The fine folks over at BASEBALL-REFERENCE.COM have undertaken the mammoth task of attempting to document every home run hit in Major League history. By their count, Gary Sheffield’s second-inning grand slam off of Oakland starter Gio Gonzalez on Monday night was the 250,000th in Major League history (dating to 1876). But is it really #250K? And does it even matter?

B-R’s website dedicated to the pursuit provides the following disclaimer:

A note about accuracy of this count. We make every effort to verify the data on our site, but when dealing with the 133-year history of Major League Baseball, no perfectly accurate count of total home runs hit can be given with complete certainty. We are certain our home run count is as accurate as current research allows and is, in fact, more accurate than the data used by MLB to identify Bob Watson as the scorer of baseball’s one-millionth run.

Notice the subtle dig at MLB’s apparently archaic methods for determining arbitrary and inaccurate milestones. B-R then goes on to mention that two home runs were “recently found” (we assume in a dumpster outside of El Paso), thus increasing the previously accepted total by two. Luckily Sheffield hit #249,999 in the first inning, so if another stray dinger is discovered, he will still be the man.

Following the game, Sheff wasn’t interested in talking about his probably-not-quite-exact record. Instead, he was beaming about passing fellow Tampa native and baseball-training-video endorser Fred McGriff on the all-time home run list. McGriff topped out at 494, while Sheffield stands at 496.

From MLB.COM:

Gary Sheffield said it was the one statistical mark that mattered to him. And once he finally hit the home run Monday that pushed him past fellow Tampa, Fla., native and close friend Fred McGriff and into 25th place alone on the Major League all-time home run list, he could finally make the phone call.

“He knew I’d been trying to get him,” Sheffield said.

Yeah, but were you ever the paid spokesperson for proven training methods that produced back-to-back-to-back AAU National Champions, Mr. Sheffield?

And really, the “one statistical mark that mattered to him”? Home run king of guys born in Tampa? All these years we thought Sheff was such a complicated guy.