Just Another Tainted Home Run Record

A friend of mine was watching an Atlanta Braves telecast a few days ago and texted me the daily trivia question from the broadcast. The question said Chipper Jones hit 433 career homers under manager Bobby Cox, which player has the most career home runs under one manager?

The first answer that popped into my head was Albert Pujols under Tony La Russa. Pujols hit 445 homers with La Russa as his manager, but that wasn’t the correct answer. Some other player/manager combinations that popped into my head were Babe Ruth and Miller Huggins, which ranks second all-time on the list with 467 homers, and Jimmie Foxx and Connie Mack, who combined for 302.

Then the correct answer hit me. I texted my friend, “I figured out the answer, but I don’t like it.” He responded: Mark McGwire and Tony La Russa? I said, “Yep.” He responded with an expletive, obviously not liking the answer much himself.

Mark McGwire hit a record 494 home runs under La Russa’s management, which is 85 percent of his career total. When you think about it the answer is actually quite simple, because Big Mac played the majority of his career under La Russa in both Oakland and St. Louis.

My friend and I didn’t care much for the answer though because those numbers were obviously tainted with McGwire’s use of performance enhancing drugs throughout his career. That wasn’t all we despised, but more so the fact that it seems nearly every important home run record in baseball is tainted.

Most career home runs tainted by Barry Bonds. Most single season home runs tainted by Bonds, after previously being tainted by McGwire. Most career grand slams tainted by Alex Rodriguez. Most Major League Baseball stadiums homered in tainted by Sammy Sosa. Most consecutive seasons with 30-plus homers a tainted tie between Bonds and A-Rod.

If you are a big baseball fan, like I am, you probably consider the home run to be the most majestic thing in all of sports and for the longest time baseball home run records like Roger Maris’ 61 homers in a single season or especially Hank Aaron’s 755 homers for a career were the greatest records in sports. The most treasured records in sports. Then came the steroid era and Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Rodriguez and numerous others just utterly and thoroughly trashed and made a mockery at of these sacred records. It’s something a baseball purist like me can’t get over and probably never will. And, when I see the answer to a trivia question on yet another big home run record is tainted it steams me a bit.

Oddly enough one of the greatest baseball home run records for most in a single game (four) has been done by 16 different players and none of them, at least to my knowledge, has ever been accused of using performance enhancing drugs. So, for now maybe most home runs in a game remains the purest of all of the great home run records in baseball history.

Black History Month a Time to Celebrate Hank Aaron

Black History Month always reminds me of two of my heroes as an avid baseball fan: Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron. I’ve previously had the opportunity to write about Robinson before, so I’ll keep this centered on Aaron, one of the greatest, yet most underrated athletes of all time.

Greatest and underrated are two words that generally don’t go together in the sports lexicon. However, Aaron is exactly that.

He’s one of the greatest baseball players and athletes in general of all time simply based on his numbers on the field. Aaron finished his illustrious baseball career with 755 career home runs, a record until Barry Bonds cheated his way past it with steroids a few years ago, 2,297 runs batted in (first all time), 3,771 hits (third all time) and 2,174 runs scored (fourth all time- tied with Babe Ruth).

Despite these all time great numbers, Aaron is only considered to be the fifth greatest baseball player ever by The Sporting News. In my book, that’s the equivalent of saying Michael Jordan is the fifth greatest basketball player of all time.

Hank Aaron the great baseball player is only half the story about why he’s one of my personal heroes. Hank Aaron the man means just as much.

In the early 1970s, when it became apparent that Aaron had a shot at breaking the legendary Ruth’s all time home run record he started to receive hate mail and death threats. Many of these hate mail letters and death threats were published in Aaron’s autobiography “I Had a Hammer,” and are to this day some of the most vile, despicable things I’ve ever laid eyes on.

Not only did Aaron receive these threats, but so did his family and during a time when his focus should’ve been solely on baseball, things got so bad that he and his family had to be protected by FBI agents and he couldn’t even stay in the same hotel as his teammates while on the road as a safety precaution.

This led to William Leggett writing in Sports Illustrated in 1973: “Is this to be the year in which Aaron, at the age of 39, takes a moon walk above one of the most hallowed individual records in American sport...? Or will it be remembered as the season in which Aaron, the most dignified of athletes, was besieged with hate mail and trapped by the cobwebs and goblins that lurk in baseball's attic?”

It was a moment that should’ve been cheered by everyone in the country ­– both black and white – but, like so many things that came before, it divided the country.

