Nicknamed “Hammer” or “Hammerin’ Hank,” Hank Aaron died at 86 on January 22, 2021. Before joining the Milwaukee Braves in 1954, Aaron played for the Negro American League with the Indianapolis Clowns for three months. When the Braves bought his contract from the Clowns, he was promoted to the Jacksonville Braves. His first year as a Brave, he received the league’s Most Valuable Player Award and the Braves won the championship. After attending spring training with the major league club in 1954, Aaron signed a contract with the Milwaukee Braves on the last day of spring training that year. The Milwaukee general manager at the time said, “From the start, he did so well I knew we were going to have to carry him.” During his rookie season, his teammates called him “Hammerin’ Hank” and opposing pitchers called him “Bad Henry.” From 1954 on, he would prove to be one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball history. 

During his 23-year career in baseball, Aaron set and broke many records. What he is most known for is breaking Babe Ruth’s record of most career home runs with 755, compared to Babe Ruth’s 714. Additionally, he holds the record for extra base hits and total bases. He hit with a .300 batting average or higher for 14 seasons and he was the first baseball player to record 500 home runs and 3,000 hits. During his life, he received more awards in areas other than his baseball ability. When the Milwaukee Braves won the World Series in 1957, Aaron won the National League Most Valuable Player Award. In 1970, he received the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award for his character on and off the field. He was voted as Favorite Sports Figure in the 1975 People’s Choice Award. Lastly in 2002, President George W. Bush awarded Hank Aaron with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his “philanthropy and humanitarian endeavors.” 

Since his death, there has been talk about the Atlanta Braves changing their name to the Atlanta Hammers in honor of Hank Aaron. Whether or not the Atlanta Braves will change their name to honor “an icon who represented our city with grace and dignity for more than half a century” is still up in the air, but it will be considered heavily because of the upcoming Cleveland Indians name change to remove a name that “dishonors Native and indigenous people” and because of the impact that Hank Aaron left on the game of baseball.