Hank Aaron The board appears to have been convinced, as Aaron was not drafted. 1954 saw Aaron attending spring training with the major league club. Although he was on the roster of its farm club, Milwaukee manager Charley Grimm later stated, "From the start, he did so well I knew we were going to have to carry him." On March 13, 1954, Milwaukee Braves left fielder Bobby Thomson fractured his ankle while sliding into second base during a spring training game. The next day, Aaron made his first spring training start for the Braves' major league team, playing in left field and
Negro league baseball Hank Aaron was the last Negro league player to hold a regular position in Major League Baseball. Minnie Miñoso was the last Negro league player to play in a Major League game when he appeared in two games for the Chicago White Sox in 1980. Buck O'Neil was the most recent former Negro league player to appear in a professional game when he made two appearances (one for each team) in the Northern League All-Star Game in 2006. On June 5, 2008, Major League Baseball held a special draft of the surviving Negro league players to acknowledge and rectify their