With his final swing, Hank Aaron, major-league baseball’s career RBI leader, fittingly had one more RBI for the Milwaukee Brewers.
His final at-bat happened during the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at County Stadium on Oct. 3, 1976, the final game of the season. Only 6,858 people watched from the stands as Aaron reached first base safely with an infield hit to the shortstop, but the crowd roared and kept getting louder, knowing it was the end to one of the greatest careers in baseball.
Manager Alex Grammas extended the standing ovation by calling for a pinch-runner for Aaron. Replacing Aaron on first base was rookie infielder Jim Gantner.
“The biggest honor I’ve ever had and something I’ll never forget,” Gantner said by phone Friday. “To be able to tell my grandkids that I was the pinch-runner for one of the greatest players ever, Hank Aaron, for his last at-bat ever as a big-leaguer. That’s…
