Editing Hank Aaron (section)

==Post-playing career==
[[File:HankAaronHallofFamePlaque.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Hank Aaron's Hall of Fame plaque at the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] in [[Cooperstown, New York]]]]
[[File:Hank Aaron 1978 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Hank Aaron during his August 5, 1978, visit to the [[White House]]]]
After the 1976 season, Aaron rejoined the Braves as an executive. On August 1, 1982, he was inducted into the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]], having received votes on 97.8 percent of the ballots, second only to [[Ty Cobb]], who had received votes on 98.2% of the ballot in the inaugural 1936 Hall of Fame election.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |last1=Muder |first1=Craig |title=Aaron, Robinson elected to Hall of Fame |url=https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/inside-pitch/hank-aaron-frank-robinson-elected-1982 |website=[[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum]]}}</ref> Aaron was then named the Braves' vice president and director of player development. This made him one of the first minorities in Major League Baseball upper-level management.<ref name="Classic">{{cite web|last=Schwartz|first=Larry|url=https://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/Aaron_Hank.html |title=Hammerin' back at racism|year=1999|website=[[ESPN Classic]]}}</ref>

In December 1980, Aaron became senior vice president and assistant to the Braves' president.<ref name="Classic" /> He was the corporate vice president of community relations for [[Turner Broadcasting System]], a member of the company's board of directors, and the vice president of business development for The Airport Network.<ref name="Classic" /> On January 21, 2007, Major League Baseball announced the sale of the Atlanta Braves. In that announcement, Baseball Commissioner [[Bud Selig]] also announced that Aaron would be playing a major role in the management of the Braves,<ref>{{cite web |date=May 17, 2007 |title=Game Over for Liberty's Purchase of Braves from Time Warner |url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/game-over-liberty-s-purchase-braves-time-warner-366892 |access-date=September 28, 2021 |website=[[Multichannel News]]}}</ref> forming programs through major league baseball that will encourage the influx of minorities into baseball.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wolf |first=Jeffrey |date=May 16, 2007 |title=Braves' sale approved by baseball owners |url=https://www.9news.com/article/money/business/braves-sale-approved-by-baseball-owners/73-343837004 |work=[[KUSA (TV)|9 News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> Aaron founded the Hank Aaron Rookie League program.<ref>{{cite news |last1=King |first1=Susan |title=Hank Aaron: Beyond Home Plate |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-04-09-tv-52465-story.html |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 9, 1995}}</ref>

Shortly before the start of the [[2002 Major League Baseball season|2002 baseball season]], Aaron joined [[San Francisco Giants]] slugger [[Barry Bonds]]—on the heels of his record-shattering performance [[2001 Major League Baseball season|the season before]]—to make a television commercial that aired during [[Super Bowl XXXVI]], in which Aaron jokingly tried to persuade Bonds to retire before breaking the record.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lefton |first1=Terry |title=Bonds, Aaron team in Schwab ad |url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2002/01/28/Special-Report/Bonds-Aaron-Team-In-Schwab-Ad.aspx |work=[[Sports Business Journal]] |date=January 28, 2002}}</ref>

As Bonds began to close in on the record during the 2007 season, Aaron let it be known that, although he recognized Bonds' achievements, he would not be present when Bonds broke the record.<ref name="workers2007">{{cite web |last=Gimbel |first=Mike |date=August 15, 2007 |title=Hank Aaron praises Barry Bonds for home run record |url=http://www.workers.org/2007/us/barry-bonds-0623/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111060544/http://www.workers.org/2007/us/barry-bonds-0623/ |archive-date=January 11, 2011 |website=Workers World}}</ref> There was considerable speculation that this was a snubbing of Bonds based on the widespread belief that Bonds had used performance-enhancing drugs and [[Anabolic steroids|steroids]] to aid his achievement. However, some observers looked back on Aaron's personal history, pointing out that he had downplayed his own breaking of Babe Ruth's all-time record and suggesting Aaron was simply treating Bonds in a similar fashion. In a later interview with Atlanta sportscasting personality Chris Dimino, Aaron made it clear his reluctance to attend any celebration of a new home run record was based upon his personal conviction that baseball is not about breaking records, but simply playing to the best of one's potential.<ref name="workers2007" /> After Bonds hit his record-breaking 756th home run on August 7, 2007, Aaron made a surprise appearance on the [[JumboTron]] video screen at [[AT&T Park]] in San Francisco to congratulate Bonds on his accomplishment:

{{blockquote|I would like to offer my congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming baseball's career home run leader. It is a great accomplishment that required skill, longevity, and determination. Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years. I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historical achievement. My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams.<ref name="Bloom">{{cite web |first1=Barry M. |last1=Bloom |first2=Chris |last2=Haft |title=Aaron congratulates Bonds via video |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/content/printer_friendly/mlb/y2007/m08/d08/c2136645.jsp |date=August 8, 2007 |website=[[MLB.com]]|archive-date=January 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123134320/http://mlb.mlb.com/content/printer_friendly/mlb/y2007/m08/d08/c2136645.jsp |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Aaron's autobiography, ''I Had A Hammer'', co-written with the help of writer [[Lonnie Wheeler]], was published in 1990 and was a finalist for the [[Casey Award]]. The book's title is a play on his nickname, "The Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", and the title of the folk song "[[If I Had a Hammer]]". Aaron owned Hank Aaron [[BMW]] of south Atlanta in [[Union City, Georgia]], where he included an [[autograph]]ed baseball with every car sold.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://alabamaliving.coop/article/sports-stars-of-alabama-where-are-they-now/|title=Sports stars of Alabama: Where are they now?|last=Burnett|first=Emmett|magazine=Alabama Living Magazine|date=October 31, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214224520/http://alabamaliving.coop/article/sports-stars-of-alabama-where-are-they-now/|archive-date=December 14, 2014|access-date=November 14, 2014}}</ref> Aaron also owned [[Mini (marque)|Mini]], [[Land Rover]], [[Toyota]], [[Hyundai Motor Company|Hyundai]], and [[Honda]] dealerships throughout Georgia, as part of the Hank Aaron Automotive Group. Aaron sold all but the Toyota dealership in [[McDonough, Georgia|McDonough]] in 2007. Additionally, Aaron owned a chain of 30 restaurants around the country.