Home-Run Hysteria

When Babe Ruth hit his 714th and final home run on May 25, 1935, there was no swarm of reporters and photographers standing by to engulf him as he crossed home plate, no special promotional drum rolls. The 10,000 fans in Pittsburgh's Forbes Field that Saturday afternoon gave the aging hero Ruth a polite cheer--it was his third home run of the game--and let him trot quietly into the dugout and baseball history.

It will be very different for Henry Aaron when he ties and then breaks Ruth's record. At a time when sporting events, from true combat like the World Series to make-believe contests like the Riggs-King tennis match, rivet the nation's attention, Aaron's conquest is being built into a spectacle nonpareil. The Atlanta Braves management is already in such a tizzy over preparations that when one official was informed that Jerry Ford might be available to throw out the first ball at the team's opening home game next Monday night, he responded, "Who's Jerry Ford?"

If the Braves' front office missed the news about a new Vice President, it is no surprise. Aside from preparing a special 32-page press book about Aaron, refurbishing the press box to handle an expected crowd of 300 reporters, building a tower in centerfield for photographers, manufacturing a "715" line of neckties, and ordering up a supply of commemorative beer steins decorated with a picture of Aaron that will sell for about $7.50 to fans who witness the historic home runs, the Braves administration spent the winter worrying about crowd control. More than 50,000 fans are expected to jam Atlanta Stadium for games until Aaron breaks the record. They will have plenty of incentive to throttle their neighbor to catch home run No. 715: the latest price offered for the ball is $25,000, put up by an anonymous fan in Venezuela.

Invisible Codes. Not all the extravaganza making is going on at the stadium. The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce has commissioned Sculptor Mike Matoba to produce a life-sized bronze bust of Aaron that will eventually be placed outside the Braves' offices at the stadium. A local advertising company has spent $20,000 to plaster the city with 200 full-color billboards depicting Aaron in full swing, with Babe Ruth's face hovering in the background. The mayor and Governor, of course, are planning to be on hand to honor Aaron, and even the Federal Communications Commission in Washington got into the act by permitting special call letters --WH (for Hank) 4DOC--for ham-radio operators who will be informally broadcasting Atlanta games.

What if Aaron connects for two home runs during the Braves' first three games in Cincinnati? "You can lead a batter to the box," says one unconcerned Braves fan, "but you can't make him homer." The Cincinnati Reds, though, are taking no chances. All balls pitched to Aaron will be invisibly coded to assure that the genuine home-run balls will be identifiable. Security forces will be on the alert, and one devoted fan will be at Riverfront Stadium every day accompanied by three policemen and $12,000 in cash to buy home-run ball No. 715 if Aaron happens to break the record in Cincinnati.

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