Henry Louis Aaron
February 5 1934 – January 22 2021
The year ‘77,
the place:
Haarlem,
the Netherlands.
It was my dad’s
surprise,
to go see
a living legend,
at bat.
My drive
a bunt,
hit and run
line drive.
Only once
or twice
I hit
a Home-run
with my baseball bat.
The three
of us,
my brother too,
was there.
We and others
watched
‘the Hammer’
Hank Aaron
play ball in Haarlem.
For a kid like me
this man was huge.
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Beat the record
of old Babe Ruth.
But what he endured
as a black man
for beating
that record,
until this day
makes me sad.
Where in baseball
a fan cheers
beyond rivalry
for the sportsmanship.
At least,
that’s what I learned
and appreciate.
Just maybe because
my eyes saw
mr. Aaron’s hits
fly, out
of the ballpark.
Into the wide world,
where indeed
Hank the Hammer
spread his
kindness about.
© Sprague Thomson 2021
In 1977 Hank Aaron visited the Netherlands and played for the Dutch baseball team in an exhibition game versus American expatriate baseball players, at that time under contract for several clubs of the Dutch league.
Together with my dad and brother, I went to see that exhibition match, which was a true wonder of baseball magic. A Dutch crowd cheering the home run King, who stole the record from Babe Ruth.
We regularly watched baseball at the Pim Mulier Stadium in Haarlem. My brother and I played baseball in the junior leagues for the still existing Kinheim baseball club.
As a kid, I wasn’t yet aware of the difficulty mr. Aaron had encountered in the States to even perform his talents. Luckily for all of us he persevered and added his very own touch of humanity to baseball, as an example for many.
Thanks for your run mr. Hank Aaron, at bat and in life.
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