Under the weather open thread, Part 2: In Memoriam, Hammerin' Hank

Well, I wasn't expecting to put up a new post so quickly, but news has just broken that great American Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron has just passed away at age 86.

I don't know if this is a false memory, colored by 50 years of history, but I've always said that one of my earliest memories is watching Hammerin' Hank break Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974. I would have been almost five at the time, certainly old enough to retain such a memory. And, growing up in a Cuban, baseball-mad house, I'm sure the Monday Night Baseball game would have been on the TV.

Hank's pursuit of the record once again laid bare our racial ruptures. He received thousands of death threats, all centering on how dare a Black man take a white man's record. Just by doing his job, by pursuing the career he loved, he struck a blow against white racism. After Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron was the most consequential baseball player in regards to social justice.

He will rest in greatness, a true testament to what is best in this country.