A Love Letter to No. 44

Hank Aaron died on Friday, January 22, 2021. He was 86 years old.

“What are you doing today?” I asked my son Nick. 

“I am going to Turner Field to put flowers on Hank Aaron’s memorial where his 715th home run landed,” he answered.

Nick is a real Braves fan. 

But he is also a Hank Aaron fan. I didn’t know this. I knew he knew Aaron beat Babe Ruth’s home run record but didn’t know how much he respected Aaron. After all, Aaron quit playing baseball long before Nick was ever born.

I asked Nick, “Why are you going to Turner Field to honor Aaron?”

Even though he lives at the Battery in Atlanta, which is the location of the Truist Field, the new Braves stadium, he wanted to go to the place where the record was broken.

He said, “The man left Mobile, Alabama, with a sandwich and $15 in his pocket. And he changed the game of baseball forever. On the way to breaking Babe Ruth’s record, he received constant death threats, but he continued on. He kept swinging for the fences. He broke a record that stood for 40 years. He was the greatest baseball player ever.” 

And then Nick went on.

“He was also a great man. Look how, even after leaving baseball, he continued to be an admired representative of the game. His 755 Foundation helped so many people.”

And he finished with, “I just admired the guy. The least I could do is pick up some flowers, drive to Turner Field, and say a prayer for him and his family.”

I’m not Nick.

I like baseball, but I am not a real fan. Nick, in my mind, sets the standard for being a fan. But when I was growing up, I was a real fan. As I became an adult, my interest in baseball began to slowly ebb as I focused on my career.

And now, in my late sixties, I am coming back. I picked up Lou Gehrig’s biography. Then I read Bob Gibson’s biography. Next on my list will be Hank Aaron’s and then Yogi Berra’s biography. 

I find these biographies fascinating. 

I learned through them that baseball doesn’t change. It isn’t like business. 

• It is all about men who have the talents of throwing a ball, hitting a ball, catching a ball, and running. It is about moments of high drama and strategy and boredom. 

• It is about the dynamics of teams. 

• It is about leadership. 

• It is about men who are admired for their love and commitment to the game. 

• It is real life. It is individual performance. It is a team performance. 

• It is about men who are sinners and saints but great at what they do, regardless. Some are hated. Some are greatly admired. Many are simply forgotten. 

• It is about statistics and personalities. 

• It is about history, people, and legacies. 

It has nothing to do with technology, wars, markets, economic forecasts, financial forecasts, new ideas, or new industries. It is simply about those four skills practiced every day by each man on each team. And if you are not good enough, you are “sent down.”

It is simple, yet hard. It is about people. Yes. That’s it. It is simply about people trying to be their best every day. Why? Because that’s the skill God gave them, and in the end, they want to be recognized and respected, even admired, by the fans for their excellence.

“Hammering” Hank Aaron was an African American in baseball who played from 1954 to 1976. He played right through discrimination, death threats, isolation, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and a president’s impeachment. 

My son was born 17 years after Hank Aaron hung up his spikes. This means my son wasn’t even old enough to be aware of Hank Aaron until he was probably 15 years old. Up until that time, all he knew was Chipper Jones. So what did my son see in Aaron?

He came to know this man’s legacy. I saw Aaron play.

My son only saw his stats and maybe a Braves' organization interview from time to time of this old man who was a former baseball great. But what he also saw and heard was the way the current players admired him. The way these young men talked about Hammering Hank. They spoke of the man and his accomplishments with reverence. 

I recently read a quote, “Baseball is more than a game. It is like life played out on a field.”

And what a life Hank Aaron led. It was a life where dreams come true while doing the one thing you love to do every day. Play baseball. 

I think my son honored Hank Aaron because of his achievements and his example as a man.

He was the best at his profession, yet he was humble. He never made the really big bucks but gave away more money than he ever made. He knew God gave him these gifts, so he knew they weren’t his to brag about. He always talked about the game with a religious reverence that all baseball fans admired. 

In short, he loved the game and his fans to the end.

I thank God for you, Hank Aaron. You showed my son what it looks like to be a man.

RIP, Hank Aaron.