755*

It happened yesterday. The "greatest" record in American sports fell.

The same day, the A-Rod passed the 500 home run mark faster than any person before him. The stats don't lie- the only thing that will stop A-rod from breaking Bonds' record is a crosstown bus hitting him.

That said, it took Aaron 12,364 at bats to get his 755. It has taken Bonds 9,768.

Guess what two players have the best at bats to home runs hit ratio? Mark McGuire (10.61 at bats for every HR) and Babe Ruth (11.76 at bats for every HR hit). Bonds is third, and A-Rod is 10th. That is the secret to why the records are falling - players are starting younger and playing for an extra four/five years. A-rod is 32, barely, and he has played 12 full seasons.

The great Hank Aaron isn't even in the top thirty.

There are two other players who have to be factored into this conversation - Albert Pujols (274 HRs) - who is only 27 and is hitting a home run every 14.15 at bats, and Ryan Howard who is hitting a jack every 11.3 times he comes to the plate. Sure he behind the pace because of his "late" start. He is 28 - but look when Barry hit most of his homers- after 35.

It is still too early to tell how these kids will last. Ken Griffey Jr. was dogged by injuries after busting out to 300 in seven years. Arod started younger (18) and has a much life left in him as he wants - that is how great shape he is in.

I find it particularly rich that when Mark McGuire broke a record that would never be broken, it was Barry Bonds who took it away from him just a few years later. It is likely that Bonds will lose both records in the next few years.

That said, I think the "*ers" are just blowing smoke. Unfortunately, the steroid era of baseball will leave a very black mark on the game - kind of like when the players got involved with mobsters to fix games. At the end of the day, roids don't help you see the ball, of help your timing in a millisecond to get the ball out of the park. Maybe steroids helped him train harder and compete longer - but he still broke the record in less at bats than Aaron - and regardless of his steroid use- it was something that "everyone" did for the better part of a decade. There is no evidence that he ever broke a single MLB rule.

Bud Selig can rumple up his face all he wants- its HIS fault that Barry was able to use steroids and continue his career into his mid 40s. The Commissioner's office knew about this issue a long time ago. The problem was they didn't WANT to do anything about it when it was getting out of control because guys like McGuire, Bonds, Sosa and the like were saving the game after the 1990s disruption. They didn't act then, so they can't pout now.