Hank Aaron: Fun Facts

In addition to a daily trivia question, the Society for the Advancement of Baseball Research (SABR) emails facts about players when they pass away. Unfortunately they’ve had to do this quite often lately. Here’s what they had to say about Hank Aaron (the last fact comes from me).

HANK AARON  [SABR Bio] broke Babe Ruth’s record for career home runs after that record had stood for almost half a century. Passed Ruth’s 714 on 08-Apr-1974 off Dodger pitcher Al Downing in the 4th inning. His HR was on the 4th pitch of the 4th inning in the 4th game of the 4th month in a year divisible by 4. In addition, he wore uniform #44 as did Al Downing.  He won the HR title in 4 seasons and 4 times hit 44 HR.  One season he tied for the league lead with Willie McCovey.  Willie’s uniform number?  You got it. 44. Reggie Jackson would be quick to point out that he too wore #44 and that he led the league in HR four times. The day Hank died 01+22+21 adds up to 44.

For fifty years, his name was first in any alphabetical list of major league players. Aaron was first alphabetically and his brother Tommie was second until David Aardsma debuted w/SFG in 2004.

At age 23, he was the Most Valuable Player in the National League, in 1957.

Of the next eight players receiving MVP votes that year, seven are today in the Hall of Fame. Behind him in the voting that year were, in order, Musial, Schoendienst, Mays, Spahn, Banks, Mathews & F. Robinson.

He received MVP votes in nineteen seasons of his 23-year MLB career. Received MVP votes straight from 1955 through 1973. During that time, he never didn’t receive MVP consideration.

He was the first player to be a unanimous selection to the All-Star team. Unanimous All Star in 1959—players voted for the teams that year.

No one made more major league All-Star teams and it’s likely no one ever will. Aaron was a NL AS 25 times in an unbroken string 1955-75. (There were two AS games per season 1959-62).

No other player has more career runs batted in: 2,297 RBI. Ruth ended with 2,214.

No other player’s bat was responsible for more career total bases than his 6,856. Stan Musial is a distant second with 6,134.

In eight seasons, his home run total was forty or greater. Only the AL’s Babe Ruth did it more times—nine.

He was the last player in the majors who had played in the Negro Leagues. His last MLB season was 1976.

In his 23 seasons in the majors, he never hit fewer than ten home runs. No other player can make that claim.

His first game in the majors was the first day that players were required to take their mitts with them when they left the field at the end of each half inning. Amazingly, players had been able to simply leave their gloves somewhere near their positions and retrieve them when they went back out.

He was the first player to win a Gold Glove award and batting title the same season. He was the 2nd of his three GG (1958, 59 & 60) when he hit .355. He also won a batting title in 1956 when he hit .328.

He was the first player in to post 40 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same year. It wasn’t done again for another quarter century. In 1963 he had 44 HR and 31 SB. In 1988 Jose Canseco hit 42 HR w/40 SB.

He hit a home run in every League Championship Series game he played in. 1969 NLCS, a HR in each of the three games.

He was the first player to ground into 300 double plays. He passed 300 in 1974. Cal Ripken, Ivan Rodriguez and Albert Pujols have since passed his 328 GIDP total.

He was the first to be a member of both the 500 home run club and the 3,000 hit club.

He is the only player to win all three legs of the Triple Crown more than once during his career, yet never win the Triple Crown. HR 1957, 63, 66-67; RBI 1957, 60, 63, 66; AVG 1956, 59)

No one hit more home runs off Sandy Koufax than he did. He homered off Koufax seven times, as also did Felipe Alou, Ernie Banks, & Frank Robinson.

In 2001, President Bill Clinton presented him with the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation’s second-highest civilian award. In 2002, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from President George W. Bush.

He didn't play organized high school baseball because only white students had teams. Grew up in fully segregated Mobile, Alabama. If a higher award is ever created, he’d no doubt be one of the first recipients.

A future commissioner of baseball sold him his first car. Milwaukee car dealer Bud Selig was the salesman. 

Hank never struck out 100 times in a season. Now players regularly strike out over 200 times a year.