I can still remember the day in 1974 when Henry Aaron broke Babe Ruth's all-time home run record; number 44 Aaron hitting number 715 off of number 44 Al Downing, pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Legendary announcer Vin Scully, with the Dodgers since their days in Brooklyn, called the action, and his call remains one of the best the sport has ever seen:
"What a marvelous moment for baseball; what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia; what a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron. … And for the first time in a long time, that poker face in Aaron shows the tremendous strain and relief of what it must have been like to live with for the past several months."
I remember asking my dad why it was so significant that a black man beat Ruth's record, as I couldn't imagine what a person's skin color mattered in "real life" let alone on the baseball diamond. This became a great chance for my dad to share with me the struggles that Jackie Robinson had to overcome in order to break the "color barrier" in baseball, and put it into proper perspective by realizing the magnitude of Aaron's accomplishment. All I could imagine was how great it must have been to be one of the 2 kids who ran onto the field to join Aaron in his historic home-run trot- but there was so much more to that moment that most of us never knew, from the many death-threats to the ways baseball attempted to minimize Aaron's amazing achievement. Henry Aaron is one of baseball's classiest, yet least-understood players, which is why our next selection in 2010's Best Baseball Books of the Year was such an amazing read!!
#3 - The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron - Howard Bryant
There have been a number of books written about Henry Aaron (he prefers "Henry" to "Hank") - some written by Aaron himself. Bryant, one of my favorite journalists, dug hard in order to paint a full portrait not just of Aaron but of life in Mobile, Alabama, for Aaron and his entire family, and in so doing, crafts by far not only the greatest Aaron biography but also one of the greatest baseball biographies to date.
Bryant takes on the difficult task of portraying Aaron not only as the superstar he was but as the man he is, warts and all. Aaron remains one of the most respected men in the game of baseball, but that's a far cry from the young man whose many accomplishments never got noticed, lost in the shadow of Willie Mays' flamboyance or Mickey Mantle's geographic advantage. Aaron's biggest flaw was being so consistent as a player that he often stayed anonymous due to the same consistency (or lack of flare) that made him the foundation of the Braves for 20+ seasons. Even an old-timer like Ty Cobb, not exactly known for his progressive thoughts on race relations, had the following to say about a young Aaron:
And yet, not many fans outside of Milwaukee and, later, Atlanta, truly appreciated Aaron while he was still playing, until late in his career when he threatened Ruth's long-standing records. It was never records, however, that drove Aaron to achieve greatness; in fact, he was more hurt that his records as a player over-shadowed his many personal, non-game related achievements. Aaron did seek recognition for his on-field accomplishments while playing the game, but again was often over-shadowed by the likes of Mays, who in spite of their alleged friendship (as portrayed on an episode of HBO's Bob Costas Show, as well as an episode of the MLB Network's "Studio 42 with Bob Costas") seemed to take joy in mistreating Aaron during their playing days.
In spite of the many cruelties that Aaron faced during his career, including those from then-commissioner of baseball, Bowie Kuhn (one of my LEAST favorite people of all time), he remained true to himself, becoming a role model in his quiet dignity. Bryant captures this dignity, as well as bringing to life the many key games of Aaron's long career. The only slight critique I had was that I wanted to learn even more about Aaron's life after baseball, but even at 525+ pages, it's hard to bring to light everything about the fascinating subject that is Henry Aaron.
In sum, Bryant paints an amazingly colorful portrait of a man, Henry Aaron, who was never known for hogging the spotlight; "The Last Hero" gives Aaron the spotlight that he has, for so very long, richly deserved. Kudos to Howard Bryant, and I can NOT stress enough how great a read this was and how much you owe it to yourselves or those who love baseball to buy this book, which you can do by clicking here.
Next: The "Top 2"!!!
#3 - The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron - Howard BryantThere have been a number of books written about Henry Aaron (he prefers "Henry" to "Hank") - some written by Aaron himself. Bryant, one of my favorite journalists, dug hard in order to paint a full portrait not just of Aaron but of life in Mobile, Alabama, for Aaron and his entire family, and in so doing, crafts by far not only the greatest Aaron biography but also one of the greatest baseball biographies to date.
Bryant takes on the difficult task of portraying Aaron not only as the superstar he was but as the man he is, warts and all. Aaron remains one of the most respected men in the game of baseball, but that's a far cry from the young man whose many accomplishments never got noticed, lost in the shadow of Willie Mays' flamboyance or Mickey Mantle's geographic advantage. Aaron's biggest flaw was being so consistent as a player that he often stayed anonymous due to the same consistency (or lack of flare) that made him the foundation of the Braves for 20+ seasons. Even an old-timer like Ty Cobb, not exactly known for his progressive thoughts on race relations, had the following to say about a young Aaron:
"Incidentally, Ty Cobb rates Henry Aaron, Braves' Negro newcomer, one of the best young players he has seen in years," reported Al Wolf in the Los Angeles Times. "Calls him a hitting natural."
And yet, not many fans outside of Milwaukee and, later, Atlanta, truly appreciated Aaron while he was still playing, until late in his career when he threatened Ruth's long-standing records. It was never records, however, that drove Aaron to achieve greatness; in fact, he was more hurt that his records as a player over-shadowed his many personal, non-game related achievements. Aaron did seek recognition for his on-field accomplishments while playing the game, but again was often over-shadowed by the likes of Mays, who in spite of their alleged friendship (as portrayed on an episode of HBO's Bob Costas Show, as well as an episode of the MLB Network's "Studio 42 with Bob Costas") seemed to take joy in mistreating Aaron during their playing days.
In spite of the many cruelties that Aaron faced during his career, including those from then-commissioner of baseball, Bowie Kuhn (one of my LEAST favorite people of all time), he remained true to himself, becoming a role model in his quiet dignity. Bryant captures this dignity, as well as bringing to life the many key games of Aaron's long career. The only slight critique I had was that I wanted to learn even more about Aaron's life after baseball, but even at 525+ pages, it's hard to bring to light everything about the fascinating subject that is Henry Aaron.
In sum, Bryant paints an amazingly colorful portrait of a man, Henry Aaron, who was never known for hogging the spotlight; "The Last Hero" gives Aaron the spotlight that he has, for so very long, richly deserved. Kudos to Howard Bryant, and I can NOT stress enough how great a read this was and how much you owe it to yourselves or those who love baseball to buy this book, which you can do by clicking here.
Next: The "Top 2"!!!
One of Henry's sons is a scout for Milwaukee. Him and I have sneeked a few cigarettes outside the ballpark in our day...
ReplyDeleteI asked him what kind of pressure was on him when he grew up.
He said his Dad bought him his first baseball bat... when he was 2.
That's not pressure- that's BIRTHRIGHT!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteI still love the question- which 2 brothers hold the all-time record, combined, for most home runs? Up until about 10 years ago, you'd be surprised how many people didn't know that answer!!!