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From My Seat Sports

The Hammer’s Time

My family lived in Atlanta in the early Seventies. These were my preschool years, so memories are blurry at best. But it was an extraordinary time in an extraordinary place, largely because of the great Henry Aaron. I’ve been fighting back tears since last Friday when we learned the Hammer had died at the age of 86.

My parents were pursuing doctoral degrees at Emory University, and I was an only child when we arrived in Atlanta late in the summer of 1972. Mine was a St. Louis Cardinals family — Dad born and raised in Memphis — but Atlanta had become a big-league town in 1966 (when the Braves moved from Milwaukee), and we found time for outings to Braves games during the summers of 1973 and ’74. Which means 4-year-old me sat in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium when the great Henry Aaron took the field for the home team. I was more interested in the Braves’ mascot (and his dances after a home run) than the players actually hitting the baseball, but it’s safe to say I witnessed one or two of Aaron’s 755 career home runs, a record for the sport that stood for more than 30 years.

Aaron’s most famous home run, of course, was his 715th, hit against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Atlanta on April 8, 1974, to break Babe Ruth’s career record. It was the second-biggest highlight of that year for me, as my sister, Liz, was born 10 days earlier. (I do remember leaving my nursery school early, to meet the new arrival.) I’ve seen Aaron’s famous shot hundreds of times, and every time it makes me think of my only sibling. That’s a gift Hank Aaron provided my family without knowing we even existed. Such is the work of legends.

If you need a number to associate with Aaron, make it 6,856, his record for career total bases, and one we can safely say will never be broken. (Stan Musial is second on the chart, but more than 700 total bases — two outstanding seasons — behind Aaron.) Aaron’s career began in the Negro Leagues, even after the major leagues had integrated, so he represents a human bridge to a time when a celebration of baseball’s best meant only partial recognition. He endured hate and racism as he “chased” the record of a revered white icon. (Quote marks because Aaron never targeted Ruth’s mark. He was simply so good that the record became part of his story.) Hank Aaron remained dignified, strong, perceptive, and somehow, gentle through it all. He was a titan of a human being, one who just happened to be very good at baseball.

• The only man to hit more than 755 home runs — Barry Bonds — may be voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame four days after Aaron’s passing. If Bonds again falls short in his ninth year of eligibility, it’s because there are enough voters (more than 25 percent) still uncomfortable about honoring a man deeply connected with performance-enhancing drugs. And if Bonds joins Aaron in the Hall of Fame? There are records, and there are the men who break them. There is a standard established by the Baseball Hall of Fame, and a standard established by the life of Henry Aaron. Those paying close enough attention recognize a dramatic distinction. Rest in peace, Hammer.

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Life is Long. Life is Short.

As I write this, the news is full of stories about Donald Trump googling himself at 5:30 a.m., not liking the results, and subsequently tweeting that Google was biased because most of the news about himself was “bad.” That darn Google. So unfair.

I don’t even know where to begin in order to process that level of narcissistic ignorance.

The news is also full of stories about Senator John McCain, who died of brain cancer this week and was honored by friend and foe alike for his service to the country. Except for one foe, of course — President Trump — who had to have his arm twisted before lowering the flag over the White House and issuing a brief statement noting McCain’s service. Trump likes heroes who weren’t captured.

Christopher Halloran | Dreamstime.com

Senator John McCain

Meanwhile, the MAGA supporters and ‘bots were busy spreading scurrilous posts on social media about McCain being a traitorous “songbird” who “broke” while captured by the North Vietnamese and gave information that caused the deaths of American servicemen. These claims, which were initially created by political operatives during McCain’s presidential primary run against George W. Bush, have been thoroughly debunked. But that didn’t stop the lies from being spread by people who wouldn’t last two minutes under interrogation by my high school gym teacher.

I met McCain once, in the spring of 1986. I was flying to Phoenix, where I was going to spend three days hanging out with a young baseball player named Barry Bonds for a Pittsburgh magazine cover story. Sitting behind me were two men who spent the entire time we were airborne talking about politics. They were animated, and seemed to be in the know. As we prepared to deplane, one of the men stood up and began shaking hands with his fellow passengers. “Good to meet you, Congressman,” the passengers said. “Good luck, Congressman.”

It was McCain, then an Arizona representative, who was running for the Senate seat he would win and hold until his death, 32 years later. He reached out to shake my hand and I wished him luck, though I had no idea who he was at the time, and didn’t much care.

I had more interesting things to do, like spending the next few days hanging with the young man who would go on to post the greatest hitting stats of any modern baseball player. At that time, he was an eager kid, living in an apartment in Tempe with a kitten, thrilled to have been drafted by the Pirates, and excited to be the subject of a magazine story.

My main take-aways were Bonds’ love for the obscure movie, Enemy Mine, and his hours-long daily training regimen, which included the astounding practice of swinging at baseballs with a sledgehammer. Like I say, nice kid. We posed him with a sledgehammer on the cover.

After the story came out, I got a sweet note from Bonds’ mother. After that, her son proceeded to hit 762 home runs in 21 years, more than any man in history, before retiring in disgrace in 2007, tainted by the steroids scandal. His head got really big, in more ways than one.

So, is there a point here? I’m not sure, except that life is long and life is short and nobody’s perfect. And the way you feel about someone can change over time. I grew to dislike Bonds after subsequent encounters with him, though I always respected his talent — until it became obvious that he himself didn’t respect it enough to play by the rules.

I respected McCain, though I didn’t often agree with his politics. He reminded me of my father’s Republican party — conservative, cranky, and principled, for the most part — a necessary balance in a two-party system. I respected the fact that McCain saw through Trump’s blather, even if he didn’t always stand up against it as I wished he would.

But he’s gone now. The two men who defeated McCain in his attempts to win the presidency will speak at his funeral. And the president who didn’t think McCain was a hero will sit and fume — and google himself — as a good man’s body lies in state in the Capitol Rotunda.

Categories
Opinion

Liars, Heroes, and Whistle-Blowers

James B. Stewart

  • James B. Stewart

If you’re looking for something heavier than mysteries and self-improvement for summer reading, check out James B. Stewart’s new book “Tangled Webs; How False Statements Are Undermining America, from Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff.”

I think it’s one of the most important books of the year and one that should resonate with Memphians.

The subject is lying by the rich and powerful and their minions and the difficulty of rooting it out and prosecuting it. Change “America” to “Memphis” and substitute John Ford, Roscoe Dixon, O. C. Smith, Dana Kirk, Logan Young, and Allen Stanford and see if you can make some connections. As a reporter who has covered the federal beat for 25 years, from the Ford trials to Tennessee Waltz and Main Street Sweeper, it sure spoke to me. If you followed those stories, I think you’ll like Stewart’s book, which includes extensive treatments and fresh reporting on Martha Stewart, Madoff, Barry Bonds, track star Marion Jones, Scooter Libby, and Karl Rove among others.

It should be required reading for journalists, lawyers, and law students.