For nearly 39 years, 714 was the greatest number in sports. For the past 31 years, the magic digits were 7-5-5.
Arguments can be made about the greatest records in sports, such as Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in one game or Jack Nicklaus’ 18 major golf championships.
They are regal records, no doubt, but when it comes to public consciousness, those milestones aren’t even in the same ballpark as baseball’s home run mark.
Barry Bonds took center stage with home run number 756 Tuesday night.
Dan Marino threw for an astounding 61,361 yards in his career, Peyton Manning tossed 49 TD passes in 2004 and Emmitt Smith ran for 18,355 yards in his career. Those are impressive numbers but few sports fans remember them.
Certainly not the way they know Babe Ruth’s 714 homers, or Hank Aaron’s 755.
“In baseball, statistics and history matter more than in all of the other sports. It’s not even close,” broadcaster Bob Costas said. “It’s part of the lore and the appeal and the ongoing discussion on the game.”
Or, as novelist Pat Conroy once said, “Baseball fans love numbers. They love to swirl them around their mouths like Bordeaux wine.”
There are other baseball numbers that capture fans’ imaginations — such as Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak – but the home run record is king.
“I think it’s the greatest record in American sports,” baseball commissioner Bud Selig said. “It’s been celebrated by Babe Ruth, and then when Hank broke it on April 8, 1974, despite a lot of human difficulties, it was remarkable. So yeah, I think it’s the most famous and the most significant record in sports, I do.”
Despite his statement, Selig was not at the record-setting game. Rockies manager Clint Hurdle cites a number of reasons for America’s infatuation with the home-run record.
“I think first and foremost, you have a game that has transcended many generations, more so than any other sport in our nation’s history,” Hurdle said. “It’s a game that has been handed down through a lot of generations, starting with Ruth. Then the torch was handed to Aaron and now it’s being passed again.
“And the homer is that classic one-on-one confrontation. A pitcher pitches and the hitter hits it where nobody can catch it. Then the hitter gets to jog around the bases. For me, it’s a different dynamic.”
For Costas, baseball records remain a link to our past.
“Even though baseball has changed over the years, it’s still possible to contemplate and say, ‘I wonder if Joe DiMaggio could hit Roger Clemens?’ Or ‘I wonder if Ty Cobb and Tony Gwynn played in the same season, or under the same conditions, who would have the higher batting average?’ ” Costas said. “No one in their right mind compares Barry Sanders to Red Grange or ‘Shaq’ to George Mikan. But that is part of the appeal of baseball.”
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
