He entered the season with 438 dingers, and at his current pace, he would catch Aaron by age 39. Rodriguez, with only 189 homers, is still very far away from the record, and speculation about his chances is still a bit premature. But unlike the others, his career began in the offensive explosion of the late 1990s, and he's reached his impressive home run total at the tender age of 25. At his breakneck pace, he could break the record before his 40th birthday if he hits an average of 40 homers the next 14 seasons. If he can avoid major injury, he has the best shot of anyone in the game today of breaking baseball's most revered record.
Baseball is a game of legends and of hallowed figures and records.
Many baseball fans feel that the career home run record, much like Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, is one that will never fall. Today's offensive explosion is not a trend. Until the 1990s, hitters didn't devote their off-seasons to chugging supplements and lifting weights. The success of hitters around the league in the last decade ensures that bigger, stronger players will continue to abuse pitching for a long time to come. And the offensive records will continue to fall, every last one of them.