Braves honor Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro, Don Sutton in home opener

The Atlanta Braves were pure class, as they honored the lives of Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro and Don Sutton ahead of their 2021 home opener.

No MLB franchise lost more legends during the offseason than the Atlanta Braves.

In the last few months, Braves Country has seen the passings of Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro and Don Sutton. Losing one of those three legends would have been devastating enough, but all three is excruciatingly painful for what they meant to the organization. We are talking about three Hall-of-Famers, two 300-game winners and of course, the Home Run King. Atlanta is still in mourning.

Ahead of their home opener vs. the rival Philadelphia Phillies, the Braves honored the lives of these three fallen icons. Around the concourse, there are flowers placed at Aaron and Niekro’s statues. Up in the booth, there are flowers next to a microphone reserved for Sutton. And in centerfield, the No. 44 will be proudly displayed at Truist Park for the entire 2021 MLB season.

Atlanta Braves: Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro and Don Sutton’s legacies live on

When the Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta, Aaron and Sutton were the stars of the struggling former NL West club. Together, they won the division in 1969. A few years later, both were there on that magical night of April 8, 1974. Though both legends would leave the Braves for other teams at the end of their careers, they were the stars who paved the way for Dale Murphy.

While Murphy did not see a ton of team success in an Atlanta uniform, broadcasters like Sutton were there every step of the way from Worst-to-First throughout the entire Team of the ’90s era. Though Sutton made himself a Hall-of Famer pitching primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he, Skip Caray, Pete van Wieren and Joe Simpson helped make that era of Braves baseball so special.

Braves baseball will never forget what men like Aaron, Niekro and Sutton meant to the game.