Hank Aaron is American's Home Run Champion -- Statistically Speaking
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by Dan Lewis
Sadaharu Oh, as most baseball fans know, holds the world record for most home runs by a professional baseball player, with 868. Hank Aaron fans (and now, the three Barry Bonds fans) take issue with that number, as at best, Japanese pro baseball is, at best, at the quality of the American (plus Toronto) minor leagues. Witness guys like Tuffy Rhodes, who tied Oh's NPB record for most home runs in a season (55, in 2001), but in 225 Major League games, hit a mere 13 homers and batted .224; or players such as Kaz Matsui, who hit 36 homers for the Seibu Lions in 2002, but has "slugged" only 17 in four Major League seasons -- including 136 games for the Colorado Rockies.
Nevertheless, Oh is widely regarded as the professional home run record holder, and probably deservedly so.
A few months ago, I looked up Barry Bonds' minor league home run totals -- stats which are "professional" stats, no more or less so than Oh's. With Bonds, at least back then, claiming that he would play two or three more years; and with 762 Major League homers already to his credit (or to the credit of his pharmacist, whatever), another 107 bombs seemed attainable but still unlikely. However, factor in his twenty minor league homers, and Bonds would have needed only 87 homers -- or 29 per season for three years -- to pass Oh. Certainly doable.
Bonds, however, is unlikely to play again, with the federal indictment against him all but certain to kill off any hope of a contract for 2008 and beyond. Therefore, Bonds will probably retire with 762 major league and 20 minor league home runs, or 782 professional American home runs. This is excellent news for the Barry Bonds haters out there -- and for the Hank Aaron fans. (If we only knew Josh Gibson's actual totals...)
Aaron, as we all know, hit 755 home runs over the course of his 23 year Major League career. What most do not realize, though, is that he hit 31 in two years of minor league ball -- for a total of 786. That, of course, is four more than Bonds.
So, if you -- as most do -- consider Sadaharu Oh the professional home run leader, you can still consider Hank Aaron the American home run leader. Statistically speaking, that is.
