Hank Aaron died on Friday, and Braves fans want something done in his honor. An online petition started recently asking Braves Chairman Terry McGuirk to change the name from “Braves” to “Hammers,” as Aaron’s nickname was “Hammer.” As of Tuesday afternoon, over 1,300 Braves fans have signed the petition.
“The renaming serves two important purposes,” the petition states. “1.) It honors an icon who represented our city with grace and dignity for more than half a century, and 2.) It removes the stain on the city of having a team name that dishonors Native and Indigenous people, especially given one of the greatest tragedies in American History, the Trail of Tears, began in the region the team calls home.”
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Odds are, it’s unlikely the Braves will change the team name as they announced last year they would keep the name amid the racial and social injustice protests. However, it’s very likely the Braves will honor the Baseball Hall of Famer throughout the 2021 season, especially, with the All-Star game being played at Truist Park in July.
Truist Park was the place the Braves held a memorial service for Aaron on Tuesday. Braves manager Brian Snitker, Braves legend Chipper Jones and MLB Commission Rob Manfred were just a few notable figures who spoke at the service.
“Hank was very instrumental in me becoming an Atlanta Brave,” Jones said at the service, as reported by ESPN. “The room of Braves decision-makers was split on who they were going to take with their first pick. As legendary scout Paul Snyder once told me, the vote came around to Hank. He paused, looked at everybody in the room, and he said, ‘Y’all better draft that Jones boy.’ I’ll never forget that. That comment must’ve carried some weight.”
Most fans remember Aaron for breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record. And while he did hit 755 home runs in his career, the second-most in MLB history, Aaron was a complete hitter. He had a career batting average of .305 with 3,771 hits, 2,297 RBIs and 1,477 extra-base hits. His hit total ranks third all-time while his RBI and extra-base hit totals are still MLB records haven’t been broken. Another record Aaron had is All-Star games as he’s been selected to play in the game 25 times. Along with being a Hall of Famer, Aaron was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.
