It's February 5, which means that there's a rather famous birthday boy in the baseball world. It's actually Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar's birthday, too, but he takes a backseat to the icon Hank Aaron.
Henry Louis Aaron was born in Mobile, Ala. on Feb. 5, 1934, making him 81 years old today. He'd debut in the majors just a bit over 20 years later for the Braves and stay there until after his 42-year-old season, a remarkable 23-year career that it rivaled by few in the game's history.
Aaron holds the record for the most times named an All-Star at 21. He led the league in runs three times, hits twice, doubles four times, homers four times, RBI four times, average once, slugging four times, OPS three times and total bases eight times.
The final tally on his numbers: .305/.374/.555 (155 OPS+), 2174 runs, 3771 hits, 624 doubles, 2297 RBI, 240 steals, 6856 total bases and even 201 outfield assists.
Aaron ranks first in career RBI and total bases. He's also in the top 10 in WAR (seventh), runs (fourth), hits (third), doubles (10th), times on base (seventh), sac flies (fourth), intentional walks (second) and, oh yeah, home runs (second).
Of course, Aaron is most known for the longball. He broke Babe Ruth's longstanding and revered career home run record on April 8, 1974:
Aaron's record would stand until 2007, but let's avoid focus on that subject and just think back on Aaron's exceptional career. He's clearly one of the best players to ever lace up the spikes.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Aaron. The baseball world is better for having you a part of it.
