 Hank Aaron - "Hammerin' Hank" Aaron earned his
nickname by clubbing 755 roundtrippers over his 23-year career. Not only did he
raise the bar for home runs, but he also established 12 other major league
career records, including most games, at-bats, total bases and RBI. Hank Aaron
played the infield but gained recognition as an excellent outfielder, winning
three Gold Glove awards. He earned National League Most Valuable Player honors
in 1957, and appeared in a record 24 All-Star Games.
During 23 seasons in the major leagues (1954–76), Hank Aaron
surpassed batting records set by some of the greatest hitters in the game,
including Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Stan Musial. Hank Aaron, a right-hander,
began his professional career in 1952, playing shortstop for a few months with
the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League. His contract was bought by
the Boston Braves of the National League, who assigned him to minor league
teams. In 1954 Hank Aaron moved up to the majors, playing mostly as an
outfielder for the Braves (who had moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1953). In
1956 he won the league batting championship with an average of .328, and in
1957, having led his team to victory in the World Series, he was named the
league's Most Valuable Player. By the time the Braves moved to Atlanta, Georgia,
at the end of 1965, Hank Aaron had hit 398 home runs. In Atlanta on April 8,
1974, he hit his 715th, breaking Babe Ruth's record, which had stood since 1935.
After the 1974 season, Hank Aaron was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, who were
at that time in the American League. Hank Aaron retired after the 1976 season
and rejoined the Atlanta Braves as an executive. He was elected to the Baseball
Hall of Fame on January 13, 1982.
Hank Aaron's batting records include totals of 755 home runs,
1,477 extra-base hits, and 2,297 runs batted in. His other career statistics
include 2,174 runs scored (second to Ty Cobb) and 12,364 times at bat in 3,298
games (second to Pete Rose). His hits (3,771) were exceeded only by those of Ty
Cobb and Pete Rose. Hank Aaron's lifetime batting average was .305.
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