I guess if not Bonds, then we go to Aaron, because A-Rod is a confirmed PED so it doesn't count in your minds.
I was thinking back to the clip of #715 against poor Al Downing, and thinking how you hate to have your name there.
If you're Al Downing.
But then again, that's what happens when you face a batter whose number is 44, and your number is also 44!
Downing, though, need make no apologies.
As the first black who pitched for the Yankees, forming a black battery with Elston Howard, Downing was more than just the "Guy who gave up 715." Take a look:
Called up July 19th 1961, he pitched, struggled, but got to see Mantle hit homerun #36 of Dick Donavan.
He pitched just 4 more times, but got to see Maris hit #57 off Frank Lary on September 19th. He stayed with the team the rest of the season and saw Maris hit #61.
He joined the Yankees as a regular in 1963 and proceeded to win, 13, 13, 12, 10 and 14 games on Yankee teams that were below .500 for those last three win numbers.
He was 10th in the AL with those 14 wins, and second in the NL in 1971 with 20 wins.
Downing also pitched in the 1967 All Star Game. Later that season, August 11th, he struck out the side against Cleveland in the second inning, on just 9 pitches.
He was 5th in the AL in ERA in 1963 (2.56), 8th in 1967 (2.63) and 7th in the NL in 1971 (2.68).
Being a flamethrower early in his career, he was 8th in the AL with 171 K's in 1963. Then he topped all AL hurlers in K's the next season with 217. He was good enough for 5th next year with 179.
Shutout-wise, Downing threw 4 in 1963, good enough for 3rd in the AL. He threw 4 more in '67 for 9th places among AL hurlers. Once he moved to the NL in 1971, he tossed 5 more for tops in the league. The next year, Downing added 4 more for 6th.
But he had never faced Aaron who was with the Braves in Milwaukee from 1954 until 1965. The franchise, which had moved from Boston to Milwaukee in 1953, made another shift to Atlanta in 1966.
But Downing was stuck in the American League until 1971.
In that season, the two would cross paths for the first time on September 19th, 1971. Downing had been firing on all cylinders coming in (18-8). It was the first game of a doubleheader.
Aaron could do little against him on this night.
A night that saw him start the game at first base.
Phil Niekro was on the mound for Atlanta. He lasted less than four innings and gave up six earned runs.
Aaron flied out in the top of the first with Felix Milan on first and one out. In the top of the fourth, he lined out to left.
With Ralph Garr (the first player to score a run against my boys, the Toronto Blue Jays) on first and one out, Aaron grounded to third, getting thrown out at first. The Braves were behind 6-0 at this point.
The lead swelled to 9-0 in the 7th as Aaron left the game and was replaced by his brother, Tommy.
Tommy, by the way, flied out in the top of the ninth with the Braves now down, 12-0. He was the second last batter of the game.
The final score was 12-0, as Downing had his 19th win and 4th shutout on the campaign. He had surrendered just 3 hits on the day.
The nesxt time out was a little better, Aaron and his mates again being shutout, but only 2-0, 5 days later. It was also better for Niekro, who this time fired a fine 4 hitter, 0 walks. Cecil Upshaw picked him up in the top of the eight and threw two shutout innings, giving up 2 hits.
Aaron flied out in the bottom of the 1st, lined out to center in the 3rd, then grounded out in the bottom of the 6th. Finally in the eight, with Felix Millan on 2nd, an Aaron single and then a walk to Earl Williams loaded the bases. Alas, Mike Lum hit into an inning ending, liner, double play.
Downing had his 5th shutout (in his next start, his team lost 11-0) on an 8 hitter with just 1 walk. But he had faced just 35 batters on the night.
So Aaron is 1-7 against Downing with no RBIs or walks, but also no K's for 1971.
In 1972, they met just once, on June 23rd. What I find incredible, I mean what are the odds, is Downing's mound opponent this night Phil Niekro.
The Dodgers scored 2 again, but this time, the Braves got one. Did Aaron have anything to do with it? Each pitcher finished with a fine, 5 hitter.
Aaron grounded out in the top of the first. Downing then K'd Aaron for the first time ever in the 4th. With Niekro on 2nd and 2 out in the top of the 6th of a still scoreless deadlock, Aaron popped out to second.
