This is the first of my analysis of the major players of the 1957 Braves and who better to kick things off with then the Hammer, Hank Aaron. 1957 was Hank Aaron’s first big year as a major league player. After having solid seasons in 1955 (27 homeruns) and 1956 (26 homeruns), Aaron busted out his first 40 homerun season and he belted a league leading 44 homeruns. He also led the league in runs (118) and RBIs (132) and he was third in hitting with a .322 batting average. He also walked away with his first and only MVP after leading the Braves to their first pennant since 1948 and their first World Series win since 1914. Keep in mind that Aaron did all of this as 23 year old.
Oddly, for as many homeruns as Aaron hit, he only hit two homeruns in a game twice. On May 15, 1957, he hit two homeruns and drove in four in a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. On August 15, 1957, he went yard twice and drove in five in a blow out win over the Cincinnati Reds. His best hitting streak came in mid-May. For four straight games, he had two hits and in three of those games he scored two runs and drove in at least two. By the end of that fourth game, Aaron was hitting a season high .383. He’d get close to that mark a few days later with a three hit game but by mid-June he was back down into the .320-.330 range.
His best month was June. He hit .348/.405/.637 in 32 games. He hit eleven homeruns (also a monthly high) and drove in 28 while scoring 23. His worst month was August. It was the only month Aaron hit less then .324 in any given month (he hit .255) although he did belt eight homeruns and drive in 28.
Aaron absolutely killed left handed pitching. He hit .375/.444/.679 against lefties compared to .310/.362/.583 against righties. Aaron was also particularly good with runners in scoring position. In those situations, he hit .340/.436/.673.
Here are Hank Aaron’s final numbers in 1957
Games 151
AB 615
Runs 118
Hits 198
Doubles 27
Triples 6
Homeruns 44
RBIs 132
Walks 57
Strikeouts 58
Stolen Bases 1
Caught Stealing 1
BA .322
OBA .378
SLG% .600
OPS .978
RC 135
RCAA 66
RCAP 64
RC/G 8.40
ISO .278
