The Most Dominant Pitchers Hank Aaron Ever Faced (Steiner Sports Exclusive)
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- čas přidán 13. 10. 2013
- In this exclusive interview with Brandon Steiner, baseball legend Hank Aaron talks about the most dominant pitchers he ever faced, and why he doesn't like showboating.
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Daughter and I walked right into him. My jaw dropped . Turned to my 8 year old an said . “There’s the greatest ball player of all time”. Henry said “always listen to your dad”. It was magical.
@Jj isn’t that when they started calling him “hammerin Hank”?
THAT'S RIGHT!!!
HE WAS THE GREATEST!!!
@Jj Not to take anything away from Ali, but Ali called himself "the greatest" so many times that people just followed. Everyone else called Hank the greatest. Aaron earned it by humbly grindin' for 20 years and always showing his opponents respect.
Great moment. Hank had the perfect comeback.
I love your story. My dad passed this past year and we shared baseball.
Wow. A great man. He just showed more class in this short video than most pro athletes of today do in their careers. The real home run king. R I P Hank
Yes ! Without a doubt ! No steroids ...
Absolutely well said, they'll never be another like him or Banks, Koufax, Seaver, Mantle or Mays. As great as they were they were humble.
I agree!
Agreed!! Hank was a class player and a class gentleman. R.I.P. Hank Aaron.
"Sometimes, it's not the money, but the competition."
Nice.
Hammering Hank was clearly a man of great humility and sportsmanship.
My how times have changed. Pitchers going 9 and wives putting dinner on the table. RIP KING!
Haa true
Berra, Skowron, Maris, Mantle, Snider, Furillo, etc., etc., all road the subway to the ball park!
RIP Henry. Your legacy will forever stand.
Hank telling these clowns, I never showed up an opposing player at any time! Class personified and a true gentleman!
I rarely watch baseball these days. The "clowning" or whatever you want to call it, is not my taste at all. Sportsmanship has been mostly eliminated from the game.
All time leader in class.
Class act. Everyone knows Mr Aaron is the TRUE HR KING!!!
I certainly do !!! And I absolutely agree with the choice of Bob Gibson (right-hander) and Sandy Koufax (left-hander) as Henry Aaron’s toughest pitchers to face. ⚾️⚾️⚾️
ROGER, The LOS ANGELES DODGER
Aaron hit a lot of home runs in Atlanta , they called it the launching pad . Davey Johnson played 2nd base in Baltimore for years and the most HR he hit was 15 . Traded to Atlanta in one year he hit 42 , the launching pad was a good name for Fulton County Stadium .
YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!!!! HANK DIDN'T NEED STEROIDS!!
And ALWAYS will be! ⚾️👍
He was a fantastic player and a great ambassador for baseball
Such humility and sincerity.
Absolutely! To think the IMMENSE, REAL racism Hank Aaron had to endure--and yet maintain his good nature towards all people--is truly amazing. As much as I think the majority of race-baiting nowadays is BS, I look at how Hank bravely confronted what he faced during the era that he played, and to keep his dignity, decency, and gentlemanly demeanor should be a model to aspire to be for ANY man. Hank Aaron, the quiet superstar, both in and out of baseball.
The guy even downplays his home runs. Tough to find a better combination of humility and greatness than this man.
Excellent point!
@@lovephillies1Hammerin Hank. Simply the best.
A true gentleman with regality and class.. rest in peace Mr. Aaron
Mantle once commented about "showboating" after a homerun. It never happened in the era of Aaron, Mays, Mantle, and Killebrew because you would get hit the next time you came to the plate. Guys like Early Wynn, Drysdale, Bunning, and Gibson would have taken your head off.
And, that's a fact!
Ryne Duren (?) and his "coke bottle" lenses in his glasses
He had such a beautiful swing strong wrist smacking line drives everywhere...barry bonds u should be ashamed of yourself hank aaron to me 2nd best home run hitter ever i still consider willie mays the best....he played in polo grounds 440 feet dead center...but hammering hank a career over 300 hitter probably classiest player ever lived
@@DDean-pd3ro It is almost as if Mays was "sentenced" to Candlestick park. I was there once. Unbelievable awful climate. As Mark Twain once said , paraphrased," the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."
@@leebaker2588 Like night and day at the current park. Pleasant inside, sit in the upperdeck and look at the bay and all the boats. Of course I only go to day games!