After Frank Robinson smacked a 2-run dinger in the bottom of the frame, the Braves finally got a run of Al in the top of the next inning as Sonny Jackson hit into a double play.
Downing entered the 9th and faced three tough hitters: Aaron, Rico Carty and Orlando Cepeda
Aaron grounded out, Carty gounded out, Cepeda popped out foul to first.
Aaron is 1-11 off his future record setting victim. But right now, in 1972, it is Aaron who is the victim, time and time again.
So 1973 marked a change.
Aaron and Downing would meet up on April 15, 1973, sans a week, almost exactly a year before the real matchup.
Anyways, the Dodgers won again, 6-2. And this time, it was Gary Gentry (Met's 1969 World Series Game 3 starter!) pitching on the Braves. Aaron?
Aaron batted with two outs in the top of the first, and flied out. In the top of the 4th, Hank coaxed a walk. Dusty Baker ended the inning by fanning.
Aaron led off the 7th with a groundout. But the Braves finally got the first run as Darrell Evans doubled home Baker.
The Dodgers answered the Braves 1 tally with 6 of their own in the bottom of the frame. Downing himself singled, but was thrown out at home to end the inning.
Al gave up a double in the top of the eight, but K'd two more to bring his total to 7 on the day. Aaron would lead off the top of the ninth.
And he took Downing deep.
And that's how the game ended, 6-2.
May 20th, 1973, the nightcap between Atlanta and LA, Downing was in fine form. Gentry, his mound opponent again, lasted just 2.1 innings and gave up 8 hits and 5 runs, all earned.
Downing threw another 3 hitter, although the Braves also got three runs off him. Another complete game gem.
Aaron though, didn't play!
Downing also started a game on June 20th of that year against Atlanta. The Dodgers won 6-5 in the 11th inning. But again, no Hammerin' Hank!
June 29th, 1973, was a wild night in Atlanta.
The Braves already had one in the bottom of the 1st, but Aaron grounded out to third to end the frame.
The Dodgers build a 4-1 lead as Downing faced Aaron in the bottom of the frame with two out. He got under it and flied out to centerfielder Willie Davis.
The Braves themselves scored 4 more runs by the bottom of the 5th to go ahead 5-4, and in the 6th, after Darrell Evans reached on an Downing, Hank sent Al to test the showers with a 2-run shot. The Dodgers, though, came back to win this game 12-9.
Al and Hank would not meet again until after the all star game, and even then it was all the way to September 20th, 1973, 12 years to the day that Al's teammate, Roger Maris, had hit homerun #58 of 1961.
Aaron came into this game with 38 homeruns on the season and 711 on the career.
Downing would not let him hit another on this day.
A flyball to center. Another flyball to center. Finally in the top of the 6th, Aaron came up with 2 on, 2 out, and the Braves down by 2.
Boom! A double to left to tie the game. The Braves scored again as Baker singled Aaron home!
But the Dodgers came back with another tally in the bottom of the frame to tie it at 3. It came on Willie Crawford's second homerun on the day.
In his final plate appearance of the game against Downing, Aaron singled with one out, but was stranded on first as Dusty Baker and Davey Johnson (the last out of the 1969 World Series) both flied out to left.
Downing got through the ninth without another run scored.
Charlie Hough came in to pitch the top of the 10th and walked Aaron. But the Braves failed to score. In the top of the 12th, Aaron hit his second double of the game, but it didn't score a run and Hank was again stranded. The Dodgers won the game in the bottom of the frame on a Davy Lopez homerun.
Aaron had hit another homerun on the 22nd of the month, to give him 39. Could he reach 40, 4 days later?
Downing looked lost on this day. The Braves scored first in the bottom of the first as he hit a flyball for a sacrifice fly. The Braves scored again before the inning was over.
Then in the second, with the score now tied 2-2, Aaron put the Braves ahead again with a single to left. Dusty Baker plated the 4th Braves run with a single of his own. Weather report: Early showers for AD. The Braves lost the game 9-8 as Aaron went 0-3 with a walk the rest of the game.
Aaron would hit his 40th homerun of Jerry Reuss. Darrell Evans trumped Aaron by hitting his 41st on the year in the same game. Amazingly enough, the Braves had a third player, Davey Johnson, join the 40+ homerun party by hitting a team leading 43 homeruns.