Aaron refused to quit and kept on playing. On April 8, 1974, he hit career home run number 715 off of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing to break Ruth’s home run record. It was a moment that should’ve been nothing but joy, but unfortunately felt more like a burden had been lifted off of his chest.

Aaron said: “I read the letters, because they remind me not to be surprised or hurt. They remind me what people are really like" and “Babe Ruth never had to contend with anything like that when he was establishing his record.”

Aaron was the kind of athlete that kids today should aspire to be and more importantly he’s the kind of man they should aspire to be.

During Black History Month when students learn about great African-American leaders and heroes like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson and others I hope that Aaron’s legacy is being taught right alongside them. He’s every bit as important.

Greatest Athletes by Numbers

#99

1. Wayne Gretzky (Hockey)
2. George Mikan (Basketball)
3. Jason Taylor (Football)

#98

1. Tony Siragusa (Football)
2. Jessie Armstead (Football)
3. Casey Hampton (Football)

#97

1. Simeon Rice (Football)
2. Jeremy Roenick (Hockey)
3. Cornelius Bennett (Football)

#96

1. Pavel Bure (Hockey)
2. Cortez Kennedy (Football)
3. Bill Voiselle (Baseball)

#95

1. Richard Dent (Football)
2. Sam Adams (Football)
3. Greg Lloyd (Football)

#94

1. Charles Haley (Football)
2. Demarcus Ware (Football)
3. Dana Stubblefield (Football)

#93

1. Doug Gilmore (Hockey)
2. John Randle (Football)
3. Richard Seymour (Football)

#92

1. Reggie White (Football)
2. Michael Strahan (Football)
3. Ted Washington (Football)

#91

1. Dennis Rodman (Basketball)
2. Sergei Fedorov (Hockey)
3. Kevin Greene (Football)

#90

1. Bob Kurland (Basketball)
2. Neil Smith (Football)
3. Jevon Kearse (Football)

#89

1. Mike Ditka (Football)
2. Gino Marchetti (Football)
3. Fred Dryer (Football)

#88

1. Marvin Harrison (Football)
2. Michael Irvin (Football)
3. Alan Page (Football)

#87

1. Dave Casper (Football)
2. Dwight Clark (Football)
3. Sidney Crosby (Hockey)

#86

1. Hines Ward (Football)
2. Buck Buchanan (Football)
3. Dante Lavelli (Football)

#85

1. Jack Youngblood (Football)
2. Nick Buoniconti (Football)
3. Mark Duper (Football)

#84

1. Shannon Sharpe (Football)
2. Randy Moss (Football)
3. Stirling Sharpe (Football)

#83

1. Ted Hendricks (Football)
2. Andre Reed (Football)
3. Mark Clayton (Football)

#82

1. Raymond Berry (Football)
2. Ozzie Newsome (Football)
3. John Stallworth (Football)

#81

1. Tim Brown (Football)
2. Terrell Owens (Football)
3. Dick Lane (Football)

#80

1. Jerry Rice (Football)
2. Kellen Winslow (Football)
3. Steve Largent (Football)

#79

1. Harvey Martin (Football)
2. Roosevelt Brown (Football)
3. Bob St. Claire (Football)

#78

1. Bruce Smith (Football)
2. Anthony Munoz (Football)
3. Jackie Slater (Football)

#77

1. Red Grange (Football)
2. Ray Bourque (Hockey)
3. Willie Roaf (Football)

#76

1. Lou Groza (Football)
2. Orlando Pace (Football)
3. Marion Motley (Football)

#75

1. Deacon Jones (Football)
2. Howie Long (Football)
3. Joe Greene (Football)

#74

1. Merlin Olsen (Football)
2. Bob Lilly (Football)
3. Bruce Matthews (Football)

#73

1. John Hannah (Football)
2. Ron Yary (Football)
3. Joe Klecko (Football)

#72

1. Carlton Fisk (Baseball)
2. Dan Dierdorf (Football)
3. Ed Jones (Football)

#71

1. Alex Karras (Football)
2. Tony Boselli (Football)
