756

Last night, Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants slugger, hit the 756th home run of his career, breaking the record by Hank Aaron set more than three decades ago.

That immediately sent every sports pundit to their keyboards to send off their commentary.

Bonds says that he knew when he hit it that it was gone. After fighting through the rugby scrum to catch the ball, it was a New York Mets fan who came up with it. Hah!

So what did Hammering Hank Aaron have to say about all this? Well, what he said stole the show:

"I would like to offer my congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming baseball's career home run leader," Hank Aaron said in a video message played on the AT&T Park scoreboard after Bonds hit his 756th home run. "It is a great accomplishment which requires skill, longevity and determination. Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years. I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historical achievement.

"My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams."

Classy. Understated. Insightful.

All the things that we would not associate with Barry Bonds. It makes for a most interesting juxtaposition.