"Sure, Aaron's a bad-ball hitter and always will be, but it would be a mistake to try to change him. Clemente got only 13 bases on balls all last season, so this spring we tried to get him to look over the pitches more carefully. He got to taking strikes and got himself so fouled up generally that we told him to forget the whole thing and go back to doing what comes naturally. You don't try to change a hitter like Aaron. In my book he's a better hitter than Willie Mays. He's going to get better, too. He'll be the one to beat for the batting championship for ten years, maybe more. He's the first N.L. player since Bill Terry with something better than an outside chance to hit .400 before he's through."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Bobby Bragan, as paraphrased and quoted in "Aaron Turns Bad Pitches Into Base-Hits" by Cleon Walfoort, in The Sporting News (June 26, 1967)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hank_Aaron
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Hank Aaron
Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (February 5, 1934, in Mobile, Alabama - January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank," was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He played 21 seasons for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) and two seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League (AL), from 1954 through 1976. At Atlanta's Fulton-County Stadium on Monday, April 8, 1974, Aaron hit his 715th career home run, which put him in first place on the all-ti
20 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Hank Aaron →
Related Quotes
"Hello, Stonefingers."
"He was my favorite hitter. He could do almost anything he wanted to do at bat. He was a scientific hitter. I've seen …"
"Terrible. It took me 17 years to get three thousand hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course."
"I'm not trying to make anyone forget the Babe; but only to remember Hank Aaron."
"There wasn't any pitcher I felt I couldn't get a hit off."
"When he was healthy, there was nobody better than Campanella as both a catcher and a hitter. But I played with Del Cr…"
"I never smile when I have a bat in my hands. That's when you've got to be serious. When I get out on the field, nothi…"
"I like those lefties, but when you're hitting, all pitchers look alike. I don't care too much who's throwing or what …"
"Didn't come up here to read. Came up here to hit."
"[W]hen I was a little boy, my daddy said to me, "Henry, never hurry unless you have to." I've remembered that all my …"