Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's home run record eleven years ago
On August 7, 2007, Barry Bonds punctuated his gradual, if inevitable climb to the top of the all-time home run list with an iconic blast to center field at AT&T Park for career home run No. 756.
Eleven years later, Bonds' spectacular dinger total -- 762 when it was all said and done -- remains one of the most unattainable records in baseball, if not professional sports as a whole. Among active players with dreams of hitting No. 763, Albert Pujols is closest to Bonds -- but closest still means needing 131 more dingers. Pujols, who has three years remaining on his contract with the Angels, would need to average at least 43 homers over those seasons to reach 763. With all due respect to The Machine, that seems unlikely.
But even the game's younger sluggers who have amassed a healthy number of long balls early in their career would need to drastically ramp up their dinger pace if they want to catch Bonds. Giancarlo Stanton, whose titanic reputation is largely based on his otherwordly ability to hit balls far distances, would need to average roughly 47 home runs for each of the next ten seasons to have a chance at Bonds' mark.
Mike Trout, who turns 27 today and is already an all-time great, would need to average over 40 home runs for each of the next 13 seasons if he wants a shot at the dinger crown.
The active player with the best chance of reaching 763 might just be the one who hasn't played long enough to settle into a normal pace. Rookie sensation Juan Soto has already hit 13 home runs as a 19-year-old. Let's be generous and say he finishes the 2018 season with 18 home runs. Let's be even more generous and say that Soto will play 20 more seasons in the big leagues. Then all he has to do is average over 37 home runs a season for the next two decades! Easy enough, right?
The idea of a player toppling 762 is borderline inconceivable. Then again, so was the idea that anyone could top Aaron's 755 -- or Ruth's 714. So perhaps someday we will see a new legendary slugger launch home run No. 763 beyond a Major League outfield fence. But until then, Barry Lamar Bonds will remain perched atop his dinger throne -- which he ascended to 11 years ago, today.
