Atlanta Braves Franchise all-time top outfielder: Hank Aaron
By Fred Owens
Hank Aaron trivia
In 1959 Hammerin’ Hank appeared the Home Run Derby TV show and won six consecutive challenges. This link takes you to his match against future Hall of Fame outfielder Al Kaline. Aaron won of course and twice more before Wally Post eliminated him.
On June 8, 1961, the Braves were getting it handed to them, down 10-2 at the hand of the Reds and Jim Maloney. After Frank Bolling singled to open the top of the seventh:
- Eddie Mathews took Maloney deep into the right-field seats,
- Aaron took Maloney’s next pitch into the left-field seats, cutting the lead 10 five and sending Maloney to the showers in favor of Marshall Bridges,
- Joe Adcock hit Bridges first pitch into the left-field seats, and
- Frank Thomas hit the next pitch to the same place.
Aaron, Mathews, Adcock, and Thomas became to first players to hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs in baseball history
When the league split into divisions, Atlanta Braves ended up in the NL West: they joined three teams Aaron punished annually. He hit 97 of his career homers against the Dodgers, 95 against the Reds, and 78 against the Giants, The Cardinals breathed a sigh of relief because they didn’t see him as often, but The Hammer still fell on the Redbirds 91 times in his 21 National League seasons.
Aaron was the first player to have both 500 homers and 3000 hits, and he is still the only player with more than 3300 hits and 600 homers.
He hit 398 of his 733 Braves homers for the Milwaukee Braves and 335 homers for the Atlanta Braves.
April was a good milestone month for Aaron, He hit homer number 1 on April 23, 1953, number 300 on April 19, 1963, number 400 on April 20, 1966, number 600 on April 27, 1971, number 714 on April 4, 1974, and number 715 on April 8, 1974.
He hit number 100 on August 15, 1957, but the rest of the homer milestones came in July; Number 200 on July 3, 1960, number 500 on July 14, 1968, number 700 on July 21, 1973, and number 755 on July 20, 1975
In his career Aaron homered 385 times at home and 370 on the road; as a Brave, he hit 375 at home and 358 on the road.
The last Atlanta Braves at-bat
On September 11, the Braves game against the Reds in Cincinnati was called after the fifth inning with the score tied 1-1. The Braves lost a doubleheader on September 12 beat the Reds in game 162. After that game:
- The Braves’ were 87-74-1, 14.5 games behind the Dodgers and 4.5 behind the Reds
- The Reds were 98-63-1, 4.5 games behind the Dodgers
- Montreal and the Mets played 181 game seasons after a rainout
Maybe the Braves and Reds played because both teams were there, and had nothing else to do, or needed the gate money from the 11,081 folks who turned up. Whatever the reason, they played the game.
Pete Rose managed one hit towards his eventual record, but Aaron had a better day. He popped up in the first, then walked and scored on a Mike Lum homer in the fourth. In the seventh, Aaron came to the plate for the last time as a member of the Atlanta Braves and promptly launched Rawly Eastwick’s first pitch into the left-field seats. Manager and former teammate Del Crandall replaced him after a curtain call.
In addition to being hit number 3600, it was homer number 733, RBI number 2202, and run number 2107 as a Brave.