What do Willie Stargell, Frank Howard, Harmon Killebrew, Frank Robinson, Willie Mays, Ted Kluszewski, Mickey Mantle, and Roger Maris have in common?  For one thing, they all hit more homers in a season than Hank Aaron ever did in any single year and they all did it while Aaron was playing.  So we're not talking about all the Brady Andersons from a different era.

Hank Aaron never hit more than 47 homers in a season.  He did that in 1971.  Willie Stargell hit 48 that same year.  Harmon Killebrew and Willie Mays hit more than 47 homers in three separate years, all while Aaron was in the league.  Hank deserves all the honors he has received for compiling such a long and consistent record of success, including his 755 career homeruns.  But his durability has exaggerated his prowess as the all time leading homerun hitter.

When Babe Ruth was the career leader with 714 homers, he also held the top two seasonal homerun totals (60 and 59).  When Barry Bonds breaks Aaron's record, he will hold both the seasonal mark (73) and the career title.  Barry isn't as likeable as Hank but neither was Ty Cobb.  So what?  Maybe Bonds used steroids and Babe Ruth was illegally fueled by beer during prohibition but they both dominated their eras in homeruns, both in season and career.  

So Barry Bonds is a fitting heir to the home run crown.  We could root for someone more humble and less arrogant for Home Run King but when we get them, we tear them down anyway.  Look how we humbled Roger Maris with an asterisk.  And by the time A-Rod dethrones Bonds, we will have escalated from mocking him to outright contempt.  So get on with it Barry and claim your destiny.  We wouldn't like you even if you were a nice guy!