ATLANTA -- Hank Aaron’s widow Billye Aaron was at Atlanta’s Booker T. Washington High School on Wednesday to help the Braves further honor her late husband with the implementation of a new turf infield on the baseball field and the construction of a new softball field.
“There’s nothing more I can say other than I’m happy to join you today,” Aaron said. “Thank you so much.”
Aaron’s memory remains strong five years after his passing. There will be plenty who take time to appreciate him on Thursday, which is when the iconic baseball legend would have turned 92.
The Braves recognize this week as Hank Aaron Week. One of the highlights was Wednesday’s visit to Washington High School, which counts Martin Luther King Jr. as one of its esteemed alumnus.
Thanks to the Braves’ Hank Aaron Diamonds initiative, high school baseball and softball players from throughout the Atlanta Public School system will have an opportunity to play on first-class fields and celebrate the countless athletic and civic contributions made by Aaron, who was Atlanta’s first superstar athlete.
“This initiative is really about growing the game in the city of Atlanta and creating more equity and access for kids in the city of Atlanta to play baseball,” Braves VP of community affairs and executive director of the Atlanta Braves Foundation Danielle Bedasse said.
To celebrate the start of Black History Month, the Braves have spent February’s first week dedicating the new fields built at Benjamin E. Mays High School, Maynard Jackson High School, Booker T. Washington High School and North Atlanta High School. The plan is for every high school in the Atlanta Public School system to have a new or upgraded baseball and softball field within the next 20 months.
Each of the projects includes a turf infield, as well as other facility upgrades that will enhance the experience for young baseball and softball players in Atlanta.
The Hank Aaron Diamond fields are funded through the Braves Foundation and the Henry Louis Aaron Fund, which supports projects that enable increased representation in the game at all levels, events that showcase young talent from underrepresented communities, and educational and career development opportunities for future minority business leaders.
“Our goal of this initiative, and really under Hank's banner, is to create more access and opportunities to our sport and our game across the city of Atlanta,” Bedasse said. “We want to grow more homegrown Major League Baseball players and athletes who use this game for college and for access to school and really to find their passions and dreams through the game.”
Along with the field unveilings, the Braves are celebrating Hank Aaron Week with a volunteer day of service, a food pantry donation at the Hank Aaron New Beginnings Academy and by hosting the APS Baseball Media Day at Truist Park.
Through the end of February, the Braves and MLB are hosting a nationwide raffle of signed Aaron memorabilia to benefit the Henry Louis Aaron Fund. Additional information on the raffle is available at www.Braves.com/HankSweeps.