The last long ball hit by baseball's true HR king

The ball hit by Hank Aaron (Baseball's True HR Champ) for his final career home run (No. 755) is on loan at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Photo by Darrin M. Devault (taken on July 26, 2009)

Cal Ripken Jr.: "An unintentional hero"

Hundreds of fans swarmed Cal Ripken Jr. outside Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 28, 2007, clamoring to shake the baseball legend's hand and get his autograph on the day before his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

"Iron Man" Ripken holds the Major League record for most consecutive games played.

Ripken wrote in his 2007 book, Get in the Game: Eight Elements of Perseverance That Make the Difference:

"Playing in 2,632 consecutive ball games and breaking Lou Gehrig's record had nothing to do with extraordinary talent. I didn't have a bionic body or a burning desire for the spotlight.

"I simply showed up and honored the game of baseball by playing as well as I could as often as I could. In doing so, I became an unintentional hero."

Photo by Darrin M. Devault