WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- It was the perfect setting to remember the legacy of Hank Aaron, with the two teams for whom he starred going head-to-head and the stadium populated by Little Leaguers who play for the love of the game.
Little League Classic presented by New York Life
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The Braves, Brewers and Little Leaguers from around the world took the field to recite the “Keep Swinging” pledge, which emphasized so many of the traits that propelled Aaron to the Hall of Fame. Don’t quit. Give your best effort. And remember that everyone should get to play baseball.
Here’s what the young ballplayers, representing regional winners spanning the globe, read aloud before the first pitch:
“Today,
I pledge to never quit
No matter how hard or tough it gets
I’ll give my best
I’ll have fun
And make sure to include everyone
I will be myself
And keep on dreaming
And most of all
I promise to KEEP SWINGING!”
Sunday’s event also featured an interactive mural with a life-size portrait of Aaron inside the ballpark, allowing kids to color in designated spaces and add personal messages.
Aaron played all 23 of his big league seasons for the Braves and Brewers, breaking into the Majors with the Milwaukee Braves in 1954 and moving with them in 1966 to Atlanta, where he would break Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record. He then returned to Milwaukee for his final two seasons, hitting his 755th and final home run 50 years ago last month.
During a ceremony in Milwaukee to unveil a public mural in his honor, Aaron’s widow, Billye, expressed what it means to have her late husband’s ideals live on.
“Let me just say thank you to each of you,” she said that day, “for the love that you showed him, and for the legend that you continue on his behalf.”