The moment almost every baseball fan has dreaded for the past few seasons has come to pass. Barry Bonds has tied the illustrious all-time homerun record held by Hammering Hank Arron.For those of you who have followed my blog for a while, you will know I am by no means a fan of Barry Bonds. I said it when he hit his 715th homerun to pass Babe Ruth, and now I am going to say it again. The man is more than likely a cheater who will always have a dark cloud over his record and his career.
Bonds has been accused of having an attitude problem, and rightfully so given some of the comments he's made over the years. The media loathe him, and with good reason, he does in kind as well.
I can live with that - it doesn't effect the way he swings a bat or the records he sets.
What I can't accept are his blatant attempts to get around the rules. Although Bonds has been widely accused of taking steroids, he refuses to talk about it. His long-time trainer won't talk about it either.
Talk or not, the change is pretty stark. Look at the picture accompanying this post showing Barry Bonds when he broke in to the league, and Bonds today. It speaks for itself.
Bonds is not the only one who has been accused of taking steroids, but he is currently the most visible in that role. He's the poster boy for steroid use, the same way Hank Aaron was for hard work, dedication and sportsmanship.
In my books, and in the books of many other baseball fans, his record won't be worth the paper it's printed on. But it will stand nonetheless.
I can only hope one of the homerun machines like Ken Griffey Jr or Alex Rodriguez catches Bonds one day.
Someone with a little bit of integrity deserves to have that record, and Bonds isn't that player by a long shot.
5 comments:
I am of the mind that he is innocent until proven guilty. At the same time, one cannot ignore the fact that he supersized his arm muscles in just a few short years. I'm going to make a bold prediction here, I believe that Alex Rodriguez will surpass Bonds, who will end his likely tainted career with 760 HR, sometime in the 2014 season. What record do you think is unbreakable. Personally, I think Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak will never be broken. I believe Ichiro Suzuki stands the best chance of busting that record.
I agree, the 56-game hitting streak will be very difficult to break in this day and age. I also think Pete Rose's all-time hits record will be tough to beat, as will anyone ending a season with an average over .400. Let's not forget Cal Ripken Jr's consecutive game steak. That's remarkable.
I believe that by the time Ichiro Suzuki retires he will have beaten Pete Rose's all-time hit record and he will have Dimaggio's hitting streak record.
Can't say I agree, but it will be a long-term bet!
How about that thirty run outburst by the Texas Rangers today?
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