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DEL.ICIO.USAaron happy to be finished with it all
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
The biggest sigh of relief didn’t come from Barry Bonds after home run No. 756 flew deep into the San Francisco night, but from Hank Aaron, still exhaling over the joy of becoming just another retired guy in southwest Atlanta.
Unlike his neighbors, Aaron has 755 career home runs and a bronzed plaque in Cooperstown. He also has a revamped look on his life.
“I thought things were pretty normal for me at one point after going through what I did [while chasing Babe Ruth’s home run record during the early 1970s]. Then, all of a sudden, it crops up again with all these questions, and to be honest, I still don’t know how I managed to get thrown into this Bonds thing,” Aaron said on Thursday in an exclusive interview with the Journal-Constitution.
Just so you understand, Aaron didn’t want any part of this Bonds thing, because it reminded him of that Ruth thing, when he was an African-American player chasing the record of a white icon through a slew of death threats and hate mail.
Now, after 33 years as baseball’s all-time king of home runs, Aaron’s No. 755 is second to Bonds’ expanding record. Aaron couldn’t care less. As a result, this famously private man who nevertheless continues to reign on the throne in the hearts of many can return to the shadows.
That is, when Aaron isn’t dealing with his many projects involving youth, or becoming more active as a Braves executive, or exercising his 73-year-old body. “I try to work out every day, and I have this trainer here to help me try to keep this old body in shape,” said Aaron, chuckling, after his session at Turner Field. He gave another one of his contagious laughs, then added, “Oh, I feel tremendously relieved. I’m so glad this [Bonds’ record chase] is done with, and now I can just go my own way.”
Yes and no. Some things never will be the same for Aaron after he spent the past couple of years doing exactly the right thing: He said little or nothing about Bonds, the frequently surly star who is the poster child of baseball’s steroids era. Aaron also did exactly the right thing by staying with his vow of not becoming an unofficial member of the San Francisco Giants traveling team to see Bonds’ record-breaker.
Still, Aaron was ridiculed for remaining mostly invisible. Bonds even informed others — including commissioner Bud Selig, among Aaron’s closest pals, and myself — that he was upset that over the years Aaron never called him in general or visited him when the Giants came to Atlanta.
Through it all, Aaron discovered that several of his so-called friends were only acquaintances or worse.
“It really got to the point where a lot of people started wanting to give you advice about what you should do, and they didn’t know what the hell the situation was,” said Aaron, losing his post-755 calm for the moment. “I mean, these were people that you had been knowing for a long time, but they couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t getting involved in this thing.
“Then they would come forward and say things like, ‘Well, you need to do this. You need to do that.’ They wanted to give you all of this advice, and they didn’t know what was all involved in it, really.
“That’s the thing that really bothers you. Friends that you’ve had a long time are all of a sudden coming forth and telling you things like, ‘Well, I don’t understand why you aren’t making comments, or why aren’t you doing blah, blah, blah.’
“Well, you know what? You’re not supposed to understand any of it, because you’re not in it.”
Aaron paused, then he broke the silence with another one of his laughs. That’s opposed to what he did on Tuesday night when Bonds connected for the record-breaker in San Francisco.
What did Aaron do? “Well, first of all, I was asleep. It was 1 o’clock in the morning,” he said, chuckling. “Heck, I’m not going to sit up and watch a baseball game. It’s just like I wasn’t going to be able to travel all over the world to watch [Bonds break the record]. It wasn’t being disrespectful or anything. It’s just a matter of, hey, the body needed to go to sleep.”
As for Saturday night, when Bonds tied Aaron’s No. 755 in San Diego, Aaron was awake, but he was attending a function for his wife, Billye, who was being honored in Atlanta by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This was after the Aarons spent a week in Puerto Rico, and not because they were trying to ignore Bonds’ chase. They annually join Japanese baseball legend Sadaharu Oh at something called the World Children’s Baseball Fair, which features more than 4,000 kids from around the planet with aspirations of becoming the next Aaron or Oh.
This isn’t to say Aaron ignored Bonds’ march to history. Last month, Selig asked Aaron to do one public statement regarding the matter. Not only did Aaron agree, but he stood before a film crew at Turner Field last month to tape a classy video message that was displayed on the big screen at AT&T Park after Bonds’ big blast.