But Aaron now had 713 homeruns at the conclusion of the 1973 season.
He was also now 6-22 lifetime against Downing. 2HR, 7RBI, 1BB, 1K
It was a long winter for Aaron, but the Braves opening game of the 1974 season in Cincinnati, Hank faced Jack Billingham with Ralph Garr on second and Mike Lum on first.
He connected for homerun #714, tying Babe Ruth.
On April 6th, with Phil Niekro back on the hill, but facing someone other than Al Downing for a change, the Braves beat the Reds 5-3, for their first win on the season. Our man, Hank, was 0-3 with 2 K's against Clay Kirby, before leaving the game in the 7th for Rowland Office.
So one the 9th of April 8th, 1974, Downing made his first start of the season, on the road against Atlanta. Henry Louis Aaron needed just one more homerun to pass Ruth.
Aaron's lifetimes stats after the Cincinnati game: 2966 GP, 714 HR, 2136 RBI, .311BA, .378OBA
So it was game #2967 for Aaron, and 334 for Al Downing.
Downing faced Aaron in the bottom of the second, and walked him. 53, 775 fans didn't like that.
But they must have liked the face that Dusty Baker doubled to left, scoring Aaron.
Then the Dodgers came back and put a "3" on the scoreboard in the top of the 3rd, as Downing himself scored Steve Garvey with a single. Soon, it would be Jim Wynn who scored Downing and Davey Lopes.
Aaron would bat again in the bottom of the 4th. Darrell Evans led off the inning by reaching on an error. There was no place to put Aaron.
Downing, perhaps a little shaken with Evans on first, threw a high rising fastball.
But it didn't rise fast enough, and it didn't have enough zip from the mound to the plate.
Aaron turned those fast wrists of his on the ball and sent it to left.
What happened next is hard to describe. Time seemed to stand still. The ball made it over the wall in left of Atlanta's Stadium, which would eventually have name change, Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.
Aaron had done it. A wild celebration ensued.
And Downing was even more shaken.
Dusty Baker walked. Davey Johnson walked. Downing was done for the night, but knew, no matter how long he lived, this night, would be his most memorable.
The Dodgers ended up losing the game 7-4 as Downing took the loss.
Was there more, you ask? That's what makes baseball the great sport it is. There is always more.
So on May 17th of that season, it was the Braves making a trip out west to face the Dodgers.
Aaron faced Downing with 2 outs and Marty Perez on first. This time, all Hank could do was hit into an inning ending force out.
Perez then walked to open the first, with the Dodgers up 1-0. Aaron flied out.
In the top of the 6th, with the Braves having gone up 3-2, Aaron coaxed a walk off Downing. But he was thrown out trying to go from 1st to 3rd on Davey Johnson's single.
Downing left after the 7th, not having faced Aaron again. The Dodgers came back to tie the game, but lost in extra innings.
There would be one last meeting between the two on July 27th, 1974. Phil Niekro started again. This is becoming all too common here, eh?
Anyways, Aaron's first inning single scored a run, and the Braves were up 2 at the end of the frame. Al then K'd Hank in the bottom of the 3rd. Dusty Baker then hit a solo homerun off Downing.
Two more runs in the bottom of the 4th finished Downing and the Dodgers, who would go on to lose the game, 10-0.
Al Downing pitched 8 more times that season, but would never face the Braves again that season.
The Braves missed the postseason, but the Dodgers made it all the way to the World Series, losing to Oakland, 4-1.
Downing carried on pitching for the Dodgers until LA released him in the summer of 1977, so he was not there that fall when the faced Al's old team the Yankees.
But Downing would never face Aaron again. In the 1974 offseason, they traded Aaron, who hit 20 homeruns that season to bring his career homerun total to 733. He would hit 20 more in two seasons with the AL Milwaukee Brewers, who amazingly enough, would join the National League in 1998.
But for Hank Aaron and Al Downing, it was so much more than that one crisp night in April 1974.
Oh, and for you stat lovers like me, here are the head to head totals, Aaron VS Downing
PA: 31
AB:27
R: 8
2B: 1
3B: 0
HR: 3
RBI: 10
BB: 3
K: 2
BA: .296
OBP: .355
SH: 1
SF: 0
IBB: 0
HBP: 0
GIDP: 0
References
I was thinking back to the clip of #715 against poor Al Downing, and thinking how you hate to have your name there.
