The Braves are set for a busy week ahead as they honor a hero and host a six-night stand at home. The team takes on the Milwaukee Brewers this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Truist Park, followed by the Los Angeles Angels from Aug. 1 through Aug. 3. 

 

Hank Aaron Week

Just as news broke of the team going public with a Nasdaq IPO, the franchise kicked off its Hank Aaron Week celebrations Monday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, student volunteer project and youth luncheon.

The annual week of events honors baseball legend Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron who held the Major League home run record for more than three decades with his 755 career homers. It also supports the Henry Louis Aaron Fund, which creates access and opportunities in sports, business, education, and social and racial equality.

Aaron died in January 2021, a few weeks before his 87th birthday.

Friday night at Truist Park, as the Braves play Aaron's other former team, the Milkwaukee Brewers, the teams will honor No. 44 with commemorative pre-game and in-game content and an on-field ceremony highlighting the two 2023 Hank Aaron Fellows, the 2023 Hank Aaron Invitational athletes and the Homers for Hank beneficiaries from Clark Atlanta University.

Braves players will wear their City Connect jerseys throughout the weekend games; the bold colors and designs are patterned after those worn by Aaron in 1974, when he broke the home run record previously held by Babe Ruth.

 

Former Brave Fred McGriff

Fred McGriff was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. on July 23, 2023.

A first baseman and member of the 1995 World Series champion Atlanta Braves, McGriff played for six teams across his career and was dubbed by ESPN as "Crime Dog" after a character in a 1980s cartoon for the National Crime Prevention Council. McGriff, who has recently worked in baseball operations for the Braves, on Sunday joined the list of 53 Hall of Fame players and managers who are part of the Braves organization during their careers.

“I’m humbled and honored to be standing in front of you and now to be part of this fraternity,” McGriff said during his 20-minute speech. “When your career is validated by former players and executives that saw you play, that’s as good as it gets.”

Fred McGriff Bobblehead

Fred McGriff Bobblehead

Credit: Courtesy of MLB

On Aug. 1, Delta Air Lines is sponsoring a promotion at Truist Park, where the first 15,000 fans through the gates at the Braves game against Los Angeles Angels will receive a Fred McGriff "Hall of Fame" Bobblehead commemorating his induction into the Hall of Fame.

Tags: Atlanta  Georgia  Atlanta Braves  Hank Aaron