With a nickname like “Hammerin’ Hank” and the distinction of being one of only three players with more than 700 career home runs, there is no doubt that Hank Aaron is in an exclusive group as one of baseball’s great sluggers, but in addition to hammering to the fences, he could also nail the gaps. On May 26th, 1969, Aaron hit his 500th career double, becoming just the third player in Major League Baseball’s history at the time – after Babe Ruth and Ted Williams – to hit 500 home runs and 500 doubles in a career, having hit his 500th long ball in July the year before.
Since then, another eight players have reached the milestone, the most recent being Manny Ramirez and Ken Griffey, Jr., who both joined the club in 2008 when Ramirez hit both marks in 2008 with the Red Sox (home runs) and Dodgers (doubles) and Griffey hit his 500th double with the Chicago White Sox.
Mick Gillispie told the story of Aaron’s achievement during Monday night’s game between the Smokies and the Huntsville Stars.
Andrew Green
James Rowe
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