JEFF’S CHICAGO SPORTS BLOG – HOME RUN HISTORY!
JEFF’S CHICAGO SPORTS BLOG – HOME RUN HISTORY!
A NEW GENERATION OF BALLPLAYER YIELDS A NEW GENERATION OF RECORDS!
If you think back to the last 10 years for Major League Baseball you come across three records that have been or will be broken. First it was Roger Maris‘ single season 61 home runs that held up in the record books until 1998 and was initially broken by Mark McGwire who hit 70 and then Sammy Sosa who hit 66 in that same year. That record stood for a measly 3 years when Barry Bonds hit 72 homers in the 2001 season. So in a very short period of time this mark that was held in tact for 37 years was broken twice.
Now we’re on the cusp of Barry Bonds passing Henry Aaron’s mark of 755 home runs over his illustrious career. Henry Aaron’s seemingly impossible career home run total of 755 that stood since 1974 will be surpassed by Bonds with an eventual total that could top 800.
One wonders how two records that stood for at least a generation could be surpassed in just the last ten years. If you look to the next generation you can see the career home run total that will be set by Bonds to be shattered with the emergence of today’s young sluggers namely Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols. Just yesterday Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th home run on the same day that Bonds tied Aaron’s record. Rodriguez is the youngest player 32 years old to reach the 500 home run total and in his all-star career he’s averaging 44 home runs a season. So if Bonds hits the 800 mark and retires Rodriguez would surpass 800 home runs in next 7-8 years depending on how he finishes the 2007 campaign. It’s possible that when it is all said and done Rodriguez could surpass the 900-career homerun total mark.
Albert Pujols 27 years old has hit 274 career home runs to date and averages 43 home runs a year. So assuming that he hits his average total of home runs by the beginning of the 2008 season Pujols will be 28 and flirting with 300 career home runs. Because he plays first base a position less demanding than a lot of other positions it’s plausible that Pujols will play another 15 seasons. Should he do that and maintain an average season home run total of forty home runs he would then have a career total in the 800’s with the potential to reach 900 quite easily.
It should prove to be interesting what happens with this record as well others that baseball purists held in such high regard for more than a generation
YOUR THOUGHTS ON BONDS AND RODRIGUEZ REACHING HOME RUN MILESTONES? Please write and let me know!
DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO SPORTS EDITOR
JEFF ARDITO
