mays, and Miguel Cabrera are the only three players who batted .300 or higher lifetime, along with 3,000 Hits and 500 Home Runs. Among Hall of Fame ballplayers, you have greats, but then you have immortals; based on his greatness and longevity, Hank Aaron is an IMMORTAL. After he stopped playing, both the Brewers and Braves retired his #44 jersey, and rightfully so. Despite the nine knuckleheads who didn’t vote for him, he was enshrined into Cooperstown in 1982 on his first ballot. In 1999, he was ranked #5 on The Sporting News list of the 100 greatest ballplayers ever played.

References:

  1. Hank Aaron via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Aaron#
  2. Hank Aaron Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aaronha01.shtml