I’d just began a new post for today’s entry on our blog when Lynndee asked me about a Facebook entry she ran across an obituary of someone called Henry Aaron which showed a photo of him in a Braves uniform. I turned her into a Braves fan after her arrival in the U.S.; baseball isn’t played in the Philippines. But in linking up with me, she’d married the true definition of fanatic for I was truly a hardcore Atlanta Braves fan.

The reason she called my attention to the Facebook post is that she’d never heard of “Henry” Aaron. Obviously, her knowledge of baseball history was very limited, beginning only in 2010 when she arrive here in the U.S. But when I told her that was Hank Aaron, she realized who it was for she had heard me talk about him many times.

Nonetheless, I was stunned and heartbroken to hear of Aaron’s passing. It seems as if so many great legends have left us as of late, and just these past two weeks we’d already lost the former great Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda, followed by the passing of Dodger Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, who kept his career in baseball alive by becoming a broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves. Ironically, Sutton is the ninth Baseball Hall of Famer to die since last April, all names I’m so familiar with having seen them play.

But being a Braves fan, “Hammerin” Hank truly is the stunner, followed closely by Phil Neikro, another Brave Hall of Famer, who died less than a month ago.

The “Hammerin” nickname was earned for the number of home runs he “hammered” out of dozens of ball parks. And it was during his chase of Babe Ruth’s all-time record of 714 home runs that I truly became an Atlanta fan.

The Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966, and in 1973, when the chase was coming close to fruition, seeing that Atlanta was only a 3-hour drive from my hometown, I went to see the Braves on the final weekend series of the season.

So on Saturday night, September 29th, in his 5th inning at bat, I got to see Hank “hammer” out his 713th career home run, leaving him one short of tying Babe Ruth’s all-time record. I immediately left my seat and went to the ticket window to get a ticket for the final game of the season. And it was a good thing I went right away for I wasn’t the only one thinking the same thing. I was one of the first to get there and by the time I left, the line seemed to be a mile long! As it was, he could have possibly tied the record that very night for he did have one more at bat that game. But all he got was a single, giving him 3 hits for the game, setting up the possibility of tying and maybe even breaking the record on Sunday afternoon.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t meant to see history. Hank did go 3 for 4 that final game, but all were singles. And it wasn’t until the beginning of the 1974 season that Hank finally broke the record, tying it his first at bat of the year, in Cincinnati, and breaking it on his second at bat during the Braves first home game of the new season. At least I did get to see it on TV!

I never got to see him play in person again, however, for he was traded at the end of the ’74 season back to the city the Braves had moved from, Milwaukee. He retired in 1976, holding the all-time home run record as well as well as being 1st all-time in Total Bases – 6,856; Runs Batted In – 2,297; and Extra Base Hits – 1,477. Quite a lifetime career indeed!

It’s sad to think that his lifetime career home run record of 755 was unquestionably eclipsed by what was unfair use of performance-enhancing drugs by a player I’ll not bother to mention by name. And at that, his final number was only 762. So in my book, not only will “Hammerin” Hank forever be the only true home run king, until fairly beaten (if at all possible!), as a player he’ll be the GOAT, GREATEST OF ALL TIME!

Fortunately, I got to see Hank one last time, as well as Lynndee getting to see him the first time, when we were invited to the Braves final game at Turner Field. We got the invite due to a blog post I’d written here telling of my introduction of Braves baseball to Lynndee and Yogi.

At the end of the final game we got to join the festivities on the field, and one of the events was of Henry “Hammerin” Hank Aaron coming out on the field, removing home plate and climbing in a limo which drove to their new field where Hank placed the plate in its new location.

So I’ll always have two great “Hammerin” Hank moments in my memory. You’ll be missed, “Hammer”, but never forgotten!