Officially, George W. Bush won the 2000 U.S. presidential election. Both officially and in real life Bush received 271 electoral votes. Both officially and in real life Bush received fewer popular votes than Al Gore.
Officially Bush received more popular votes than Gore in the state of Florida; in real life it's impossible to say with certainty. Because of the Palm Beach ballot it might be safe to say that more people attempted to vote for Gore than attempted to vote for Bush, though again we can't verify this in the fashion that a Giants' season ticket holder could verify Barry Bonds's 73 home runs in a season.
Even if we can't say for sure what the real-life outcome was of the Florida portion of the 2000 election, it matters that we designate a winner, because somebody has to occupy the White House, choose a cabinet, sign or veto legislation, visit with foreign dignitaries, and so on.
I'd like to claim that the identity of a mythical "home run king" carries no such somebody-needs-to-do-this duties. I'm probably wrong about that, though if I am then that says a lot of things about society and symbolism that deeply worry me.