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.
