The baseball world has lost a legend. Hank Aaron today passed away at the age of 86.

Many know Aaron as the home run king. The one who broke Babe Ruth’s record of 714. Yet for the younger generation of fans his story gets overlooked and is not as well known. It’s a sad reminder of Major League Baseball’s racist past.

Racism was prevalant when he played and at one one point he said “I had to duck. I had to go out the back door of ballparks. I had to have a police escort…I was getting threatening letters…All of these things put a bad taste in my mouth, & it won’t go away. They carved a piece of my heart away.”

Aaron stood above it all though. He became one of if not the best right-handed hitters in MLB history. He finished his career with .305 batting average, 3,771 hits, 624 doubles, 98 triples, 755 home runs, 2,297 RBI and he stole 240 bases.

He was a civil rights activist. Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali said this about Aaron. “The only man I idolize more than myself.”

There aren’t many words to describe the impact Aaron had on this world. He called out former Atlanta Braves closer John Rocker who made derogatory comments about playing in New York by saying that he was “very sick and disgusted about the whole situation.” He went on to say “I have no place in my heart for people who feel that way.”

Rocker then of course apologized.

Social media has poured in tributes for Aaron. Here’s a look at some of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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