A Chance to Re-examine Hank Aaron
Re-examined in the light of subsequent steroid revelations and admissions, Aaron’s assault on Ruth becomes more impressive than anything ever seen during the recent era of lying eyes.
“Two of Aaron’s best years for homers were at age 37 and 39,” said David Vincent, a home run historian for the Society for American Baseball Research. “He hit 47 in ’71 and 40 in ’73, the year before he passed Ruth. He doesn’t necessarily fit the mold for sluggers in their late 30s.”
Actually, Aaron broke the mold, hitting 203 home runs in the five seasons after his 35th birthday and 245 over all, second in that category behind the presumed-to-be-chemically-enhanced Bonds. By comparison, Willie Mays hit 37 at age 35 and never again topped 28. Ken Griffey Jr. hit 35 at 35 and went steadily downhill. Reggie Jackson hit 39 at 36 and faded like a California sunset.
After Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa taught us to trust no one over 35, it became too easy to overlook Aaron’s stunning late-race sprint on Ruth — who, for the record, also fared pretty well as a quasi geezer, hitting 49 home runs at 35 and following up with 46, 41 and 34.
Contrast that with Rodriguez, whose most explosive home run period happened to be the three years in Texas in which he admittedly fueled up to justify his $250 million contract and went “boli” (his proclaimed substance) for dollars.