I grew up in a small western town. No Blacks lived there. In fact, the first Black person I remember seeing up close was a 6 foot eleven inch basketball player. Having never seen a human being that tall before, it was his height I noticed first. Nor did I have a Black friend until I was in college.
But I had a Black hero long before then. Hank Aaron was my favorite baseball player and, because baseball was the only reason for living, my favorite human being. Looking back across all these years I realize I could not have chosen a better hero. Not only did he erase any inchoate racism in me, he also taught me the value of dignity, quick wrists and skill in your chosen profession. 
As Barry Bonds is about to hit a number of home runs higher than Mr. Aaron’s I realize that Mr. Aaron also taught the long-term value of not cheating. One of the small ironies of the incompetence at the Justice Department during the Bush administration is the fact that a competent US Attorney in San Francisco would long since have indicted Mr. Bonds for lying to federal investigators and the grand jury and he wouldn’t be playing.
A nice retrospective of Babe Ruth and Henry Aaron is in today’s Washington Post.
Henry Aaron’s record is safe for now. Someday a player will come along who will best his record without cheating but it will be awhile yet. In the meantime, the record belongs to Mr. Aaron.
The photograph, taken by Harry Harris of the Associated Press, is of Henry Aaron watching home run number 715 leave the ball park.
July 23, 2007 at 5:13 pm |
[...] Also note that the Washington Post editorializes today about Henry Aaron and agrees with me. Is that a good thing? Read the editorial here. Read my post here. [...]