The gesture delighted a visibly moved Bonds and others. Said Aaron, “I’ve gotten a lot of calls saying that was the right thing to do, and these were from people who know a little bit more about this situation than just the average person.”
Which brings us to this: Will Aaron call or meet with Bonds at some point for whatever reason? “Eventually, if I happen to see him somewhere, I’d probably say something to him,” Aaron said. “To be honest, I’m as happy for him as anybody.”
Then Aaron gave his most contagious laugh yet, before saying, “Hey, you know, 33 years with the home run record, that was long enough for me.”
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By Ryan
August 10, 2007 8:32 AM | Link to this
He says he didn’t want to travel for the HR record.
And he didn’t want to be around any fuss over the HR record.
Yet, he goes to Peurto Rico?
To celebrate his record with Sadaharu Oh?
For someone who has repeatedly asked to be remembered for his consistency, he missed big on this one.
By USAFCCF
August 10, 2007 8:52 AM | Link to this
Henry Aaron is still my Home Run King.
By tripledart
August 10, 2007 8:53 AM | Link to this
Thanks Hank You are a true class act.You and the BABE ARE THE REAL MEN OF BASEBALL THE TRUE HOMERUN KINGS.PLAYED THE GAME WHEN IT WAS GAME. Tripledart
By BigBravesGirl
August 10, 2007 8:56 AM | Link to this
Ryan, he traveled to PR for pleasure, not for business. I don’t think following Bonds around like a groupie would have been pleasurable for anyone. He didn’t miss anything. Hank will always be the home run king, no matter how many homers Bonds hits.
By Ryan
August 10, 2007 9:05 AM | Link to this
BigBravesGirl…
“This was after the Aarons spent a week in Puerto Rico, and not because they were trying to ignore Bonds’ chase. They annually join Japanese baseball legend Sadaharu Oh at something called the World Children’s Baseball Fair, which features more than 4,000 kids from around the planet with aspirations of becoming the next Aaron or Oh.”
That’s business. And if he’s with Oh, it is 100% about being the HR champ.
As for pleasure…I assure you that spending a week in San Francisco is no horrible experience.
By BigBravesGirl
August 10, 2007 9:39 AM | Link to this
Ryan,
That’s not business. I think that’s personal. Charitable. Honorable. Something Bonds will never know about. I’m glad I don’t have to look in Bonds’ mirror every morning.
San Francisco… the land of Fruits and Nuts!
By BG
August 10, 2007 10:37 AM | Link to this
Ryan —
Get a grip! He went to Puerto Rico for a program for kids. It is what he wanted to do. I wonder how many people with cameras & microphones were in his face at the program? Because if he had decided to follow Barry around for two weeks, he would have certainly had media all over him asking him to relive a time in his life that obviously has mixed emotions.
Also, it was unclear when Barry would break the record. Was Hank supposed to put all of his summer plans on hold — clear the whole calendar — just so he could be there with a man that he really barely knows. Maybe he would have done that if it was a player he knew from the Braves’ system but it doesn’t even sound like he has dealt with Bonds for more than a handful of times in his life.
For all Barry’s “why doesn’t Hank call me” attitude, I wonder how many ballplayers go out of their way to meet Hank Aaron when they come to Atlanta?
Since when does holding a record oblige a person to go watch someone else try to break it?
By Falcon
August 10, 2007 10:44 AM | Link to this
I hate it that a classy guy like Aaron has repeatedly been put on the spot regarding the punk cheater from S.F. In any thinking person’s eyes, aaron is still the home run king and Maris is the single season leader. This was great on bonds vs aaron: http://www.nationalsquib.com/html/barry_bonds.html
By William
August 10, 2007 11:11 AM | Link to this
HANK IS STILL THE KING PERIOD!!! NO DOPED UP SUPERFREAK WILL EVER REPLACE HIM IN THE MINDS OF THE FANS, NO MATTER WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY.
By jon
August 10, 2007 11:44 AM | Link to this
Ryan your a clown. Please don’t blogg about your man crush with Bonds on this forum!
By bushwacker
August 10, 2007 11:45 AM | Link to this
Hank is still the HR King in Honest people’s eyes.
