Hammerin' Hank

Jay Jaffe, the Futility Infielder, gives us a nice reminder of what an incredible feat Hank Aaron pulled off in his march to the record of 755 HRs that he set 30 years ago. He writes that he hopes Barry Bonds falls short of the mark, not because Bonds is insufferable or because he's so juiced it looks like his head's going to pop off, but because of the enormous obstacles Aaron had to overcome in his career. I didn't realize, for instance, that Aaron was the last Negro League player to join the major leagues. From the Indianapolis Clowns, no less.

On a personal note, as Aaron closed in on the record I became aware, probably for the first time in my sheltered life, of the pervasiveness of racism in this country (and in baseball -- one of the reasons the Yankees and the Red Sox went into decline in the 1960s was their foot dragging on integration) and the threat of violence that always seems to be waiting just below the surface of daily life. Much has been made of Maris' 61 in 1961 and how so many people thought his breaking Ruth's record was a betrayal of some kind. Aaron had to suffer through that, but also racist jeers and death threats as well. At least they didn't put an asterisk next to his total.