Hank Aaron's 715th home run re-enacted
On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, surpassing Babe Ruth and becoming baseball's all-time home run king -- a record that held until 2007. On the 40th anniversary of the iconic homer, ESPN.com presents a live re-enactment of Aaron's record-breaking achievement.
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Welcome to our live blog as we chronicle Hank Aaron’s pursuit of Babe Ruth’s home run record. Jayson Stark and I are on hand at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium for the Braves’ home opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves enter the game 1-2 after their three-game series in Cincinnati to start the season, while the Dodgers are 3-0 after sweeping the Padres. But that's all secondary to the real story of the night -- Aaron's first shot at HR No. 715 at his home ballpark.
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It's been a rainy day in Atlanta, and it's come down hard at times. But the rain has subsided for now. Still, it's lousy baseball weather; the temperature is in the 40s. But I bet these fans won't care too much about the weather if they get to see history tonight.
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Here’s a shot of Aaron warming up in the outfield earlier this evening. Behind him beyond the left-field fence is a billboard, donated by local businessman and TV station owner Ted Turner, that indicates where Aaron currently stands in the HR chase: 714.
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The Braves have dubbed it Hank Aaron Night at the ballpark, and a rather elaborate pregame ceremony began at 7 p.m. At the moment it's a festival of choirs, with the Atlanta Children's Choir, the Jonesboro High School choir and the Morris Brown College choir all performing in addition to the Third Army Band.
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Several dignitaries are at the ballpark to be a part of what could be a historic night. Among those attendance are Sammy Davis Jr., Gov. Jimmy Carter, Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson and Georgia Congressman Andrew Young. Davis has been involved in a movie project about Aaron’s life: The Hank Aaron Story.
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The media isn't too pleased with Braves manager Eddie Mathews at the moment. He closed the clubhouse an hour before game time, which is a violation of the agreement between the BBWAA and the league. The clubhouse is supposed to remain open until 30 minutes before the game, and he can't unilaterally make that kind of decision. He'll be hearing about that.
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The Braves are pulling out all the stops, doing a version of "This Is Your Life" for Aaron. There's a red, white and blue map of the U.S. painted on the grass in center field. Braves radio announcer Milo Hamilton is introducing family, friends, scouts and former managers as sort of a timeline biography of Aaron's life.
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They are each taking a spot on the map: John Mullen (Indianapolis), an old Braves exec who signed Aaron from the Clowns; Donald Davidson stood on Boston, where the Braves were located when they signed Aaron; Charlie Grimm, his first big league manager, is standing on Milwaukee; Ed Scott, his manager with the Mobile Black Bears, is standing on Mobile, Ala. Very cool tribute.
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Braves PR director Bob Hope, left, told me that the Braves have issued an average of 400 press credentials PER DAY. There are reporters here from Japan, South America and England, and that's highly unusual. Who would have known baseball's all-time home run record was such a global fascination.
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The media has filled the club level of the stadium AND the press box. There's such a crush of media here that the Braves have had to open the football press box for the spillover. Photographers are positioned all along the fence down both foul lines. The network anchors are here. And Aaron, who's not a big fan of the spotlight, has been doing major interviews in 15-minute segments before and after the game each day in addition to pregame and postgame press conferences. What an event!
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The stadium is near capacity, and the Braves are expecting the largest crowd ever for a Braves game at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, close to 54,000 who have come hoping to witness history. To put that in perspective, there were only 17,836 here when Aaron hit No. 713 on Sept. 29, the second-to-last day of the '73 season.
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Among those NOT in attendance is commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who had a previously scheduled speaking engagement with the Indians fan club. That hasn't gone over well with the Braves and their fans. In his place Monte Irvin, who was just inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame last year, was sent in the Commissioner’s place.
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It’s been no secret that the Braves have wanted Aaron to break the record at home. They announced during spring training that Aaron wouldn’t play in the season-opening series against the Reds in Cincinnati. At first Kuhn said he expected Aaron to play in two of the three games. But Thursday, in his first at-bat of the season, Aaron’s first swing against the Reds’ Jack Billingham produced HR No. 714.