He knows it is showing up another player with the bat flip and the dancing. Great competitor, and a great person.........RIP Home Run King
The worst is when a football player is dancing in the end zone because he just scored - and his team is still losing by three touchdowns.
@@ScotchIrishTarheel Right on, I love that too! It always makes me think of Leon Lett in Super Bowl 27.
He showed that he was one of the most gracious and humble superstars ever to play baseball
Hank Aaron was all class 100%!
I was at a Cubs game at Wrigley Field in July of 1970 against the Braves. The ballpark was sold out and I was standing against the fence at the very back of the ballpark in left field. In the sixth inning Hank Aaron came up to bat against Ferguson Jenkins and hit the hardest ball I've ever seen, period. When he hit it my mind told me It was going to hit me right on the head! It was a screaming line drive that hit the back fence about four feet over my head. It was still going up when it hit the fence; I believe it would have landed on top of the buildings on Waveland Avenue if the screen wasn't there. I believe it was number 640 for Arron's career; a kid younger than me got the baseball.
A few years later I was in the Army in the field artillery. The first time I ever witnessed a 155MM howitzer fire I was standing behind it and as the canon blasted and the round roared down range my immediate thought was, "Hank Aaron!"
I was at that game! I sat in the right field grandstands about 30 rows up. I have never seen a ball hit that hard in my life. It was indeed a missile. It would have been in Milwaukee , and I’m not talking about the avenue!
This man had to live thru the worst types of racists, death threats chasing Ruth’s record, and other challenges that would break most men. He was a gentleman, class all the way, and a true legend. I feel very fortunate to have seen him compete and become one of the greatest legends in the game.
Classy and consistent. I always thought his greatest stat was that he never hit 50 homers in a season, and yet he hit 755 total. You could just pencil him in for 40+ HRs and 120+ RBIs for the body of his career.. It’s fitting that the HOF roll call starts with Aaron.
The thing is that he wasn't merely the HR leader of all time, he was just a great hitter overall. He had more career walks than SOs. Very impressive for a power hitter.
If it were not for David Aardsma, the entire MLB roll call would start with Hank Aaron.
Grew up in a small town in Wisconsin and followed Henry when he was a Milwaukee Brave . Saw many a game at County Stadium , and occasionally would go down to Chicago and see the Braves and the Cubs . Sunday’s in Summertime usually meant doubleheaders and what a treat that was . Got to see Mays , Banks , Clemente , Musial , Richie Allen , Koufax , Mathews , Spahn , Cepeda , so many great stars . But my favorite was the great Henry Aaron , #44 . Met him and talked to him briefly once and what a gentleman .
My era too, my friend. Weren't we lucky?
Exactly. Arron and Mathews. What a combo. Frank Boling, Del Crandel behind the plate, and the big guy at first, Joe Adcock.
@@davidturk6301 A formidable team that I loved to watch (though they often beat my Dodgers). An earlier Braves team had a pitching combo that launched this poetic phrase, "It's Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain".
@@davidturk6301 Speedy Bill Bruton in CF
@@lorinfields5051 yep, “Billy”. Others (off and on) Felix Mantia, Fred McMillian at SS, Joey Jay, Lew Burdett, Joe Torre was originally Del Crandels backup.
Back when players actually had some class.
I'd say Trout does it right. There are other too.
Hammerin Hank was a true Professional. Thank you Sir. You will be missed by millions.
What a nice man. I got to meet him once. He was all class. I wish the athletes of today would take notes.
after following baseball for almost five decades, this is really the first time i ever heard Hank Aaron actually speak. to my pleasant surprise, he comes across as such a good and decent man. of course I have always known him to be one of the greatest baseball players ever, but now i know something much more important than baseball, which is basic human decency
Big Hank,
A quiet man walks with a big bat
Almost cried, Gibson, Koufax and Drysdale were givens. First pitcher Hank names after them is Tom Seaver, my all time favorite player as a life long Mets fan.
I went to high school with Tom Seaver. Knew him well.
No asterisk next to Hank's name in the books. The real HR king!
⭐️ even without his 755 HR’s he STILL has 3,000 hits ! 💎
No he isn't. He was blessed with good health and a long career, and played home games in two short stadiums. Great guy and great ballplayer, but he's nowhere near the greatest homerun hitter. Get real.
