Milwaukee’s Best, Part 5: The Best Of Braves, Brewers: 10-1

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Hank Aaron, shown on a 2000 retro Topps baseball card.

1. Hank Aaron, LF-RF-CF-DH

Braves 1954-65, Brewers 1975-76

Hank Aaron debuted with the Milwaukee Braves to open the 1954 season, two years after signing with the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent out of Allen Institute in Mobile, Ala., in June 1952.

He turned out OK.

Aaron won two batting titles for the Braves in Milwaukee, led the NL in home runs twice, in RBI three times, in doubles four times, in runs scored twice and in hits twice.

He was an All-Star every year except his rookie year with Milwaukee, was named the Most Valuable Player in 1957 and finished in the top 10 in the MVP voting eight other times while with the Braves in Beer City.

Aaron also captured three Gold Gloves in right field, winning in consecutive years from 1958-60.

In the 1957 World Series, Aaron was 11-for-28 and cracked three home runs with seven RBI and went 9-for-27 with two RBI in the 1958 Fall Classic.

Aaron left Milwaukee with the Braves after the 1965 season, but made his way back in November 1974 when he was acquired from the Braves for outfielder Dave May and a player to be named later, right-hander Roger Alexander, who was dealt in December 1974.

Aaron played two final seasons as the Brewers’ designated hitter, retiring after the 1976 season, which had been cut short by a knee injury in August.

Aaron remains baseball’s all-time leader in RBI with 2,297 and total bases with 6,856 and is now second in home runs with his iconic 755 lifetime total.

Aaron was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982 and worked for the Braves as director of player development and later as senior vice president and assistant to the president, a position he still holds.

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Here are Aaron’s statistics from his 12 years with the Braves in Milwaukee and his two seasons with the Brewers:

Year	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
1954	20	122	509	468	58	131	27	6	13	69	2	2	28	39	.280	.322	.447	.769	104
1955 ★	21	153	665	602	105	189	37	9	27	106	3	1	49	61	.314	.366	.540	.906	141
1956 ★	22	153	660	609	106	*200*	34	14	26	92	2	4	37	54	.328	.365	.558	.923	151
1957 ★	23	151	675	615	118	198	27	6	44	*132*	1	1	57	58	.322	.378	.600	.978	166
1958 ★	24	153	664	601	109	196	34	4	30	95	4	1	59	49	.326	.386	.546	.931	152
1959 ★	25	154	693	629	116	*223*	46	7	39	123	8	0	51	54	*.355*	.401	*.636*	*1.037*	*182*
1960 ★	26	153	664	590	102	172	20	11	40	*126*	16	7	60	63	.292	.352	.566	.919	156
1961 ★	27	155	671	603	115	197	39	10	34	120	21	9	56	64	.327	.381	.594	.974	163
1962 ★	28	156	667	592	127	191	28	6	45	128	15	7	66	73	.323	.390	.618	1.008	170
1963 ★	29	161	714	631	*121*	201	29	4	44	*130*	31	5	78	94	.319	.391	*.586*	*.977*	*179*
1964 ★	30	145	634	570	103	187	30	2	24	95	22	4	62	46	.328	.393	.514	.907	153
1965 ★	31	150	639	570	109	181	40	1	32	89	24	4	60	81	.318	.379	.560	.938	161
1975 ★	41	137	543	465	45	109	16	2	12	60	0	1	70	51	.234	.332	.355	.687	95
1976	42	85	308	271	22	62	8	0	10	35	0	1	35	38	.229	.315	.369	.684	102
BRAVES	1806	7855	7080	1289	2266	391	80	398	1305	149	45	663	736	.320	.376	.567	.943	158
BREWERS	222	851	736	67	171	24	2	22	95	0	2	105	89	.232	.326	.360	.686	98

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/22/2015.

Once again, the links to the rest of the series:

Milwaukee’s Best, Part 1

Milwaukee’s Best, Part 2

Milwaukee’s Best, Part 3

Milwaukee’s Best, Part 4

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Milwaukee’s Best, Part 5: The 50 Best To Play For Braves, Brewers: 10-1

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1. Hank Aaron, LF-RF-CF-DH

Braves 1954-65, Brewers 1975-76

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