Age: 23
4th season
with Braves
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’0” Weight: 170
Prior to 1957:
A native of
Mobile, Alabama Aaron started out with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro
American League in 1952, utilizing a cross-handed batting grip that he
eliminated before moving on to the majors. He signed with the Braves and joined
the club in 1954 after two minor league seasons, one in which he led the Class
A SAL in batting (.362). He was selected to his first All-Star Game in 1955, a
season in which he led the NL in doubles (37). He topped the league in batting
(.328) and hits (200), and once again in doubles (34) in 1956.
1957 Season Summary
Appeared in 151
games
RF – 84, CF –
69, PH – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 675 [7]
At Bats – 615 [5]
Runs – 118 [1]
Hits – 198 [2]
Doubles – 27 [15,
tied with Bill Mazeroski & Danny O’Connell]
Triples – 6 [18,
tied with Ernie Banks & Bob Skinner]
Home Runs – 44 [1]
RBI – 132 [1]
Bases on Balls
– 57 [17]
Int. BB – 15 [2,
tied with Willie Mays]
Strikeouts – 58
Stolen Bases –
1
Caught Stealing
– 1
Average - .322 [3,
tied with Frank Robinson]
OBP - .378 [8,
tied with Dale Long]
Slugging Pct. -
.600 [3]
Total Bases –
369 [1]
GDP – 13 [13,
tied with six others]
Hit by Pitches
– 0
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 3
League-leading
runs were +5 ahead of runner-up Ernie Banks
League-leading
home runs were +1 ahead of runner-up Ernie Banks
League-leading
RBIs were +27 ahead of runner-up Del Ennis
League-leading
total bases were +3 ahead of runner-up Willie Mays
Midseason
snapshot: 27 HR, 73 RBI, .347 AVG., .659 SLG PCT.
---
Most hits, game
– 5 (in 6 AB) at Pittsburgh 5/2 – 10 innings
Longest hitting
streak – 15 games
HR at home – 18
HR on road – 26
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. Pittsburgh, (in 5 AB) at Cincinnati 8/15
Multi-HR games
– 2
Grand Slams – 1
Most RBIs, game
– 6 at Chi. Cubs 9/2
Pinch-hitting –
1 PA, 1 BB, no at bats
Fielding
Chances – 361
Put Outs – 346
Assists – 9
Errors – 6
DP – 0
Pct. - .983
Postseason: 7 G (World Series vs. NY Yankees)
PA – 29, AB –
28, R – 5, H – 11, 2B – 0, 3B – 1, HR – 3, RBI – 7, BB – 1, IBB – 0, SO – 6, SB
– 0, CS – 0, AVG - .393, OBP - .414, SLG - .786, TB – 22, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH
– 0, SF – 0
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
All-Star (Started
for NL in RF)
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Hank Aaron, Mil.:
239 pts. - 9 of 24 first place votes, 71% share
Stan Musial,
StL.: 230 pts. – 5 first place votes, 68% share
Red
Schoendienst, NYG/Mil.: 221 pts. – 8 first place votes, 66% share
Willie Mays,
NYG: 174 pts. – 1 first place vote, 52% share
Warren Spahn,
Mil.: 131 pts. – 1 first place vote, 39% share
---
Braves went 95-59
to win NL pennant by 8 games over St. Louis Cardinals after finishing second
the previous two years. They led the NL in runs scored (772) and home runs
(199). Won World Series over New York Yankees, 4 games to 3.
Aftermath of ‘57:
Aaron hit 30
home runs, knocked in 95, and batted .326 as the Braves again won the NL
pennant in 1958. Highly consistent, he had over 100 RBIs in each of the next
five seasons and 11 overall for his career. Aaron also won a second batting
title in 1959 (.355) and led the NL in home runs on three more occasions, twice
after the club moved to Atlanta in 1966, and reached 40 on eight occasions,
with a high of 47 in 1971. Hammerin’ Hank surpassed Babe Ruth as the all-time
career leader in home runs in 1974, his last season with the Braves, and
following two years with the Milwaukee Brewers retired with a total of 755,
which remained as the MLB record until 2007. His 3771 hits ranked second at the
time his career ended and 2297 RBIs placed first. Aaron also led the NL twice
more in runs scored, and reached 100 a total of 15 times, twice more led in
doubles, and four times in slugging percentage. His career batting average was
.305 (.310 with the Braves alone). While his base stealing was negligible in
’57, he reached double figures in every season from 1960 to ’68, with a high of
31 in 1963. He was chosen to play in 25 All-Star Games and won three Gold
Gloves for his play in right field. The Braves and Brewers both retired his
#44. The unpretentious and workmanlike Aaron was elected to the Baseball Hall
of Fame in 1982. His brother Tommie, primarily an outfielder and first baseman,
played in 437 games with the Braves spread out over seven years. He hit 13 home
runs, giving the siblings a combined total of 768.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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