I remember back in 1974 when Aaron, very early in the season, passed Ruth's home run record. As a kid, and rabid Braves fan, it was incredible to watch him break that record. Although only 9 at the time, I understood some of the issues that he had to overcome, and admired the man for the way he handled himself. This was before the era of sports where catching a 5 yard pass for a first down required a choreographed celebration. It would be later that I would learn just how much pressure he was under with the death threats and hate mail. When Aaron came up just short at the end of the 1973 season, he did not know if he would be alive to make a run for the record in 1974.

Barry Bonds, with his home run yesterday in San Francisco, now pulls within one of Aaron, and shortly will be the all time HR king. Although Baseball seems to have slid somewhat in popularity since the 1970s, being HR King is still the greatest achievement in terms of sports status for a single individual that exists. I do not want to take anything away from Bonds. He is an unbelievable talent, and whether or not he has a good personality does not detract from that. However, there is ample evidence that Bonds juiced during his career, so is it fair? Should Aaron be on hand to witness the moment? Should MLB place an asterisk next to his name? Given that MLB has done little up to now, can they even do anything, and how does it affect the reputation of the game?

Devoted fans of Bonds will no doubt say "Get over it." Well, for me, I am not really hung-up on it one way or the other. Although Aaron was my hero as a kid, I have no problem with someone breaking his record. I just wish that it was done on a level playing field. Because it wasn't, I think it will lack a lot of the magic that existed in the Summer of 1974, and, if anything, act as a cloud on MLB.

That's just my opinion. What's yours?

He has cheated and as such it will tarnish his record whether MLB puts an asterix next to his name or not. Personally I wish Aaron would not be on hand but he is such a classy guy he will probably be thereto congratulate Bonds. Barry Bonds shouldn't even be in the same room with a ball player of Henry Aarons status.

I think you are probably right regarding Aaron. That was my assumption, too.

Here is a poll I found. About 8000 have replied: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18274914/

Since I'm only a casual baseball fan, I'm not sure I have a dog in this fight, but I do have a question. When did MLB make "performance enhancing substances" illegal in their sport..?? How much of Bond's career accomplishments have ocurred since then..?? It seems like, if MLB was unwilling to step up to the plate early on and take an aggressive stance then perhaps ( and I only say PERHAPS) Barry Bonds found a (then) legal way to enhance his performance on the field. What's the historical timeline on this subject look like..???
Thanks for the info....

I did a little Googling to find out if Bud Selig was even planning on being there. He has distanced himself from Bonds for a long time. Here is part of a recent article in USA Today:


By Bob Nightengale (http://www.usatoday.com/community/tags/reporter.aspx?id=68), USA TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO — There were flowers and cards awaiting Barry Bonds (http://fantasybaseball.usatoday.com/content/player.asp?sport=MLB&id=1448) when he arrived at AT&T Park Tuesday, but his biggest 43rd birthday surprise was the presence of Commissioner Bud Selig.


Selig, who has not spoken to Bonds in years, not only showed up Tuesday, but announced he will try to be in attendance when Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's all-time home run record. Bonds entered Tuesday with 753 home runs, two shy of Aaron's record.


"Out of respect for the tradition of this game, the magnitude of the record, and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty," