Baseball Book Report Countdown #1 - The Last Hero

Like I said yesterday, it was a close one, but this is my favourite baseball book that I read last year, so if you have the chance, I (obviously) highly recommend it. Happy reading and Happy New Year!

The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron - Howard Bryant

Before reading this book, I had recently watched an appearance by Hank Aaron on Late Night with David Letterman. I really wish I'd had the chance to read this book before that interview, so I could have known whether I was watching "Hank" or "Henry" Aaron. It turns out that "Hank" was a persona that he had created to deal with the media, the stress and pressure of being a young black rising baseball star and his conscious decision to overtake Babe Ruth's home run record. Hank Aaron could have put up better career batting numbers if he hadn't made it his personal mission to become the home run king. 

But the real Aaron was "Henry". The family man who grew up in a small house in Mobile, Alabama. Henry quietly resented the success of the modern, steroid era athletes but it was Hank who reluctantly "congratulated" Barry Bonds on beating his home run record. As a young player, it was  Henry who dealt with racism in 1940's and 50's minor league baseball circuit. And it was Henry also became a leading voice in the civil rights movement, and helped change the culture of the south when his Milwaukee Braves moved to another hotbed of southern racism: Atlanta, Georgia. 

It's been almost a year since I've read this so my recollections probably aren't doing it justice, but I highly recommend picking this book up. It hammers (pardon the pun) down the point that when Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier in 1947, racism continued to persist in both major and minor league baseball up until the 70's (and it does to an extent up to the present, but that's another post altogether...)

One last note of interest: The Boston Red Sox actually passed on Hank Aaron because he was black and he ended up signing with the Boston Braves instead (who subsequently moved to Milwaukee). Imagine how successful the Red Sox would have been with both Ted Williams and Hank Aaron in the outfield. Talk about your curses...