ATLANTA (AP) -- Hank Aaron remembers the hate mail, but time has erased much of the bitterness and now it's time to celebrate.
The Atlanta Braves continued the healing process Thursday night with a season-long salute honoring Aaron on the 25th anniversary of his historic 715th home run that broke Babe Ruth's record.Commissioner Bud Selig, NL president Len Coleman and Al Downing, the victim of Aaron's monumental homer, were among those on hand to honor Aaron during a 45-minute ceremony prior to the Braves' game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
"You know 25 years ago ... when I hit that home run to beat the Babe's record, it was truly one of the most remarkable evenings that I have ever had in baseball," Aaron said after the sellout crowd of 47,225 at Turner Field gave him a two-minute standing ovation.
"But tonight tops it all," said Aaron, now 65 and a Braves senior vice president. "This is truly a wonderful day for me."
The finale was the unveiling of the Hank Aaron Award, which was announced in February. The award will go to the best hitter in each league each year, said Selig, who called it the equivalent of the Cy Young Award and the Most Valuable Player.
The tribute has helped Aaron, who finished his 23-year career with 755 home runs, forget his somewhat bittersweet memories of the chase to beat Ruth.
As he neared Ruth, Aaron received hundreds of thousands of parcels of mail, many filled with hatred because there were people who did not want a black man from Mobile, Ala., breaking Ruth's record.