BUT WE HAVE ALL BEEN WRONG about the greatest record in sports,
That belongs to Wilt Chamberlain, 20,000!!!
By bushwacker
August 10, 2007 11:47 AM | Link to this
Hank is still the HR KING but its not the greatest record in sports, that belongs to Wilt Chamberlain…20,000!
By DavefromChattanooga
August 10, 2007 11:49 AM | Link to this
Any TRUE baseball fan knows that Henry Aaron will ALWAYS be thought of as the all-time HR king. His home runs came while hitting off his front foot and having such strong and lightning quick wrists that he could hit the ball out of the park. Mr. Surly’s came from pushing the center stem of a syringe until the HGH squirted into his veins. I hope that it was worth it to him to cheat. 755 won’t be his quest now. It will be to LIVE UNTIL 55 … see Matuszak, Alzado, etc.
By ARealFalconFan
August 10, 2007 12:58 PM | Link to this
Terrance do you have anything to write about other than Barry Bonds or Michael Vick? Come on man if you write 10 columns at least 7 will be about Vick or Bonds. The majority of the bloggers here can write the same thing as you and the other hacks at the AJC. Lets see, you spend 80% of the article telling us how vile they are. 18% telling us what they should do and maybe 2% telling us they haven’t actually done anything wrong but you just don’t like them or the way they carry themselves. You sound like some jilted high-school girl who got dumped by her boyfriend. One more thing, please don’t get all nostalgic about Hank either. He was treated almost as harshly as Bonds was during his homerun chase. Members of the media and public weren’t exactly big fans of his because he was seen as being surly and distant. Do some real accurate reporting some time.
By Tami
August 10, 2007 1:02 PM | Link to this
Mr. Aaron is just a class act. He’s the true HR king in my book.
By jd
August 10, 2007 1:03 PM | Link to this
Hank Aaron is nothing more than Bud Selig’s butt boy.
By DavefromChattanooga
August 10, 2007 1:47 PM | Link to this
You SHOULD be a FALCON’S fan … ‘cause you sure don’t know THIS baseball story …(your quote:) “He was treated almost as harshly as Bonds was.” He had THREATS ON HIS LIFE in every city he visited INCLUDING Atlanta!!! He got volumes of HATE MAIL ON A DAILY BASIS!!! He eventually had to have 24 hour-a-day security from a former Atlanta policeman. You’re obviously a kid or you would have heard this story of Aaron’s pursuit of Ruth’s record by now. Compared to the danger and hatred that Hank faced for several years BONDS faced nothing but those problems of his own making … CHEATER.
By DavefromChattanooga
August 10, 2007 1:50 PM | Link to this
Your mama must be proud of you, jd.
By Maconboy
August 10, 2007 1:57 PM | Link to this
jd is an idiot………!
By Al Hollingsworthy
August 10, 2007 2:13 PM | Link to this
Hank will always be number one. Look at a picture of Barry Bonds in a Pirates uniform and then look at him today.
Barry, they say confession is good for the soul …..+
By bushwacker
August 10, 2007 2:19 PM | Link to this
Ryan you nit wit he was in PR for the kids, something Bonds has no grasp. and as far as spending a week in San Fran,its propbably cool if your gay or a gutless liberal!
By bushwacker
August 10, 2007 2:25 PM | Link to this
jd and ryan are prbably in man love with vick too,along with bonds that makes 4 pathetic pieces of trash!
By Norma Jean Edwards
August 10, 2007 2:40 PM | Link to this
Jeanie from Roseville, CA Hank Aaron will never be overshadowed by Bonds. Bonds only cares about himself, not the fans. If we ignore the use of steroids, it’s impossible to forget his arrogance.
By TennesseePaul
August 10, 2007 2:42 PM | Link to this
San Francisco is a beautiful town. One doesn’t need to have a particular political point of view or sexual persuasion to enjoy the town. Suggestions otherwise are ridiculous.
So Aaron didn’t travel with the Giants all season to watch Bonds. Big deal. I’m glad he didn’t. He’s a Brave, not a Giant.
So Aaron stuck with his annual charity plans and went to Puerto Rico. Big deal. It’s another mark of his consistancy and reliability.
