Posted on 04/08/2024 6:44:02 PM PDT by Rummyfan
As the crowd gathered at Fulton County Stadium 50 years ago tonight, the fans anticipated that history would take place. For one night, Atlanta was the center of the baseball universe, and Atlanta Braves star Henry "Hank" Aaron didn’t disappoint.
The media anticipated the night’s excitement, too. NBC covered the game live, and entertainer Pearl Bailey sang the national anthem. Aaron’s parents were there, as were luminaries like Sammy Davis Jr.
The fateful moment came in the bottom of the fourth inning as Aaron faced off against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing. The first pitch was a ball, but Aaron smashed the second pitch into the bullpen in left-center field, where Braves pitcher Tom House caught it.
(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...
You could also point out that Babe Ruth played in an era when the best players were not all playing in MLB, Ruth played before Blacks were allowed in MLB, there were no Bob Gibsons when Babe Ruth played, Ruth also received credit for a small number of HRs that bounced over wall, later that was changed to be a ground rule double
They were still home runs as decided by the rules of the game at the time.
I know there were some barnstorming games played off season by clubs against black teams with some notable losses by the pros...
That doesn’t diminish those players accomplishments. Even with the inclusion of black players in MLB, it still took decades to break Ruth’s record.
You’re exactly right, my point is to not debate who is the better player, it’s that the rules of baseball have changed some over the years, it still does not diminish how great these players were, which if why I stay away from who is the better player, just enjoy their great talent and don’t get caught up on who is better.
Things like ground rule doubles, going from 154 to 162 games per season, integration of black and Hispanic Players into the game, specialization of pitching, analytics, etc., have all changed the game.
Hank Aaron’s RBI record is a bigger deal to me than the HR records he has, the name of the game is producing runs and he produced them better than anyone.
Some records are likely to never be broken, I don’t think anyone will win more games than Cy Young, I don’t know if anyone will ever hit .400 again, etc.
I think you’re confusing
Willie Mayes with Willie
McCovy. McCovey held the
record at 515 feet until
Mark Magwire belted one
at 545.
I was at a Giants game as
a ten year old, when McCovy
hit one at 505.
I think you’re confusing
Willie Mayes with Willie
McCovy. McCovey held the
record at 515 feet until
Mark Magwire belted one
at 545.
I was at a Giants game as
a ten year old, when McCovy
hit one at 505.
Nope. I'm talking about the home run count records, both per year and over a career. Mays got up toward the top in both metrics, but was defeated by those swirling winds off the Bay that chilled his fans to the bone. I do remember them well. I hated hot dogs in general, but they were sure good when they were hot.
My favorite memories of Willie surround the way he would so often turn a single into a double with sheer hustle. The cap almost always came off when he came into second. If I recall correctly, he long held a record for triples.
.
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