If you're Al Downing.
But then again, that's what happens when you face a batter whose number is 44, and your number is also 44!
Downing, though, need make no apologies.
As the first black who pitched for the Yankees, forming a black battery with Elston Howard, Downing was more than just the "Guy who gave up 715." Take a look:
Called up July 19th 1961, he pitched, struggled, but got to see Mantle hit homerun #36 of Dick Donavan.
He pitched just 4 more times, but got to see Maris hit #57 off Frank Lary on September 19th. He stayed with the team the rest of the season and saw Maris hit #61.
He joined the Yankees as a regular in 1963 and proceeded to win, 13, 13, 12, 10 and 14 games on Yankee teams that were below .500 for those last three win numbers.
He was 10th in the AL with those 14 wins, and second in the NL in 1971 with 20 wins.
Downing also pitched in the 1967 All Star Game. Later that season, August 11th, he struck out the side against Cleveland in the second inning, on just 9 pitches.
He was 5th in the AL in ERA in 1963 (2.56), 8th in 1967 (2.63) and 7th in the NL in 1971 (2.68).
Being a flamethrower early in his career, he was 8th in the AL with 171 K's in 1963. Then he topped all AL hurlers in K's the next season with 217. He was good enough for 5th next year with 179.
Shutout-wise, Downing threw 4 in 1963, good enough for 3rd in the AL. He threw 4 more in '67 for 9th places among AL hurlers. Once he moved to the NL in 1971, he tossed 5 more for tops in the league. The next year, Downing added 4 more for 6th.
But he had never faced Aaron who was with the Braves in Milwaukee from 1954 until 1965. The franchise, which had moved from Boston to Milwaukee in 1953, made another shift to Atlanta in 1966.
But Downing was stuck in the American League until 1971.
In that season, the two would cross paths for the first time on September 19th, 1971. Downing had been firing on all cylinders coming in (18-8). It was the first game of a doubleheader.
Aaron could do little against him on this night.
A night that saw him start the game at first base.
Phil Niekro was on the mound for Atlanta. He lasted less than four innings and gave up six earned runs.
Aaron flied out in the top of the first with Felix Milan on first and one out. In the top of the fourth, he lined out to left.
With Ralph Garr (the first player to score a run against my boys, the Toronto Blue Jays) on first and one out, Aaron grounded to third, getting thrown out at first. The Braves were behind 6-0 at this point.
The lead swelled to 9-0 in the 7th as Aaron left the game and was replaced by his brother, Tommy.
Tommy, by the way, flied out in the top of the ninth with the Braves now down, 12-0. He was the second last batter of the game.
The final score was 12-0, as Downing had his 19th win and 4th shutout on the campaign. He had surrendered just 3 hits on the day.
The nesxt time out was a little better, Aaron and his mates again being shutout, but only 2-0, 5 days later. It was also better for Niekro, who this time fired a fine 4 hitter, 0 walks. Cecil Upshaw picked him up in the top of the eight and threw two shutout innings, giving up 2 hits.
Aaron flied out in the bottom of the 1st, lined out to center in the 3rd, then grounded out in the bottom of the 6th. Finally in the eight, with Felix Millan on 2nd, an Aaron single and then a walk to Earl Williams loaded the bases. Alas, Mike Lum hit into an inning ending, liner, double play.
Downing had his 5th shutout (in his next start, his team lost 11-0) on an 8 hitter with just 1 walk. But he had faced just 35 batters on the night.
So Aaron is 1-7 against Downing with no RBIs or walks, but also no K's for 1971.
In 1972, they met just once, on June 23rd. What I find incredible, I mean what are the odds, is Downing's mound opponent this night Phil Niekro.
The Dodgers scored 2 again, but this time, the Braves got one. Did Aaron have anything to do with it? Each pitcher finished with a fine, 5 hitter.
Aaron grounded out in the top of the first. Downing then K'd Aaron for the first time ever in the 4th. With Niekro on 2nd and 2 out in the top of the 6th of a still scoreless deadlock, Aaron popped out to second.
After Frank Robinson smacked a 2-run dinger in the bottom of the frame, the Braves finally got a run of Al in the top of the next inning as Sonny Jackson hit into a double play.
