Hank Aaron, MLB Legend, Hall Of Famer, Dead At 86

The baseball community has suffered a great loss.

MLB legend Hank Aaron died Friday morning, multiple outlets have confirmed.

Hammerin’ Hank was the longtime leader in career home runs, passing Babe Ruth by slugging 755 in his career, a record that stood until Barry Bonds broke it.

To this day, Aaron leads baseball in RBIs and total bases. He was a no-brainer for the Hall of Fame, into which he was inducted in 1982.

An All-Star in all but the first and last seasons of his 23-year career, Aaron was an MVP once, won the batting title twice, had three Gold Gloves and was part of a World Series-winning Milwaukee Braves team in 1957.

In 1999, MLB started the Hank Aaron Award, which honors the best offensive player of the year.

Aaron endured and survived racism throughout his career while playing during an incredibly racially-divided era in American history, ultimately becoming an icon in the sport in more ways than one.

February 5th would have been Aaron’s 87th birthday.