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Here's one good reason for Kuhn to question the Braves about not playing Aaron in Saturday’s game: Of all the pitchers he’s faced at least 20 times in his career, Aaron has the highest OPS (2.072) against left-hander Don Gullett, the Reds’ starting pitcher Saturday. The numbers: 11-for-23 (.478), with seven HRs and eight walks.
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Here is Aaron with a bust of himself that was done by a Japanese sculptor. It’s only appropriate that Aaron has an opportunity to break the record at home. Of the 315 home runs he’s hit since the Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta in 1966, 179 have come at Fulton County Stadium. And 24 of his 40 home runs came at home last season.
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How will Downing pitch to Aaron? Here's what he said earlier: "I will pitch to Aaron no differently tonight. I'll mix my pitches up, move the locations. If I make a mistake, it's no disgrace. I don't think the pitcher should take the glory for No. 715. He won't deserve any accolades. I think people will remember the pitcher who throws the last one he ever hits, not the 715th."
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Aaron was just introduced to the crowd and made his way to the field under a canopy of raised bats. Now that we've seen fireworks, balloons, cannons, marching bands, hundreds of pigeons released in the air, and "This Is Your Life," the game already has been delayed by more than 10 minutes.
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Pearl Bailey is singing a very soulful rendition of the national anthem. Bailey is one of Aaron's favorite entertainers. Hope said when he called Bailey to find out if she would be willing to sing the national anthem, a woman picked up the phone and asked who wanted Miss Bailey. When Hope told her who he was and why he was calling, the woman said, "This is Pearl Bailey, and I would love to come!"
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Herbert Aaron, Hank's father, just threw out the first pitch. And after a long delay, the game should be starting shortly. The broadcast team of Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek is prepared to call the game for NBC. Milo Hamilton and Vin Scully are handling the radio broadcast duties for the Braves and the Dodgers, respectively. Beginning at HR No. 710, the networks have been breaking in with updates of each Aaron at-bat.
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The 1973 season wasn't a stellar one for Reed; he was only 4-11 with a 4.41 ERA. He's a giant at 6-foot-6, and if he looks more like an NBA player, he was one. After graduating from Notre Dame, Reed played two seasons with the Detroit Pistons before deciding to stick to baseball.
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During pregame warmups, I was watching Buckner (now batting) out in left field. And he was sprinting to the fence and leaping as if he were trying to steal a home run ball. He did that two or three times. I wonder how this crowd would react if he robbed Hank of No. 715.
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Wynn is the hottest hitter in baseball to start the season. He's already 7-for-13 (.538) with three HRs -- one in each of the Dodgers' first three games. His OPS is 1.841, if you know what OPS is. They don't call him the "Toy Cannon" for nothing! The ball absolutely explodes off his bat.
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Perhaps the fans will get a chance to see Aaron hit early tonight. He has three very good hitters in front of him in Garr, Lum and Evans. Offense is not the problem for the Braves; they led the National League in runs per game (4.93). That's better than even the vaunted Reds (second with 4.57). The Braves' problem is pitching; they were last in ERA (4.78).
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This has been such a grueling pursuit for Aaron. Since the end of the last season, he's received more than 3,000 letters a day, more than most American politicians. The Braves needed to hire a personal secretary, Carla Koplin, to handle the deluge of letters. But unfortunately, a large portion of it has been hate mail; he's even received several death threats -- all of it coming from racists who took exception to a black man challenging sports' most sacred record, long held by a white man (Babe Ruth) who happened to be the greatest American sports icon.
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Here’s a small sampling of the ugly hate mail he's received:
Dear N----- Henry,
You are (not) going to break this record established by the great Babe Ruth if I can help it. ... Whites are far more superior ... My gun is watching your every black move.
Dear Henry Aaron,
How about some sickle cell anemia, Hank?
Dear Hank Aaron,
I hope you get it between the eyes.
