“Hammerin” Hank Aaron Passes Away

Henry Aaron (pictured at the Baseball Hall of Fame Ceremony), one of the greatest baseball players of all time passed away on Friday morning at the age of 86.

Aaron was Major League Baseball's home run king with 755 career homers from his retirement in 1976 until Barry Bonds broke the official MLB record in 2007.  Aaron remains the game's all-time leader in runs batted in and total bases.  And is third all-time in games played behind Carl Yastrzemski and Pete Rose.

Hammerin' Hank, as he was called, played most of his career with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves before finishing up with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1976.  He broke Babe Ruth's home run record famously in 1974 with a homer off of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing.

He led the Milwaukee Braves to a World Series title in 1957 when they beat the favored New York Yankees in seven games.  Aaron was the National League Most Valuable Player that season, and he played in a record 25 MLB All-Star Games.

And in 1999, MLB created the Hank Aaron Award.  Which is given to the top hitter in each league every season.

After his career, he joined the Braves front office, where worked to provide more opportunities for minorities in baseball.  On and off the field.

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