3. George Connor (Football)

#70

1. Sam Huff (Football)
2. Jim Marshall (Football)
3. Art Donovan (Football)

#69

1. Mark Schlereth (Football)
2. Tim Krumrie (Football)
3. Jared Allen (Football)

#68

1. Jaromir Jagr (Hockey)
2. Will Shields (Football)
3. Kevin Mawae (Football)

#67

1. Bob Kuechenberg (Football)
2. Ed White (Football)
3. Russell Maryland (Football)

#66

1. Mario Lemieux (Hockey)
2. Ray Nitschke (Football)
3. Alan Faneca (Football)

#65

1. Elvin Bethea (Football)
2. Tom Mack (Football)
3. Gary Zimmerman (Football)

#64

1. Randall McDaniel (Football)
2. Jerry Kramer (Football)
3. Jack Reynolds (Football)

#63

1. Willie Lanier (Football)
2. Gene Upshaw (Football)
3. Lee Roy Selmon (Football)

#62

1. Jim Langer (Football)
2. Guy McIntyre (Football)
3. Scot Shields (Baseball)

#61

1. Bill George (Football)
2. Curley Culp (Football)
3. Josh Beckett (Baseball)

#60

1. Chuck Bednarik (Football)
2. Otto Graham (Football)
3. Scott Schoenweis (Baseball)

#59

1. Jack Ham (Football)
2. Seth Joyner (Football)
3. Todd Jones (Baseball)

#58

1. Jack Lambert (Football)
2. Derrick Thomas (Football)
3. Jonathan Papelbon (Baseball)

#57

1. Dwight Stephensen (Football)
2. Johan Santana (Baseball)
3. Clay Matthews (Football)

#56

1. Lawrence Taylor (Football)
2. Andre Tippett (Football)
3. Chris Doleman (Football)

#55

1. Junior Seau (Football)
2. Derrick Brooks (Football)
3. Dikembe Mutombo (Basketball)

#54

1. Randy White (Football)
2. Goose Gossage (Baseball)
3. Brian Urlacher (Football)

#53

1. Don Drysdale (Baseball)
2. Harry Carson (Football)
3. Artis Gilmore (Basketball)

#52

1. Ray Lewis (Football)
2. Mike Webster (Football)
3. Buck Williams (Basketball)

#51

1. Dick Butkus (Football)
2. Randy Johnson (Baseball)
3. Ichiro Suzuki (Baseball)

#50

1. Mike Singletary (Football)
2. David Robinson (Basketball)
3. Rebecca Lobo (Basketball)

#49

1. Ron Guidry (Baseball)
2. Bobby Mitchell (Football)
3. Charlie Hough (Baseball)

#48

1. Jimmie Johnson (Auto Racing)
2. Torii Hunter (Baseball)
3. Sam McDowell (Baseball)

#47

1. Tom Glavine (Baseball)
2. Mel Blount (Football)
3. Jack Morris (Baseball)

#46

1. Lee Smith (Baseball)
2. Andy Pettitte (Baseball)
3. Todd Christensen (Football)

#45

1. Bob Gibson (Baseball)
2. Pedro Martinez (Baseball)
3. Archie Griffin (Football)

#44

1. Hank Aaron (Baseball)
2. Jerry West (Basketball)
3. Reggie Jackson (Baseball)

#43

1. Richard Petty (Auto Racing)
2. Dennis Eckersley (Baseball)
3. Jack Sikma (Basketball)

#42

1. Jackie Robinson (Baseball)
2. Ronnie Lott (Football)
3. Mariano Rivera (Baseball)

#41

1. Tom Seaver (Baseball)
2. Eddie Matthews (Baseball)
3. Wes Unseld (Basketball)

#40

1. Gale Sayers (Football)
2. Elroy Hirsch (Football)
3. Bill Laimbeer (Basketball)

#39

1. Roy Campanella (Baseball)
2. Larry Csonka (Football)
3. Dominik Hasek (Hockey)

#38

1. Curt Schilling (Baseball)
2. George Rogers (Football)
3. Rocky Colavito (Baseball)

#37

1. Doak Walker (Football)
2. Shaun Alexander (Football)
3. Lester Hayes (Football)

#36

1. Robin Roberts (Baseball)
2. Gaylord Perry (Baseball)
3. Jerome Bettis (Football)

#35

1. Phil Niekro (Baseball)
2. Frank Thomas (Baseball)
3. Rickey Henderson (Baseball)

#34

1. Walter Payton (Football)
2. Shaquille O’Neal (Basketball)
3. Hakeem Olajuwon (Basketball)

#33

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Basketball)
2. Larry Bird (Basketball)
3. Tony Dorsett (Football)

