On April 8, 1974, Hammerin' Hank Aaron stepped to the plate in the 4th inning in a home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Al Downing was on the mound for the Dodgers and had said before the game that he would not pitch any different than he always did. His first pitch was in the dirt in front of home plate. His second pitch was a fastball over the middle of the plate. Hank drove it into the Braves' bullpen in left center field about 395 feet from homeplate. It was his 715th career home run and he had just overtaken Babe Ruth as the greatest home run hitter in the history of Major League baseball. He finished his career with a total of 755 home runs making him, in my mind, the career leader still. Barry Bonds surpassed Hank's record, but his record is tainted by the use of steroids. Cheaters don't qualify for records in my book.
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