Fact Check: Is Bryce Harper the youngest player to reach 300 home runs? Exploring where superstar ranks in MLB records

Love him or hate him, Bryce Harper has been one of the best players of his generation. The 30-year-old Philadelphia Phillies slugger launched the 300th home run of his career on Wednesday, crossing off a major MLB milestone. He became the 12th active player to surpass the 300-home run threshold.

Bryce Harper's 300th career home run came during Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Angels when the two-time MVP launched a two-run homer off Matt Moore. The clutch two-run shot gave the Phillies an important lead over the Angels in the bottom of the 8th inning.

"Bryce Harper becomes the 4th youngest active player in baseball with 300 career HRs! He becomes the fifth Phillies player to hit number 300 in a Phillies uniform." - @JClarkNBCS

At only 30 years old, some fans have questioned if Harper was the fastest player in MLB history to reach the major milestone. Unfortunately for Harper and his fans, he is tied with Dale Murphy as the 70th-fastest player to make it to 300 career home runs.

The fastest player to reach 300 career home runs is arguably one of the most polarizing and controversial in MLB history, Alex Rodriguez. At 27 years and 249 days, the former New York Yankees third baseman set the record which has yet to be surpassed.

"On this day in sports history April 2, Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player (27 years, 249 days old) in MLB history to hit 300 career Home Runs in 2003." - @NF201111

Neither Alex Rodriguez nor Bryce Harper achieved 300 home runs in the shortest amount of time

While Alex Rodriguez was the youngest player in MLB history to reach the 300 home runs milestone, he was not the fastest. It took A-Rod 1,117 games to clear the threshold, which makes him the fourth fastest to achieve the feat. The third fastest was Juan Gonzalez (1,096 games) and other Phillies legend Ryan Howard (1,093 games).

"Ralph Kiner with Willie Stargell" - @baseballinpix

The fastest player in MLB history to reach 300 career home runs was Pittsburgh Pirates legend and National Baseball Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner. It took the six-time All-Star 1,087 games to reach 300 home runs. He went on to finish his MLB career with 369 total long balls.