He was a gap hitter for most of his career, he modified his swing when the Braves moved to Atlanta. This was especially true when it be came apparent he had a real shot at catching Ruth. Saw him in County Stadium in '75 when played out his final seasons back in Milwaukee with the Brewers.Big Al 1992 said:
We know the home runs but this stat is amazing
Hank Aaron, 6856 Career Total Bases
Aaron's homer record may be under seige, but his career total bases record, held by a margin of some 700 over Stan Musial and nearly a thousand ahead of #4 Barry Bonds, remains safely out of reach. Aaron had 3771 hits, 98 triples and 624 doubles to go with 755 HR. To do that required durability (15 straight seasons of over 600 plate appearances, 19 straight of over 500, and the first year he fell short he still hit 40 homers), consistency, tremendous power and a good batting average, and he did it despite playing more tha half his prime years in a pitchers' park and running his career straight accross the low-scoring 1960s.
Big Al 1992 said:
We know the home runs but this stat is amazing
Hank Aaron, 6856 Career Total Bases
Aaron's homer record may be under seige, but his career total bases record, held by a margin of some 700 over Stan Musial and nearly a thousand ahead of #4 Barry Bonds, remains safely out of reach. Aaron had 3771 hits, 98 triples and 624 doubles to go with 755 HR. To do that required durability (15 straight seasons of over 600 plate appearances, 19 straight of over 500, and the first year he fell short he still hit 40 homers), consistency, tremendous power and a good batting average, and he did it despite playing more tha half his prime years in a pitchers' park and running his career straight accross the low-scoring 1960s.
True, in that sense. But he spent most of his peak years when pitching was most dominant, at least since the dead ball era. Think of the pitchers he faced at their peak - Koufax, Drysdale, Gibson, Marichal, Carlton, Seaver. And Ill bet there's some I'm leaving out.W said:
Aaron also hit the sweet spot with regard to being born in 1934.
he was too young for WWII and Korea...and the color barrier had been broken in 1947...a few years before he got to the minors.
those things really lined up well for him
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Imagine having an OPS+ as incredible as 161 in one big-league season. Well, that was Aaron's OPS+ over the 20 seasons from 1955-74.
And my personal favorite...Quote:
Yes, in 23 seasons, Aaron never whiffed 100 times. Not once. In his ability to produce how he produced while never striking out 100 times, he just about stands alone in the history of his sport.
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Oh, and did you know that, at age 40, in 1974, Aaron had a 20-homer season in which he struck out just 29 times? That's a feat we wouldn't even recognize today. You know the last time anybody struck out fewer than 30 times in a season in which he hit at least 20 home runs? Oh, only four decades ago, when George Brett had 24 homers, 22 K's in 1980.
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Hank Aaron played 3,298 regular-season games. He struck out more than once in just 208 of them.
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Joey Gallo (202 multi-K games in the first 473 games of his career).
AgPediRPh said:
I read his autobiography "I had a hammer" as a sophomore and instantly admired Aaron. He was ridiculously talented but carried himself with a quiet dignity.
RIP Hammer