Who Is The True Homerun King?

April 8th was the 40th anniversary of Hank Aaron hitting his 715th Major League homerun and subsequently breaking Babe Ruth's homerun record, which, until that point, stood for 52 years. Hammerin' Hank went on to hit a total of 755 homeruns by the end of his legendary career.

At the end of the 1973 season Aaron had 714 career homeruns, one shy of tying Ruth's record. He is quoted in saying that his only fear was that he may not live to play in the 1974 season. Aaron received countless death threats during his playing years. Baseball was a white man's sport, and now some black player was about to shatter the most prolific record in all of sports? The white community was outraged that, "their sport" was being dominated by a black player. To his credit, none of this shook him, and as we know The Hammer went on to hit 41 more homeruns after 1973. 

Then, there was Barry Bonds*. On August 7th of 2007 Bonds* solidified himself as the man with the most homeruns in the history of major league baseball by depositing a ball into the right center bleachers at AT&T Park. Bonds* went on to hit a total of 762 homeruns* by the end of his career. 

So, in terms of numbers, Bonds* is the homerun king, right? He has the most homeruns in a career out of anyone who has every stepped onto a Major League Field. So, why the debate?

Because Bonds* cheated. 

Look at the difference between Bonds* at the beginning of his career..

And Bonds* at the end of his career....

That shit ain't natural!

There has never been any debate about whether Aaron did it cleanly. The dude had to fight through death threats and angry fans. He was booed at his home field! And he still belted 755 homeruns. 

So, it sounds like I just summed it all up. Aaron is the TRUE homerun king, not Bonds*, because Aaron never cheated.

If only it were that easy. Just to be fair, let's look at the case for Bonds*.

-Bonds* has 7 more homeruns than Aaron, and numbers don't lie.

-Pitchers, as do all athletes, progressively get better, so more than likely the pitchers that Bonds* faced night in and night out were arguably better than the pitchers that Aaron faced.

-Pitchers were taking steroids too, not all of them, but there is no doubt that a large percentage were, so Bonds* was just evening the playing field by being a no good dirty cheater. If they were cheating why can't he?

There are arguments for why both Aaron and Bonds* should be considered the homerun king. I personally think that it is Aaron, but this whole Steroid Era throws a big wrench in the mix that makes the debate worth having. If Bonds* never used, then no doubt, he would be the king. 

If only it were that simple. 

I would like to hear what you guys have to say on this topic. The varying opinions are out there, so let us hear them! Leave a comment below and we'll get this debate going!

P.S. I fully expect zero comments, but I love surprises.

#KingHank