Today is the 40th anniversary of Henry Aaron’s record-breaking 715th Major League home run. The Atlanta Braves will celebrate it with a massive ceremony honoring Aaron, who will attend in person. ESPN will mark the occasion in a more untraditional way.

According to the network, ESPN.com will spend Tuesday evening with “a special reenactment” that will cover events leading up to and following the momentous occasion in real time, as if it was happening in 2014. The event is appropriately being called Aaron 715: Live in 2014.

ESPN.com will start this reenactment at 7:15 p.m. ET tonight, with photos, videos and “reports” from the now-demolished Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta. Network baseball insider Jayson Stark will even serve as an “on-site” reporter. He’ll provide updates, statistics and player reaction throughout the evening, culminating at 9:07 p.m. ET, the exact time Aaron hit the home run 40 years ago.

While some may think it a little silly to “reenact” coverage, I think it’s a sweet idea, and a creative way to celebrate such a terrific moment in baseball history. The network doesn’t seem to be overdoing it, as coverage will only extend to ESPN.com, so it’ll be small and simple.

It will, however, be deeply weird to tweet about Hank Aaron as if he were playing today.

About Steve Lepore

Steve Lepore is a writer for Bloguin and a correspondent for SiriusXM NHL Network Radio.

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