Long before Craig Sager was everyone’s favorite NBA sideline reporter…he was a baseball guy.
It’s true.
In 1974, a then 22-year-old Sager was working for WSPB in Sarasota, Florida, counting down the hits as Hank Aaron approached Babe Ruth’s home run record. And after the Hall of Famer tied the New York Yankees slugger on Opening Day…Sager what he needed to do. Get to Atlanta.
“I just knew he was going to do it that day,” Sager told Rich Eisen in July. “My boss told me, ‘Well, you can go but you better be back by drive-time tomorrow or you’re fired.’”
Sager got a flight and made it to the game. Aaron held up his part of the bargain in the fourth inning.
The rest, as they say, is history.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjqYThEVoSQ]So, when news of Sager’s death his the internet Thursday afternoon, you better believe Aaron was one of the first to eulogize the legendary broadcaster.
Craig Sagar was there when I crossed the plate for #715 & has been a friend ever since.I thought the world of him & he will be sorely missed
— Hank Aaron (@HenryLouisAaron) December 15, 2016
Aaron and Sager had a bond. Go back and watch that video of Aaron’s home run again. That guy with in the trenchcoat that was part of the mob scene at home…that was Sager.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8evI3-znFg]Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