Downing entered the 9th and faced three tough hitters: Aaron, Rico Carty and Orlando Cepeda
Aaron grounded out, Carty gounded out, Cepeda popped out foul to first.
Aaron is 1-11 off his future record setting victim. But right now, in 1972, it is Aaron who is the victim, time and time again.
So 1973 marked a change.
Aaron and Downing would meet up on April 15, 1973, sans a week, almost exactly a year before the real matchup.
Anyways, the Dodgers won again, 6-2. And this time, it was Gary Gentry (Met's 1969 World Series Game 3 starter!) pitching on the Braves. Aaron?
Aaron batted with two outs in the top of the first, and flied out. In the top of the 4th, Hank coaxed a walk. Dusty Baker ended the inning by fanning.
Aaron led off the 7th with a groundout. But the Braves finally got the first run as Darrell Evans doubled home Baker.
The Dodgers answered the Braves 1 tally with 6 of their own in the bottom of the frame. Downing himself singled, but was thrown out at home to end the inning.
Al gave up a double in the top of the eight, but K'd two more to bring his total to 7 on the day. Aaron would lead off the top of the ninth.
And he took Downing deep.
And that's how the game ended, 6-2.
May 20th, 1973, the nightcap between Atlanta and LA, Downing was in fine form. Gentry, his mound opponent again, lasted just 2.1 innings and gave up 8 hits and 5 runs, all earned.
Downing threw another 3 hitter, although the Braves also got three runs off him. Another complete game gem.
Aaron though, didn't play!
Downing also started a game on June 20th of that year against Atlanta. The Dodgers won 6-5 in the 11th inning. But again, no Hammerin' Hank!
June 29th, 1973, was a wild night in Atlanta.
The Braves already had one in the bottom of the 1st, but Aaron grounded out to third to end the frame.
The Dodgers build a 4-1 lead as Downing faced Aaron in the bottom of the frame with two out. He got under it and flied out to centerfielder Willie Davis.
The Braves themselves scored 4 more runs by the bottom of the 5th to go ahead 5-4, and in the 6th, after Darrell Evans reached on an Downing, Hank sent Al to test the showers with a 2-run shot. The Dodgers, though, came back to win this game 12-9.
Al and Hank would not meet again until after the all star game, and even then it was all the way to September 20th, 1973, 12 years to the day that Al's teammate, Roger Maris, had hit homerun #58 of 1961.
Aaron came into this game with 38 homeruns on the season and 711 on the career.
Downing would not let him hit another on this day.
A flyball to center. Another flyball to center. Finally in the top of the 6th, Aaron came up with 2 on, 2 out, and the Braves down by 2.
Boom! A double to left to tie the game. The Braves scored again as Baker singled Aaron home!
But the Dodgers came back with another tally in the bottom of the frame to tie it at 3. It came on Willie Crawford's second homerun on the day.
In his final plate appearance of the game against Downing, Aaron singled with one out, but was stranded on first as Dusty Baker and Davey Johnson (the last out of the 1969 World Series) both flied out to left.
Downing got through the ninth without another run scored.
Charlie Hough came in to pitch the top of the 10th and walked Aaron. But the Braves failed to score. In the top of the 12th, Aaron hit his second double of the game, but it didn't score a run and Hank was again stranded. The Dodgers won the game in the bottom of the frame on a Davy Lopez homerun.
Aaron had hit another homerun on the 22nd of the month, to give him 39. Could he reach 40, 4 days later?
Downing looked lost on this day. The Braves scored first in the bottom of the first as he hit a flyball for a sacrifice fly. The Braves scored again before the inning was over.
Then in the second, with the score now tied 2-2, Aaron put the Braves ahead again with a single to left. Dusty Baker plated the 4th Braves run with a single of his own. Weather report: Early showers for AD. The Braves lost the game 9-8 as Aaron went 0-3 with a walk the rest of the game.
Aaron would hit his 40th homerun of Jerry Reuss. Darrell Evans trumped Aaron by hitting his 41st on the year in the same game. Amazingly enough, the Braves had a third player, Davey Johnson, join the 40+ homerun party by hitting a team leading 43 homeruns.
But Aaron now had 713 homeruns at the conclusion of the 1973 season.
