Hank Aaron will be honored before Wednesday's San Francisco Giants-Atlanta Braves game for the 20th anniversary of his 715th home run off the Dodgers' Al Downing.
Dusty Baker, the next hitter, was jokingly asked if he was knocked down by Downing when he came to the plate."Why buzz me?" Baker said. "I didn't hit the home run. Al Downing wasn't called Gentleman Al for nothing. It wasn't like some slouch hit the home run. If they buzzed everyone who batted after Hank hit a home run, 755 guys would have gotten buzzed."
Baker wound up getting a double.
"That was my tribute to Hank," he said. "I wanted to do something for Hank. He hit a homer, I hit a double. That's about the way it was."
Baker said he didn't join the mob congratulating Aaron after the home run.
"I should have been the first one out there, but I felt it should be his moment," he said. "That's why you didn't see me in the film clips. After he hit it, there was about a 20-minute ceremony. When I came to bat after the ceremony, everyone was leaving. I heard all the seats go `Clink, clink, clink.' I said, `Wait a minute, I'm about to hit.' "