ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves leaned heavily on some of the biggest names from their past to help open their new park.

The first pitch before Friday night’s opener at SunTrust Park was delivered from one Hall of Famer, Hank Aaron, to another, Bobby Cox.

The 83-year-old Aaron used a cane as he walked onto the field in front of the mound. Aaron tossed the underhand pitch to Cox, the former manager who had a new bronze statue unveiled at a stadium entrance on Thursday. The Braves also have a new Aaron statue at the park.

Aaron and Cox joined other five other former Braves stars in the pregame ceremony: Phil Niekro, Dale Murphy, Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said the show of force from the team’s former stars was impressive.

“Sometimes you take for granted what this organization has,” Freeman said. “To see everybody come back, you just kind of step back and realize what kind of organization you are a part of. There is a lot of history and now we’re going to start a new ballpark.

“Seeing all these guys come back, you just kind of step back and take it all in.”