#32

1. Jim Brown (Football)
2. Magic Johnson (Basketball)
3. Sandy Koufax (Baseball)

#31

1. Greg Maddux (Baseball)
2. Reggie Miller (Basketball)
3. Dave Winfield (Baseball)

#30

1. Nolan Ryan (Baseball)
2. Ken Griffey Jr. (Baseball)
3. Orlando Cepeda (Baseball)

#29

1. Rod Carew (Baseball)
2. Eric Dickerson (Football)
3. John Smoltz (Baseball)

#28

1. Cale Yarborough (Auto Racing)
2. Marshall Faulk (Football)
3. Bert Blyleven (Baseball)

#27

1. Juan Marichal (Baseball)
2. Carlton Fisk (Baseball)
3. Vladimir Guerrero (Baseball)

#26

1. Rod Woodson (Football)
2. Wade Boggs (Baseball)
3. Billy Williams (Baseball)

#25

1. K.C. Jones (Basketball)
2. Fred Biletnikoff (Football)
3. Gail Goodrich (Basketball)

#24

1. Willie Mays (Baseball)
2. Jeff Gordon (Auto Racing)
3. Kobe Bryant (Basketball)

#23

1. Michael Jordan (Basketball)
2. LeBron James (Basketball)
3. Ryne Sandberg (Baseball)

#22

1. Emmitt Smith (Football)
2. Elgin Baylor (Basketball)
3. Jim Palmer (Baseball)

#21

1. Roberto Clemente (Baseball)
2. Tim Duncan (Basketball)
3. David Pearson (Auto Racing)

#20

1. Barry Sanders (Football)
2. Mike Schmidt (Baseball)
3. Frank Robinson (Baseball)

#19

1. Johnny Unitas (Football)
2. Bob Feller (Baseball)
3. Tony Gwynn (Baseball)

#18

1. Peyton Manning (Football)
2. Dave Cowens (Basketball)
3. Charlie Joiner (Football)

#17

1. John Havlicek (Basketball)
2. Dizzy Dean (Baseball)
3. Matt Kenseth (Auto Racing)

#16

1. Joe Montana (Football)
2. George Blanda (Football)
3. Whitey Ford (Baseball)

#15

1. Bart Star (Football)
2. Hal Greer (Basketball)
3. Tom Heinsohn (Basketball)

#14

1. Pete Rose (Baseball)
2. Ernie Banks (Baseball)
3. AJ Foyt (Auto Racing)

#13

1. Wilt Chamberlain (Basketball)
2. Dan Marino (Football)
3. Alex Rodriguez (Baseball)

#12

1. Tom Brady (Football)
2. Terry Bradshaw (Football)
3. John Stockton (Basketball)

#11

1. Mark Messier (Hockey)
2. Isiah Thomas (Basketball)
3. Elvin Hayes (Basketball)

#10

1. Pele (Soccer)
2. Fran Tarkenton (Football)
3. Chipper Jones (Baseball)

#9

1. Ted Williams (Baseball)
2. Gordie Howe (Hockey)
3. Bob Petit (Basketball)

#8

1. Cal Ripken Jr. (Baseball)
2. Yogi Berra (Baseball)
3. Troy Aikman (Football)

#7

1. Mickey Mantle (Baseball)
2. John Elway (Football)
3. Craig Biggio (Baseball)

#6

1. Bill Russell (Basketball)
2. Stan Musial (Baseball)
3. Julius Erving (Basketball)

#5

1. Joe DiMaggio (Baseball)
2. Johnny Bench (Baseball)
3. Brooks Robinson (Baseball)

#4

1. Lou Gehrig (Baseball)
2. Bobby Orr (Hockey)
3. Brett Favre (Baseball)

#3

1. Babe Ruth (Baseball)
2. Dale Earnhardt (Auto Racing)
3. Allen Iverson (Basketball)

#2

1. Derek Jeter (Baseball)
2. Rusty Wallace (Auto Racing)
3. Charley Gehringer (Baseball)

#1

1. Oscar Robertson (Basketball)
2. Ozzie Smith (Baseball)
3. Warren Moon (Football)

#0/00

1. Robert Parrish (Basketball)
2. Jim Otto (Football)
3. Al Oliver (Baseball)

45 Worst Trades in Sports History

1. Boston Red Sox trade Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000 dollars and a $300,000 loan

2. St. Louis Hawks trade Bill Russell to Boston Celtics for Ed Macauley & Cliff Hagan

3. Charlotte Hornets trade Kobe Bryant to LA Lakers for Vlade Divac

4. Atlanta Falcons trade Brett Favre to Green Bay Packers for 1st round draft pick

5. Milwaukee Bucks trade Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to LA Lakers for Elmore Smith, Junior Bridgemann and Dave Meyers

6. 76ers trade Wilt Chamberlain to Lakers for Jerry Chambers, Archie Clark & Darrall Imhoff

7. Minnesota Vikings trade five players and eight draft picks (three of which become Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson & Alan Harper) to Dallas Cowboys for Herschel Walker and four draft picks

