Last night, when Barry Bonds hit his record-breaking, 756th career home run, everyone watching -- Bonds's fans and detractors alike -- also witnessed an inspiring act of leadership: Hank Aaron's congratulatory statement.
Here it is:
I would like to offer my congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming baseball's career home run leader. It is a great accomplishment which required skill, longevity and determination.
Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball, and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years. I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historic achievement.
My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams.
With this simple statement, Mr. Aaron placed the weight of his achievements, stature, and character behind the legitimacy of Bonds's record.
At the simplest level, Mr. Aaron's statement was a becomingly gracious passing of the torch from an older generation to a younger one. But in light of the controversy surrounding the likelihood that Bonds used performance-enhancing drugs, and thus tainted the record, Mr. Aaron's statement takes on much more meaning. As Mike Krukow, former SF Giant and current Giants announcer pointed out on the Giants' broadcast last night, the assembled sportswriters weren't sure it would be ok to call Bonds the home run king -- but then Mr. Aaron gave them permission. Mr. Aaron's statement does not put the controversy to rest, but his voice carries more weight in the matter than anyone else's.
My take is that Mr. Aaron stepped up, not for Bonds, but for baseball. He had other choices. He could have played politician in any number of ways. He could have remained silent, a tacit disapproval of Bonds, which if anything would have fueled the controversy. He could have somehow minimized Bonds's achievement, but that would either have sounded sour or minimized his own achievements. Or he could have placed Bonds's homers in a broader context, including other baseball greats like Saduharu Oh and Josh Gibson -- a deft bit of triangulation, which would have allowed him to avoid taking a stance.
What Mr. Aaron actually did was to place Bonds's achievement directly in the great stream of baseball lore and history, alongside his own accomplishments and those of their predecessors and successors. He went on record to say that Bonds is now home run king. Period. No one else could make such a declaration with such force.
To me, Mr. Aaron's statement showed true leadership. Its force comes from the essential ingredients to leadership: stature, moral authority, and sacrifice.
Mr. Aaron certainly has the stature. His on-field achievements alone would be enough. His stature is important, because we don't know what kinds of background discussions preceded the statement. We don't know what "Commissioner" Bud Selig, or Giants' owner Peter Magowan, or Bonds's own people tried to get Mr. Aaron to do. We don't know how they begged, cajoled, or threatened Mr. Aaron. We don't know how persuasive they were. But because of Mr. Aaron's stature, we can be confident that in the end the choice was his. He chose to do what he felt was best for what he cared about most -- the Game of Baseball.
Mr. Aaron also has a degree of moral authority uncommon, to say the least, among former ballplayers. It stems from his personal character and conduct. In public, it began with his exemplary conduct during his own pursuit of Babe Ruth's record, the regard (privately and publicly) in which he held his teammates, and his willingness to share the spotlight with others. Since his retirement, he has been a true elder statesman of the game, sparing in public appearances, but welcome wherever he goes. He has become the face of integrity in the game.
Finally, Mr. Aaron's statement has its greatest force because he makes it at cost to himself. Who could blame him if he were vulnerable to the temptation to allow the controversy to rage, so that more of us would continue to regard him as the true king? But he judged that the controversy is bad for the game, and did what he could to put it aside. In the end, he placed the sweep of the game's history above it all, including himself: "My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams."
Stature, moral authority, and sacrifice. Where do we find those qualities in our political leaders?