Baseball’s obvious embarrassment at having Barry Bonds as its home run king is eased by one simple fact - he might not keep the title for long.

Hank Aaron held the crown for 33 years since eclipsing Babe Ruth in 1974.  Bonds, who surpassed Aaron on Tuesday night with his 756th home run, could be passed within a decade, as a new generation of sluggers is on pace to set new standards in the years to come.

Leading the pack is Alex Rodriguez, but Albert Pujols is creeping up behind.  Last season, a new slugger - Ryan Howard -has announced his candidacy.

These players do not yet know what the target will be if they want to surpass Bonds, who likely will reach 765-770 homers by the end of the season if he stays healthy.  But Bonds has hinted at returning next year, and he could continue to push the outfield fences back for the sluggers taking aim at his record.

Even if Bonds hits 800, Rodriguez has every chance of catching him.  The New York Yankees third baseman began this season with 464 career homers, quickly hit 14 more in an outstanding April and after a lackluster May, he rebounded in June.

When he turned 31 on July 27, 2006, Rodriguez had already reached 429 homers. Compare that to the 366 of Aaron at the same age and the 259 of a pre-BALCO Bonds.

Rodriguez hit his 400th homer in June 2005 at 29 years, 316 days, becoming the youngest player to reach the landmark.  He belted No. 500 earlier Saturday, again becoming the youngest player to get there.

But if Rodriguez wants to convert that into the all-time record, the challenge for him - or any player - is to stay healthy and in the game long after most players have retired.

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“If Alex Rodriguez stays healthy and they pitch to him, I think he’ll hit more home runs than anybody,” Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland told the New York Times earlier this year.

Talk of potential future records is not something that interests Rodriguez.  He rarely addresses the issue and, when he does, refuses to speculate about how long he might have left in the game.

“How I’ve gotten to this point is by really treasuring each day and treasuring each season, without allowing myself to say, ’Where will I be at 30?’” Rodriguez said last season.  “So I’m not going to allow myself now to start thinking about 40 or 35.”

Pujols is only 27 but began the season with 250 home runs.  That puts him ahead of Aaron’s 219 or Bonds’ 132.

What gives him the potential to chase any record Rodriguez might set is his consistency to date.  Since his first full season in the majors in 2001, his lowest homer total has been 34.

But what is remarkable about both Rodriguez and Pujols is that they are far more than just sluggers.  They hit for average and and are Gold Glove fielders.  In short, they are the sort of players Bonds was before he began bulking up.

A player closer to the post-BALCO Bonds - but without the suspicion of steroids - is Howard, the young first baseman of the Philadelphia Phillies.  He won’t hit for average or tear up the basepaths, but he does know how to hit the long ball.

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In terms of chasing the record, he is working at a disadvantage, having come into the majors at a later age.

Howard, 27, has enjoyed only one full season with the big team and looks determined to make up for lost time, smashing a major league-leading 58 homers in 2006.

Howard got off to a poor start in 2007 mainly because of injuries, raising doubts about whether 2006 was a coming-out party or an aberration.  But if he can make 50-plus seasons a regular achievement, he has time on his side to catch up.

That would be just fine with baseball’s powers that be.  Anyone who can knock Bonds from the top of the list would be welcomed with open arms.

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