Hank Aaron is a gracious, soft-spoken humble man. Major LeagueBaseball’s all-time Sultan of Swat soon will see his home runrecord broken by Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants.

Aaron avoids commenting on Bonds and his pursuit of the 755 homerun standard. Yes, it is safe to say that steroid-strengthenedBonds is a sure bet to pass Aaron in the next few weeks. At presstime today, Bonds had 751 homers.

Steroids, a potent strength stimulant, has helped otherso-called baseball heroes eclipse home run standards set by anothergeneration of baseball stars. Certainly, the likes of Babe Ruth,Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Aaron andother sluggers set their marks before steroids entered thepicture.

By all rights their should be an asterisk next to the homerrecords held by Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. The asteriskmeans A.S., also known as After Steroids.

Aaron grew up in Mobile, Ala., prior to integration. In otherwords, he climbed the long ladder to the Majors the hard way. Hisall-around skills made him a Big League prospect.

Swift afoot, Aaron had nine straight seasons with double-figuresteals. He became just the third member of the 30-30 club – 30homers and 30 stolen bases in the same year.

At the plate, even while playing in an era of dominant pitching,Aaron put up 14 seasons at .300 or better. He climbed as high as.355 in 1959 and nearly won the Triple Crown, which he stilllaments as the only real void on his resume.

For sure, Aaron was underrated. He played in Milwaukee andAtlanta, recognized as small-town markets compared to the East andWest coasts. He didn’t lose his cap like Mays when he ran down afly ball.

A quiet superstar, Aaron retired in 1976 after being traded backto the Milwaukee Brewers by the Atlanta Braves. He played two yearsfor the Brewers and hit a total of 22 homers.

Aaron, 73, said he doesn’t plan to attend the game when Bondsbreaks his record. I don’t blame him.

Hopefully, for everyone’s sake, Bonds will break Aaron’s recordin San Francisco where he is worshipped. Giants fans will celebratethe epic moment in grand style while the rest of the country says,”So what,” and turns out the lights.

Yours truly was raised on the Milwaukee Braves. We grew uplistening to Earl Gillespie and Blaine Walsh doing the radioplay-by-play and color commentary as the Braves rode high afterwinning the World Series in 1957 by defeating the New York Yankees.They were runners-up to the Yankees in 1958 under manager FrankHaney.

Aaron played right field and was recognized as one of the bestin the outfield. He did everything so smoothly, like a gracefulgazelle His strong arm threw out many a runner trying to advance ona ball to right field. He won three straight Golden GloveAwards.

Lightly built physically (6-0, 165) by present standards, Aaronpossessed powerful wrists and a fluid swing. He was famous forthose line drive home runs instead of gargantuan 500-footblasts.

Remembering way back when, future Baseball Hall-of-Famer EddieMathews starred at third base and slugged several homers over theright field fence as a southpaw in Milwaukee’s County Stadium.Johnny Logan starred at shortstop and Red Schoendienst was atsecond base. First baseman Joe Adcock was a big guy from Louisiana.In center field, Billy Bruton had speed to burn.

Behind the plate, Del Crandall was the standout catcher wholater would be followed by Joe Torre. On the mound, Hall-of-FamerWarren Spahn was a southpaw with a big curveball. Lou Burdett was aright-hander of note and Don McMahon threw a mean fastball.

It was Sept. 16, 1960, at age 39, when Spahn threw his firstno-hitter. “Come on, Henry!” shouted Gillespie over the radiomicrophone as Aaron focused on a high fly ball to right whichclinched the no-hitter.

Spahn, from Broken Arrow, Okla., 363 games during his career,all but seven with the Braves, when he retired in 1965.

Dwindling attendance in Milwaukee caused Braves ownership toseek greener pastures. They left the nation’s Beer Capital in 1965and headed south to Atlanta.

Write to sports editor Tom Goetz, c/o The DAILY LEADER, P.O.BOX 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602 or e-mailsports@dailyleader.com