On the night Barry Bonds tied Henry Aaron for baseball's all- time home run record, Alex Rodriguez reached the 500-home run plateau at the youngest age of anyone in baseball history.

Seems only fitting.

After all, now that Bonds has overtaken Aaron, Rodriguez again is in pursuit, this time of Bonds and the game's cherished record.

A record that over the years has seemed so challenging - only two players had held the career home run record in the 86 years before Bonds became No. 1 on the all- time list Tuesday night - figures to last less than a decade.

Rodriguez, who turned 32 on July 27, is in the prime of the home- run hitting aspect of his career, something that has been enhanced by his move from the defensive demands of shortstop to third base during his days with the New York Yankees.

It seems safe to say that, health permitting, within the next decade, Rodriguez could relegate Bonds to the No. 2 spot on the home run list.

Rodriguez has reached the 35-home run level 10 consecutive seasons and 11 times in 12 years and is showing no signs of fading.

That would make Rodri-guez the most likely successor to Bonds for the record Babe Ruth initially claimed in 1921 and Aaron took over in 1974.

There will be talk about Ryan Howard or Albert Pujols eventually breaking that record, too, but they aren't even halfway there, and there are many pitfalls along the major league trail.

Ken Griffey Jr. is a perfect example. Ten years ago, Griffey, not Bonds or Rodriguez, was considered the player likely to break Aaron's record.

But Griffey had a sudden bout with injuries and hit only 63 home runs combined from 2001 to 2004 after hitting 40 or more each of the five previous seasons and seven of the previous eight.

Commissioner Bud Selig is not surprised a record that once seemed so insurmountable could be broken twice in a span of less than 10 years.

"Look at the evolution of everything, not just baseball," Selig said. "Look at what is happening with football and basketball. Given better medicine, better training methods, the fact that mankind is bigger and stronger. . . . We have a more efficient lifestyle."

Bonds has endorsed Rodriguez to break the record during media sessions Bonds has held periodically this season during his pursuit of Aaron.

"A-Rod is a great player," Bonds said. "If anyone is capable of doing that, it's him. I can see it on TV. I've seen his face. You can see that his eyes are just different."

ringolsbyt@RockyMountainNews.com