Tommie Aaron
Tommie Aaron | |
---|---|
Outfielder | |
Born: Mobile, Alabama | August 5, 1939|
Died: August 16, 1984 Atlanta, Georgia | (aged 45)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 10, 1962, for the Milwaukee Braves | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 24, 1971, for the Atlanta Braves | |
MLB statistics | |
Home runs | 13 |
Batting average | .229 |
Hits | 216 |
Teams | |
|
Tommie Lee Aaron (August 5, 1939 – August 16, 1984) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball. Aaron was the younger brother of Hall of Fame member Hank Aaron. They were the first siblings to appear in a League Championship Series as teammates.
Baseball[]
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Aaron was signed by the Milwaukee Braves on May 28, 1958, at the age of 18. He played for both the Milwaukee Braves (1962–1963, 1965) and the Atlanta Braves (1968–1971). During the course of his development as a player, Tommie Aaron played for the Richmond Braves of the International League in the mid-1960s, where he was International League MVP in 1967. After his playing days, he worked for the organization as a minor league manager (1973–1978) and major league coach (1979–1984).
Aaron hit a total of 13 major league home runs, with eight of them coming in his first year of 1962. Along with his brother's then Major League record 755, they hold the Major League record for the most career home runs by two brothers (768). The only other brother of a 500-home run man to play in the majors was Rich Murray (brother of Eddie Murray), who hit four home runs in a brief major league career.
Aaron finished his career with a lifetime batting average of .229, 13 HR, 94 RBI, and 102 runs scored in 437 games. He died of leukemia in 1984 and was buried in the Catholic Cemetery of Mobile, Alabama.
Aaron was married to Carolyn Davenporte on October 13, 1962. They had three children: Efrem; Tommie, Jr.; and Veleeta.[1]
Posthumously the Richmond Braves established the Tommie Aaron Memorial Award for the team's most valuable player,[2] awarded annually until the affiliate relocated to Georgia for the 2009 season. The Braves' AAA club (now the Gwinnett Stripers), have retired his No. 23.
Career statistics[]
G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
437 | 944 | 216 | 42 | 6 | 13 | 102 | 94 | 9 | 86 | 145 | .229 | .292 | .327 | .619 |
References[]
- ^ "Tommie Aaron Obituary". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
- ^ "Tommie Aaron Biography". Atlanta Braves. MLB.com. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ^ Baseball-Reference.com.
External links[]
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Tommie Aaron at The Deadball Era
- Tommie Aaron at Find a Grave
- The Genealogy of Tommie Aaron at WikiTree
- 1939 births
- 1984 deaths
- African-American baseball coaches
- African-American baseball players
- Atlanta Braves coaches
- Atlanta Braves players
- Atlanta Crackers players
- Austin Senators players
- Baseball coaches from Alabama
- Baseball players from Alabama
- Burials at the Catholic Cemetery (Mobile, Alabama)
- Cedar Rapids Braves players
- Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Deaths from leukemia
- Denver Bears players
- Eau Claire Braves players
- International League MVP award winners
- Jacksonville Braves players
- Louisville Colonels (minor league) players
- Major League Baseball first base coaches
- Major League Baseball first basemen
- Major League Baseball left fielders
- Milwaukee Braves players
- Minor league baseball managers
- Richmond Braves players
- Savannah Braves players
- Baseball players from Atlanta
- Sportspeople from Mobile, Alabama
- Tigres de Aragua players
- American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
- 20th-century African-American sportspeople