8. Cincinnati Reds trade Christy Matthewson to New York Giants for Amos Rusie

9. Edmonton Oilers trade Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas and three 1st round draft picks

10. Chicago Cubs trade Lou Brock and two others to St. Louis Cardinals for Ernie Broglio, Bobby Shantz & Doug Clemens

11. Golden State Warriors trade Robert Parrish and third overall draft pick (which became Kevin McHale) to Boston Celtics for first overall pick (Joe Barry Carroll) and Ricky Brown

12. Cleveland Indians trade Joe Jackson to Chicago White Sox for Larry Chappell, Braggo Roth & Ed Klepfer

13. Houston Astros trade Joe Morgan, Jack Billingham, Cesar Cedeno & Ed Armbrister to Cincinnati Reds for Lee May, Tommy Helms & Jimmy Stewart

14. Detroit Tigers trade John Smoltz to Atlanta Braves for Doyle Alexander

15. Seattle SuperSonics trade Scottie Pippen to Chicago Bulls for Olden Polynice

16. Boston Red Sox trade Jeff Bagwell to Houston Astros for Larry Andersen

17. New York Mets trade Nolan Ryan and three others to California Angels for Jim Fregosi

18. Baltimore Colts trade John Elway to Denver Broncos for Mark Hermann, Chris Hinton and 1st round draft pick

19. Montreal Expos trade Randy Johnson and two others to Seattle Mariners for Mark Langston and Mike Campbell

20. Chicago White Sox trade Sammy Sosa to Chicago Cubs for George Bell 21. Cincinnati Reds trade Frank Robinson to Baltimore Orioles for Milt Pappas

22. Oakland A’s trade Mark McGwire to St. Louis Cardinals for T.J. Matthews, Blake Stein and Eric Ludwick

23. Philadelphia 76ers trade Charles Barkley to the Phoenix Suns for Tim Perry, Jeff Hornacek and Andrew Lang

24. New Jersey Nets trade Julius Erving to Philadelphia 76ers for $3 million

25. Philadelphia Phillies trade Ryne Sandberg & Larry Bowa to Chicago Cubs for Ivan DeJesus

26. Boston Red Sox trade Tris Speaker to Cleveland Indians for Sam Jones, Fred Thomas and cash

27. Milwaukee Bucks trade Dirk Nowitzki & Pat Garrity to Dallas Mavericks for Robert Traylor

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers trade Steve Young to San Francisco 49ers for 2nd & 4th round draft picks

29. San Diego Padres trade Ozzie Smith and others to the St. Louis Cardinals for Garry Templeton and others

30. Utah Jazz trade Dominique Wilkins to Atlanta Hawks for John Drew, Freeman Williams and cash

31. New Orleans Saints trade all six of their 1999 draft picks and a future 1st & 3rd Round draft pick to Washington Redskins to move up in draft to take Ricky Williams

32. Cleveland Indians trade Jeff Kent, Julian Tavarez & Jose Vizcaino to San Francisco Giants for Matt Williams

33. Indianapolis Colts trade Marshall Faulk to St. Louis Rams for 2nd & 5th round draft picks

34. New York Mets trade Tom Seaver to Cincinnati Reds for Pat Zachary, Doug Flynn & Steve Henderson

35. Rams trade Jerome Bettis to Pittsburgh Steelers for 2nd & 4th round draft picks

36. Washington Wizards trade Richard Hamilton, Hubert Davis & Brian Simmons to Detroit Pistons for Jerry Stackhouse, Brian Cardinals and Ratko Varda

37. Memphis Grizzlies trade Pau Gasol to LA Lakers for Kwame Brown, Aaron McKie, Javaris Crittenten and Marc Gasol

38. Atlanta Falcons trade 5th overall pick (which became LaDanian Tomlinson) and 3rd round pick to San Diego Chargers for 1st overall draft pick (which became Michael Vick)

39. Houston Astros trade Kenny Lofton & Dave Rhule to Cleveland Indians for Eddie Taubensee & Willie Blair

40. Tampa Bay Rays trade Bobby Abreu to Philadelphia Phillies for Kevin Stocker

41. San Diego Padres trade Fred McGriff to Atlanta Braves for Melvin Nieves, Donnie Elliott and Vince Moore

42. Seattle Mariners trade Jason Varitek & Derek Lowe to Boston Red Sox for Heathcliff Slocumb

43. Chicago Blackhawks trade Dominik Hasek to Buffalo Sabres for Stephane Beauregard and 4th round draft pick

44. Oakland Raiders trade Randy Moss to New England Patriots for 4th round draft pick

45. New York Knicks trade two first round draft picks for Eddy Curry