@@donjennings9034 And whom do you think it might be then?;-) and PLEASE GET REAL;-)
Well big numbers don't always tell the true story, that's all I'm trying to say. Pete Rose had more hits than anyone, but I can name many better hitters than him. If Ty Cobb had as many at bats as Rose he would have had 5,143 hits. Tony Gwynn would have had 4,749. Mantle would have had 818 home runs. Mantle was not blessed with good health. Total numbers can be impressive, but overrated. The best pitcher I ever saw was Sandy Koufax, but you won't see his name anywhere near the top in total wins. Just sayin...
@@donjennings9034 Well woulda, coulda, shoulda, quit crying....Koufax was one of the best pitchers I ever saw as well...he had a short career though, arthritis.....Mantle didn't take care of himself, alcoholic..that's like saying..."Oh babe Ruth should have hit more Home runs than Hank Aaron but he was over weight drank, smoked, and ate too many hot dogs"......give it up...think Sam McDowell had 5 or 6 one-hitters and if he wasn't a lush like Mantle he would have equaled or been better than Koufax...so one can go on and on about all these things...
Just the epitome of grace and class as a man and an athlete.
RIP, Mr. Aaron. I agree with him as usual, high fives and touchdown dances are bush league. Hitting HRs and scoring TDs are your JOB... not an accomplishment like discovering a cancer cure..
Right! Nowadays, we see a linebacker tackle a running back after a four yard gain and BOTH do a dance like they just won the Super Bowl!
It's so bad now, football players are signaling first down as if they just crossed the goal line. Lol.
Yes, and the WORST celebrations are when a football player gets an interception or fumble recovery. Even if it is not a pick six, the entire defense will sometimes run 60 yards to the opposite end zone to do foolish, immature shit in front of the end zone camera. I hate it every time.
@@fredjennings5312 Jim Brown, who could play rings around these clowns, has said 'act like you've been there before'. His nonchalant flip of the ball over his shoulder after a TD, was SO much cooler....
Such a beautiful soul & one incredibly outstanding ballplayer. Rest in Peace & Love Mr Aaron !
Never mind celebrating touchdowns which is one thing, but the histrionics players show after making routine tackles is just stupid. But sports is no longer about the game as a whole and winning it as a team, it's about making the highlight show and "look at me".
I think of Antonio Brown &
JJ watt.
Don't forget the importance of instagram followers
You can point a lot of the blame on ESPN which seems to promote celebrating, dancing and showing off!! And that is just after making a routine tackle or play!! That's why I enjoy watching the old games from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's! There was much more respect for your opponent back then!!
The Absolute Epitome of Grace, Class and Competition...RIP Hank 🙏...
My absolute favorite of all time. Class personified. Met him once early in the morning at a restaurant in Northwest Arkansas. He was by himself having breakfast. All I could say was thank you for what you did for baseball. Such a gracious man.
Rest in peace, Mr. Aaron. This die-hard baseball fanatic will truly miss you. I'm SO glad I was able to watch on television the game of you hitting your 715th home run off of the Los Angeles Dodgers' Al Downing.
The load noise in the background for that game was my father encouraging Hank
Henry, you will always be missed 😟
Thank you for the great memories.
R.I.P. ⚾️👍🏻
Henry “Hammerin Hank” Aaron ladies and gentlemen! 👏🏼🙂 What a gentleman, what a class act, and what a ball player! One of the greatest moments ever when he hit #715, I know I’ll never forget it. I’m sure he made it big the hard way yet always humble with the warm smile, got to love him. ⚾️💚
Hank Aaron was as good off the field as he was on it. What a legend.
My dad and I went to the Braves games. We were there when he hit 715 . I watched his wrists snap and the ball was gone !!!!!! I was able to shake his hand, three times over the years during players day . I still have a autographed ball from him .He was my hero !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hank played throughout the glory days of the game. Still my HR champ, without question. Rest is soul🙏🏻
What a class act! Rest In Peace.
What a class act- played in a great era of baseball . A fine man!
He was amazingly classy and humble for an all-time great.
One of the finest men of our time. God bless Henry Aaron.
Still the home run king.
Henry Hank Aaron, MLB legend! God Bless you, Sir.
That Man was old school baseball. That is what baseball should be. RIP Mr. Aaron!
CLASS ONE OF THE BEST
And he went about his business in a very humble and low keyed manner... The true definition of a sports hero !
