One of the best hitters in the history of baseball is Hank Aaron. Over his 23 seasons in the bigs, he slashed .305/.374/.555 good for a .928 OPS. His stats aren’t the most impressive thing about him; he also has the accolades to back it up. He was selected for the All-Star Game 25 times. He also won an MVP award in 1957, two batting titles, and three Gold Gloves. Aaron also set multiple records. He is the current record holder for most RBIs in a career with 2297. He also used to hold the record for most home runs in a career with 755. Some baseball purists even still consider him the home run king because of Barry Bonds’s steroid use.
All of this success made Aaron a no doubt for the Hall of Fame, being elected in 1982 with 98.7% of the vote. Now, his plaque has him wearing an Atlanta Braves cap, which was the obvious choice because he spent 21 seasons with the Braves. Plus, most of his career-defining moments came with them. However, there were two years that he wasn’t with the Braves. This is the story of Aaron’s time with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Hank Aaron’s Time As A Brewer
At the end of the 1974 season, Aaron’s contract with the Braves expired. At this point, he was 40 years old and clearly in the final stages of his career. Aaron even contemplated retirement when the season was over. When he was thinking about this, it occurred to him that he had an interest in player evaluation. More specifically, he wanted to be the general manager of a team.
The Braves offered Aaron a position in their front office. However, this position had to do less with talent evaluation and was just someone to make appearances for the club. This hurt Aaron and caused him to look outside Atlanta to finish his career. This caused him to get in contact with Brewers owner Bud Selig. After talking, Aaron went to the Braves and requested a trade to the Brewers. During the winter meetings, Atlanta agrees to send Aaron to Milwaukee in exchange for Dave May and Roger Alexander.
This was a bit of a homecoming for Aaron. When he first came to the Braves, they were located in Milwaukee. He would play 11 seasons in Milwaukee until the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966.
The 1975 Season
With the Brewers playing in the American League, Aaron was able to take over as the club’s designated hitter. It was a far less physically straining position for the aging superstar. He would make his Brewers debut on April 8th, in Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox. However, his first signature moment came on May 1st. That day, Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s all-time RBI record with his 2,214th RBI.
Aaron would finish his first season with the Brewers with a slash line of .234/.332/.355 good for a .687 OPS. He also hit 12 home runs as well as 60 RBIs. 1975 would also be the last time Aaron would appear in an All-Star game. What made this event even more special was that the game was being played in Milwaukee County Stadium. Not just the home of the Brewers, but it was also the site of his first All-Star appearance.
The 1976 Season
The 1976 season was a year to forget for Aaron. Despite putting up decent numbers in his first season for the Brewers, the same can’t be said about his second. He was only able to play 85 games, where he slashed .229/.315/.369 good for a .684 OPS. He also only hit ten home runs and drove in 35 runs. It was clear that Aaron’s time in the majors was over. The game had passed him by and it was time to call it a career. He would retire at the end of the season and rejoin the Braves as an executive.
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