Happy Birthday to the Greatest Player in Baseball History

Happy 86th birthday to the greatest hitter in the history of baseball, Henry Aaron. A 25-time All-Star with the most home runs (755), RBI (2297) and total bases (6856) of all-time.

While I'm incredibly thankful Hammerin' Hank is still with us, I think it's a crying shame he had to live to see a roided-up cheater "break" one of the most impressive records in all of sports. I also find it reprehensible Major League Baseball allows that to stand with not even an explanation as to the suspicion that Barry Bonds used steroids. But we all know the true home run king finished with 755.

But even if you want to give Bonds his tainted record, the rest of his career still doesn't stack up to the GOAT.

My favorite stat in all of sports is that if Hank Aaron never hit a single one of his 755 home runs, he still would have ended his career with more than 3,000 hits. That's an unbelievable accomplishment and the mark of a truly great hitter.

Hammerin' Hank is simply the greatest player in the history of America's game. He had one of the greatest careers in all of sports in a time where America still wasn't particularly receptive to a black man doing that sort of thing. Aaron's 715th home run to pass Babe Ruth — and particularly Vin Scully's call of it — is one of the best moments in the history of American sports.

"What a marvelous moment for baseball, what a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia, what a marvelous moment for the country and the world. A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol. And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron."

Simply the best to ever do it. Happy birthday to the King.