Such a gentleman and such a fierce competitor. And one of the greatest of all time. Young players could learn more in these 2 minutes than in 2 years in the league.
RIP Mr Aaron! Such a class act!
RIP Hank
Another part of my life is gone. Henry Louis Aaron, may you R.I.P. Thank you for making the game of baseball interesting for me, my generation, and those that came after me. The All-Natural home run king (no steroids). There will never be another like you.
Did you notice, the man actually could actually talk intelligently and put sentences together. So unlike many of the players in sports today.
What a story teller, voice, smile, and laugh!! Reminds me of talking story with my pops, uncle, and grandpa.
Thank you Hank Aaron. What a roll model!!! RIP thanks for the memories
_role_ model "roll" lol
A great man, a great player, an American hero!
I feel bad because it took his death for me to look up his stats (and see past Mays and Ruth, etc.). OMG. Everyone knows about the home runs, but Hank is the all-time-leader in career RBI's with 2,297 (and that's playing for mainly losing teams). Throw in his 3 gold gloves and I really have to consider (lifetime .300 hitter) that Hank Aaron (600 AB's and less than 70 strikeouts annually was typical) is the greatest (averaged 22 stolen bases a year from 1960-68 at 79% success rate) baseball player of all time.
Yep, and he hit at least 40 homers in 8 seasons. Very impressive.
He was a textbook "wrist hitter', all of his power came from how his wrists were placed and not breaking them after the swing. He was definitely a complete player and should be on the short list of greatest of all time, not just on the field, but off of it as well, especially as he closed in on babe Ruth. Role model is an overused term when talking about athletes, but in his case it was appropriate.
I was lucky enough to see Hank as DH for the Milwaukee Brewers (American League then) at Fenway Park in 1976. It is true that his all around ability was underrated. Mays, Mantle and Aaron all would have been 30 hr/30sb at least a few times. The game was played differently and stolen bases were not as much part of the game. Glad you looked up his info. It is amazing how players in 40's-70's did not strike out too much. The sixties introduced hitters that struck out a lot but not most of the players.
@@furfamilysue I got to see him a few times in the 70's as well, when the Braves would come to New York. Watching him hit, run the bases and play the field really was a lesson on how to do it.
And to think he never hit 50 homers in a season, that's what you call consistent !
Boy this is old school baseball. I love it when Hank said he did not like show boating aspect of sports. He respected his competitors,and they did the same with him.
Not much else to say, what a great human being. Thanks for the memories Mr. Aaron. May God bless you!
What a humble man! Glad I got to see him play, wish I could have met him!
Love this man. The real home run king. A superb human being.
We love you Hank you left us all a lesson on how to carry oneself.God bless you.
Got his autograph at a card show back in the 80s. Love the old timers!
When Hank and his Braves left Milwaukee the city died a little. Hank loved being a ballplayer and the fans loved him.
Absolutely a gentleman, incredibly smart and humble. Rare combination, I wish I had it.
I remember when Hank was at the end of his career, and he faced Nolan Ryan who was getting over 300 K's per year. Henry, with all do respect, looked like an old man, not one of the greatest athletes ever.... He then proceded to turn one of those 98 mph fastballs into the LF upper deck! He was truly amazing!!! 😀👍
Love listening to Aaron talk about all of these players. RIP Aaron, Seaver, Gibson and Drysdale.
We lost another class act. It was an honor to sit in "Hammerin' Hank's" locker in Cooperstown. He will be missed but not forgotten.
I always thought of Hank Aaron as absolutely the home run king regardless of the steroidal era. I forever remember my childhood memory of having Aaron, Mays and Clemente as the all star game starters in the outfield, what talent. I was a huge cubs fan back in 69-70. I remember the day that our family moved from Chicago to Indiana, Ken Holtzman pitched a no hitter against the Braves. I was always nervous when Aaron, Dusty Baker and Rico Carty came to bat, but it all worked out.
class guy. Thanks to him i got a chance to play college baseball and became the 6th best career hitter in NCAA history. Thank you Hank Jackie Willie, Josh Cool Papa bell
One class act. I respect this man not only for his on field accomplishments but those off the field as well.
Wise words from one of the greatest hitters of all time. RIP Henry Aaron.
He had a lot of class, I love that era of Baseball. I grew up watching the Big Red Machine in the 70s, but my all time favorite player was Willie Mays who played for the Giants. That was an era when Baseball was the national past time, and was more popular than Football.
