Milwaukee King baseball players remain inspired by Hank Aaron's legacy while playing on legend's field

As Major League Baseball paused to reflect this week on the enduring legacy of Henry Aaron upon the 50th anniversary of his record-breaking 715th career home run Monday, shadows of that legacy were as evident as those cast by the scoreboard at Henry Aaron Field in Glendale.

"There’s no better sportsman or representative of what it means to be a baseball player than Henry Aaron. We’re all trying to live up to his example," Milwaukee King head coach Tom Wozniak said after his team's game against Arrowhead on Tuesday.

Henry Aaron Field is the home ballpark for the Generals once again this season, which carries a special weight to the King graduate and now coach and teacher Wozniak.

"My JV coach in high school was one of Henry Aaron’s kids," Wozniak said. "It’s always been cool for us to come over and play on this field."

Jogging in from right field to finish Tuesday's game on the mound was a senior with a namesake familiar to fans of the game dating to the early years of Aaron's career: Satchel Senboutaraj. If there was any confusion as to where his father got inspiration for the name, Satchel's softball-playing freshman sister, Paige, certainly removes all doubt.

Like Aaron, Satchel Paige faced similar racist hostilities and barriers that in his case prevented him from competing for an MLB club until his age 41 season. He nevertheless dominated hitters on the mound in the Negro Leagues, while earning praise from MLB greats such as Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Bob Feller. Aaron also got his start in the Negro Leagues with the Indianapolis Clowns before signing with the Milwaukee Braves in 1954, seven years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. The spirit that drove those trailblazing players is not lost on King players like Senboutaraj.

"You kind of walk in the shoes of giants, and (Aaron)’s one of the legends, he’s one of the greats," Senboutaraj said.

The senior added that he seeks to emulate the lessons of Satchel Paige as well, down to his personal favorite of the pitcher's six "Rules for Staying Young."

"If your stomach upsets you, lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts."

Generals junior second baseman Mitch Pritzlaff added that competing at Henry Aaron Field illicits a distinct sense of pride in what Aaron did on and off the field throughout a career that included 14 seasons in Milwaukee for the Braves and later the Brewers.

"I know he hit a lot of home runs and he always spoke out against racism," Pritzlaff said. "He did a lot here for Milwaukee."

King has had a rough start to its season that included a winless stretch of four games against out-of-state competition in at the Jackie Robinson Classic in Vero Beach, Florida, and a 1-2 nonconference slate through Tuesday upon its return, but there is hope among the Generals that strides are being made.

"I felt like we were leaps and bounds ahead of where we would have been had we not gone down there after that trip (to Florida)," Wozniak said.

Pritzlaff says the team remains undeterred, focusing on the next day and building up leaders that set the tone for battles with conference opponents and beyond.

"I think the losing early is going to be big, because last year we kind of ran out of gas towards the end of the year. I think we can catch hot either right before the playoffs, or we have a little conference run coming up here," Pritzlaff said. "If we can knock some of those big teams off, we’ll be ready for playoffs and hopefully win some games."

In the spirit of Aaron, whose motto was "Keep swinging", the Generals will continue to step up to the plate this spring with a determination that would make the late "Hammerin' Hank" proud.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee King baseball players inspired by Hank Aaron's legacy