The only way to adequately describe Major League Baseball's tribute to Hank Aaron's iconic 715th home run during the 2025 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on Tuesday night was mind blowing -- and befitting for one of the greatest players and ambassador's we've seen in the game's storied history.
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Prior to the top of the seventh inning, the lights dimmed at Truist Park and fans in the stadium and watching at home were treated to a stunning audio and visual display that surely raised goosebumps and brought tears to the eyes of many who experienced it.
With the infield serving as an enormous projector screen, fans were transported back to April 8, 1974, and the voices of legendary announcers Milo Hamilton and Vin Scully served as the soundtrack. After watching Aaron take the first pitch from Dodgers lefty Al Downing for a ball, holographic-looking images of Downing, Aaron and the rest of the Dodgers infield from that night suddenly appeared at their positions.
The ball from the fateful pitch grew until it took up the entire infield, the sound of a pounding heartbeat accompanying the commentary until a firework from home plate blasted off with the trajectory of the record-breaking home run.
"It's gone! It's 715! There's a new home run champion of all-time, and it's Henry Aaron!" exclaimed Hamilton as the numbers 7-1-5 appeared on the video screen in left field in a font fitting the scoreboard bulbs from that era.
Meanwhile, back on the diamond, lighted footprints traced every step Aaron took in that famous trot.
"What a marvelous moment for baseball, what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia, what a marvelous moment for the country and the world," said Scully as video showed Aaron being mobbed by teammates and family at home plate.
After a few black and white snapshots from the historic night were projected onto the field, we were left with these words from a video of Hammerin' Hank himself:
"I think people can look at me and say, 'He was a great baseball player, but he was even a greater human being.'"