Mays was a guy who WOULD show you up on occasion. Mostly because he was just a showy ballplayer.
Now that was one classy gentleman and one hell of a ballplayer. The REAL All Time Homerun Champ.
💯class act! I am sorry to hear about his passing.
My favorite player all time! Hammering Hank! and Humble too. well spoken
Saw the Dodgers play in the Coliseum 1959 and always admired Hammering Hank Aaron..
Mantle, Mays and Aaron were the three greatest hitters of that era. Mantle was finished by age 32, Mays by age 36 but Aaron kept going strong until he retired at 42. His longevity and consistency over so many years was extraordinary. He was not just a great hitter - he was a very good outfielder and a superb base runner. He could steal a base with the best of them. He could do it all. And a class act. A fine gentleman. Old school. They don't make them like Henry anymore.
Love Hank...all the great ones are the same...humble.
Back when there was mutual respect, nice interview. Hank looks like he could still hammer em out.
The greatest! All time HR king. Just a complete gentleman. The finest our country has to offer. Sportsman citizen. Always loved him and Roberto Clemente.
Another great player & consummate Gentleman of that generation was Ernie Banks. Never played on great teams but whenever asked about the game he would say ''let's play two''. I am 71 years old, brought up a Brooklyn Dodger fan, saw a game at the old Ebbits Field & these guys were my idols. ''Willie, Mickey & the Duke'' too.
When the question was asked, I immediately said bob Gibson and when he said bob Gibson I was like of course, what an amazing duel
Same here.
Class. These old timers would sit around after a ball game, still in uniform and talk... baseball. I hope that one day we can recapture the essence of what MADE this country so great.
Class act! A true gentleman and a great ball player!
Aaron is my baseball hero. I'll bet he had a million baseball stories to tell and everyone would be a good listen.
If Aaron had played in today's electronic environment, he'd be a media darling. He'd be making commercials. That is not a criticism. It is a compliment to the integrity of his character. My impression of Hank Aaron was that he was a gentle giant. He made the game the main thing, not himself. He was the kind of teammate you wanted to have. I laughed when he mentioned Koufax, Drysdale, & Gibson; because I had just rattled them off as possible answers & he nailed every one. In my mind the 1960's was the Golden Era of MLB in my lifetime. Hall-of-Famers everywhere.
Great guy and the real hr king...koufax and Bob Gibson seem to be the consensus best pitchers of the 60s as well as top 10 or 15 in baseball history. I do not think anyone ever matched koufax dominance
Pure class, it's sorely missing in today's sports
Such a good man. Thank you for posting this!
Very humble, gentleman and class act !
Wow. This shines a new light on a guy who always beat my favorite teams.
Hank Aaron was pure class & the true home run king.
Total class...home run KING.
I went to a Dodger game at Chavez Ravine against Atlanta. It was September and L.A. was needing wins to make the playoffs. In the game I went to if Hank hit one out it would have been number 712, of course it was late in the season and he didn’t break Babe Ruth’s record til the following year.
However, whenever Hank came up to the plate he received a boisterous rousing welcome by the L.A. fans even though it could have spelled trouble for our Dodgers making the playoffs. Later in the game Hank smacked a rope to the center field fence for a double missing a home run by inches. He received a standing ovation but we were already on our feet cheering wildly as the ball struck the fence with Hank pulling up to 2nd base for a stand up double!
To listen to Hank Aaron made my day. Everything about his demeanor was outstanding. When they talk about humility it was ever-present in this discussion. I only wish I knew him better when he was playing, but I'm thankful for this interview allowing me to see the real Hank Aaron!
It's about the competition . Love it R.I.P. Henry HR King
All class...we could use more of that in sports today!!!
damn, not henry too, he mentions gibson and seaver both gone in 2020. dick allen, joe morgan, tom seaver, bob gibson, whitey ford, lou brock, tony fernandez, al kaline, phil niekro, tony taylor, jimmy wynn, there were many others but these are some of the notables we lost in the last year.
Jay johnstone also
@@donwert5039 What? I hadn't heard. Used to enjoy his "lighter side of sports" shows
Hank Aaron perfectly reflected what a true professional is, humility, professionalism, & respect! He was one of the truly great ones! RIP
I met Sandy Koufax when I was 10 years old. I asked him who was the toughest hitter and he immediately said Hank Aaron.