He was also now 6-22 lifetime against Downing. 2HR, 7RBI, 1BB, 1K
It was a long winter for Aaron, but the Braves opening game of the 1974 season in Cincinnati, Hank faced Jack Billingham with Ralph Garr on second and Mike Lum on first.
He connected for homerun #714, tying Babe Ruth.
On April 6th, with Phil Niekro back on the hill, but facing someone other than Al Downing for a change, the Braves beat the Reds 5-3, for their first win on the season. Our man, Hank, was 0-3 with 2 K's against Clay Kirby, before leaving the game in the 7th for Rowland Office.
So one the 9th of April 8th, 1974, Downing made his first start of the season, on the road against Atlanta. Henry Louis Aaron needed just one more homerun to pass Ruth.
Aaron's lifetimes stats after the Cincinnati game: 2966 GP, 714 HR, 2136 RBI, .311BA, .378OBA
So it was game #2967 for Aaron, and 334 for Al Downing.
Downing faced Aaron in the bottom of the second, and walked him. 53, 775 fans didn't like that.
But they must have liked the face that Dusty Baker doubled to left, scoring Aaron.
Then the Dodgers came back and put a "3" on the scoreboard in the top of the 3rd, as Downing himself scored Steve Garvey with a single. Soon, it would be Jim Wynn who scored Downing and Davey Lopes.
Aaron would bat again in the bottom of the 4th. Darrell Evans led off the inning by reaching on an error. There was no place to put Aaron.
Downing, perhaps a little shaken with Evans on first, threw a high rising fastball.
But it didn't rise fast enough, and it didn't have enough zip from the mound to the plate.
Aaron turned those fast wrists of his on the ball and sent it to left.
What happened next is hard to describe. Time seemed to stand still. The ball made it over the wall in left of Atlanta's Stadium, which would eventually have name change, Atlanta Fulton County Stadium.
Aaron had done it. A wild celebration ensued.
And Downing was even more shaken.
Dusty Baker walked. Davey Johnson walked. Downing was done for the night, but knew, no matter how long he lived, this night, would be his most memorable.
The Dodgers ended up losing the game 7-4 as Downing took the loss.
Was there more, you ask? That's what makes baseball the great sport it is. There is always more.
So on May 17th of that season, it was the Braves making a trip out west to face the Dodgers.
Aaron faced Downing with 2 outs and Marty Perez on first. This time, all Hank could do was hit into an inning ending force out.
Perez then walked to open the first, with the Dodgers up 1-0. Aaron flied out.
In the top of the 6th, with the Braves having gone up 3-2, Aaron coaxed a walk off Downing. But he was thrown out trying to go from 1st to 3rd on Davey Johnson's single.
Downing left after the 7th, not having faced Aaron again. The Dodgers came back to tie the game, but lost in extra innings.
There would be one last meeting between the two on July 27th, 1974. Phil Niekro started again. This is becoming all too common here, eh?
Anyways, Aaron's first inning single scored a run, and the Braves were up 2 at the end of the frame. Al then K'd Hank in the bottom of the 3rd. Dusty Baker then hit a solo homerun off Downing.
Two more runs in the bottom of the 4th finished Downing and the Dodgers, who would go on to lose the game, 10-0.
Al Downing pitched 8 more times that season, but would never face the Braves again that season.
The Braves missed the postseason, but the Dodgers made it all the way to the World Series, losing to Oakland, 4-1.
Downing carried on pitching for the Dodgers until LA released him in the summer of 1977, so he was not there that fall when the faced Al's old team the Yankees.
But Downing would never face Aaron again. In the 1974 offseason, they traded Aaron, who hit 20 homeruns that season to bring his career homerun total to 733. He would hit 20 more in two seasons with the AL Milwaukee Brewers, who amazingly enough, would join the National League in 1998.
But for Hank Aaron and Al Downing, it was so much more than that one crisp night in April 1974.
Oh, and for you stat lovers like me, here are the head to head totals, Aaron VS Downing
PA: 31
AB:27
R: 8
2B: 1
3B: 0
HR: 3
RBI: 10
BB: 3
K: 2
BA: .296
OBP: .355
SH: 1
SF: 0
IBB: 0
HBP: 0
GIDP: 0
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major
League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/.
Web. 11 Dec. 2012.
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