Who is Hank Aaron? Everything about the 25x All-Star who got honored by Braves at 2025 Midsummer classic

Atlanta Braves legend and baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron was given a heartfelt tribute at Truist Park during the 2025 MLB All-Star Game. The 25x All-Star's record-breaking 715th home run was recreated at the stadium.

Hank Aaron played for 25 seasons in the MLB, where he broke several records and continues to be the leader in RBIs (2,297), extra base hits (1,477) and total bases (6,856). However, his excellence is far widespread off the field as he became a face of the league, transitioning into an inclusive era.

By the time of his retirement, Aaron became the last player on an MLB roster to have started their career in the Negro Leagues. He became a face of breaking the barrier of race in baseball. The Chasing the Dream Foundation, created by him and his wife, Billye, continued to support minorities across the USA.

During his time in the MLB, he hit 755 home runs, which stood as a record until Barry Bonds broke it during the steroids era. Aaron surpassed the great Babe Ruth on April 8, 1974 when he hit his 715th home run. Coincidentally, MLB's All-Star week festivities, the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game fell on the 14th and 15th of July.

To commemorate Aaron's feat, in the bottom of the sixth innings of the ASG, the field was turned into a large screen that played out Aaron's bomb. After the video clip played, with the use of pyrotechnics, a flaming ball reached the left field stands, showcasing the trajectory of the ball hit 51 years back.

The camera panned to the number '715' on a giant LED screen. An emotional tribute and certainly one of the highlights of the All-Star Game in recent years.

Baseball HOFer CC Sabathia on honoring Hank Aaron's legacy

Former pitcher and Baseball Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, who is a special assistant to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, came up with the idea of honoring Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron's legacy.

“Everything he meant to that city, to that organization, not only from being a player, to being an executive and all the guys he helped mentor through that organization,” Sabathia told ESPN about honoring Aaron. “I think he should always be honored ... the guys that I stand on the back of, I’m going to always make sure they’re getting honored.”

During the Home Run Derby, NL participants wore the number '44' on their jerseys to pay tribute to Aaron's number that he wore for 22 of his 23 seasons in the league, while the AL participants wore the iconic number '3' worn by Babe Ruth. This was repeated by both AL and NL rosters' practice jerseys on Tuesday.

Edited by Neha