Aaron begins decade of milestones with 3,000th hit
“I didn’t eat much [before the game],” Aaron told the Atlanta Constitution on May 17, 1970. “I’m a little bit nervous about all this.”
It didn’t take long for Aaron to break though and join one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs, though. In the second game of a doubleheader against the Reds that day, the Braves right fielder singled in the first to mark his 3,000th career hit.
“Sure, I’m thrilled to get that 3,000th hit, but I don’t feel good about those two losses,” Aaron said. “My next goal? It’s for our team to win a ballgame.”
Over the course of his legendary career, even the venerable Aaron faced his share of dry spells – he just knew how to push through them.
“I’ve had slumps like anyone else,” Aaron told United Press International. “The trick is to just keep swinging and hits will start to fall again.”
Aaron and Musial would reunite in Cooperstown 12 years later, when Aaron was inducted as a part of the Class of 1982.
Janey Murray was the digital content specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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