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CNN LIVE TODAY
Interview of Hank Aaron
Aired January 23, 2002 - 10:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: He's famous for hammering home runs. Now, baseball great Hank Aaron is giving new meaning to the phrase "breakfast of champions." Earlier this hour, Aaron became the latest face to grace the Wheaties box, as part of a special Black History Month edition.
Of course, it's just the latest honor for baseball's all-time home run king. Hank Aaron joins us this morning from 755 Hank Aaron Drive, Atlanta's Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves, where the unveiling took place -- Hank, good morning, good to have you with us.
HANK AARON, CAREER HOME RUN RECORD HOLDER: Good morning, how are you?
KAGAN: I'm doing great. Congratulations on this Wheaties box.
AARON: Why, thank you very much. I'm very proud.
KAGAN: Of course, it's not the first time you've been on a Wheaties box. We actually have pictures from back in 1970 when you were also on the Wheaties box. You remember that day?
AARON: I remember very well, in 1970 with Johnny Bench and Tom Woskov (ph), the golfer. The two of us were on the Wheaties box.
KAGAN: Everyone knows you as the "Home Run King." 755 career homers, so far out in front. Recently, people have been all excited about home runs for the single-season record. Have you enjoyed watching Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds chase and break that record?
AARON: Well, it has been quite exciting. You know, I was just mentioning to a friend of mine, you know, a few years ago that I told Willie -- Willie Mays, I said, you know, "Willie," I said, "when you and I played, when we hit 45 home runs, we thought we had a great year." I said, "now," I said, "if you hit 45 home runs, you had a bad year." You've got to at least hit 70-some home runs. But it has been quite exciting. You know, and that's what baseball needs.
KAGAN: But a lot of people would point out that you made those records, and had your time with a different type of baseball. What do you think about the theory of the juiced-up ball?
AARON: Well, I don't know, really. I don't want to say the ball is juiced-up, but I want to say that in the era in which Willie and myself played in, baseball was a lot tougher than it is today. You know, really. I'm not taking away anything from the players, because to hit 70 home runs, you've got to do something special.
KAGAN: You also played in a different era, Hank, in terms of racial tensions. Now when the kids and the fans watch Barry Bonds or Mark McGuire, they are just looking at the stats. When you were coming up on Babe Ruth's record, there were some people who weren't comfortable with the idea of a black man breaking a white man's record.
AARON: That's true. I had some problems, and I hope that that never happens again. And I'm happy to say that when Mark McGuire did his thing, I was happy to see his kid down there enjoying every moment of it. And I was also happy to see Barry Bonds and his family enjoying it. My kids didn't have the opportunity, because of the fact that I went through some of the things I went through.
KAGAN: Really, so you had to keep your kids away at that point just for safety's sake?
AARON: That's true. I had to keep them away, and I had two kids in private school, and one daughter in college, and I -- neither one of them -- none of them enjoyed me breaking the record. They were off doing their own thing.
KAGAN: Hey Hank, given everything you've accomplished, you know we mention that Turner Field sits at 755 Hank Aaron Drive, but there were a lot of people, when they named the new field, thought that it should be named after you.
AARON: Well, I can live with that. I appreciate the way that they feel. But Ted Turner has done so many wonderful things for this city, and I think its just marvelous that this ballpark could be named "Turner Field." It's great. It's a beautiful field, and I'm happy with that. That's fine.
KAGAN: Real quickly, I have to get your take on news of the day as the Minnesota court of appeals upholds the injunction that says the Twins will indeed play next year. What are your feelings on contraction? Do you like 30 teams in baseball, or you would like to see it smaller?
AARON: Well, I think that we all have to go by what the court say, you know, if the judge and somebody makes the decision, that's what we have to do. We may not like it, but we have to go by what they say.
I think Minnesota and the people of Minneapolis are going to enjoy this ball club the next year too, and I'm just hoping that when time come to dismantle a team, I hope that that team is not Minnesota.
KAGAN: I think there's a lot of folks in Minneapolis love to hear you pour the love towards them this morning. Hey congratulations on the box. We have one here as well. We're going to go be a breakfast of champions ourselves.
AARON: I'll send you a box. Thank you very much.
KAGAN: Appreciate it. Hank Aaron at Turner field, just down the street here from CNN. Hank, thanks so much.
AARON: Thank you.
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