So Aaron didn’t want to be mixed up in all of this again, 33 years later. Big deal. The guy is retired. Old school retired. The kind of retired that doesn’t keep pitching a baseball or playing basketball.
Hank Aaron is the man. That’s all there is to it. He did what he did and what he did was continue to be a class act. He pre-taped a congratulatory remark. He’s been incredible throughout all of this.
Just makes me even more proud to be a Braves fan. And even happier every time I look at the autographed ball he gave me. He’s a great man and a great baseball player.
By bushwacker
August 10, 2007 2:58 PM | Link to this
This about more than Hank, Barry and home runs. Bottom line: whether you know your doing it or not, to reach the pinnacle of whatever it is your doing, is it ok to cheat along the way, yes or no.
By Pastor JLM
August 10, 2007 3:07 PM | Link to this
Great article Terrence. I respect your decision, Hank.
By bushwacker
August 10, 2007 3:10 PM | Link to this
SF is a beautiful city, if you could just get rid of the people that live there!
By bushwacker
August 10, 2007 3:12 PM | Link to this
SF is a great city, if you could just get rid of hte freaks that live there.
By jd
August 10, 2007 3:56 PM | Link to this
buschwacker please…. This is about Hank Selog giving Hank a reach around. Nothing more and nothing less. Aaron has been Selig’s cabanna boy since he played for Milwaukee. The real hero here is Bonds. Bonds has never been anyones butt boy. He is his own man
By bruce
August 10, 2007 3:57 PM | Link to this
Very nice article… thank you Terence a synonym for the word CLASS should be added: Henry Aaron I was a big fan of his brother Tommy when he played in Richmond. Thanks, Bruce
By Karen
August 10, 2007 4:09 PM | Link to this
RYAN, YOU are obviously ignorant on the matter..Aaron can travel where ever he wants..BUSINESS OR PLEASURE..you just don’t get it doofas!
By Karen
August 10, 2007 4:10 PM | Link to this
RYAN, YOU are obviously ignorant on the matter..Aaron can travel where ever he wants..BUSINESS OR PLEASURE..you just don’t get it doofas!
By DavefromChattanooga
August 10, 2007 4:20 PM | Link to this
jd, seek help … PROFESSIONAL help. You’re nuttier than that Mark Karr who insisted that he killed Jon Benet Ramsay.
By DavefromChattanooga
August 10, 2007 4:27 PM | Link to this
Barry Bonds is an arrogant, brooding thug who KNOWINGLY took steroids to try and “win” a place in baseball history. Most of his home runs came late in his career (“syringe related”). Of course, the nature of the human body is to be less powerful with increasing age as Hank and The Babe’s HRs came earlier in their career. But leaving all of that aside … HAVE YOU SEEN THIS SWELL-HEADED MONGREL LATELY? He used to be a skinny little malcontent who suddenly EVOLVED to become an NFL middle linebacker … You record isn’t TAINTED, Barry? B U L L C R A P !!!
By Rodney
August 10, 2007 6:27 PM | Link to this
Mr. Moore just made an appearance on EPSN and stated that the SCLC wanted to honor Vick… Now either he intentionally lied or he’s an abysmally mis-informed journalist. I’ve read and heard in the media that the SCLC rescinded their offer to honor Vick.
So why would Mr. Moore go onto an international media outlet with a blatant lie? That is for Mr. Moore to answer.
By Steve A.
August 11, 2007 12:03 AM | Link to this
Mr.Aaron has been a dynamic, classy role model who possesses the magic trail….integrity for decades. I have been a fan of his since the late 50’s. He will always be the home run champ with Babe Ruth #2. I was a fan of his brother, Tommie, too, God bless him. The Players’ Union and Bud Selig dropped the torch when they let this steroid matter persist and now a player totally void of any integrity nor positive character trait is supposedly the HR guy….bonds will never be the best! He couldn’t carry the jock of Henry Aaron, Ruth, Robinson, Gehrig, Ripken, Gwynn, etc. As a teacher, I am disturbed that many young boys look up to bonds as a hero.. I tell them to look to our service men and women, our fireman and law enforcement people and kids like the lad who helped those kids off that bus on the collapsed Minnesota bridge. Those are heroes, not the lying, cheating bonds.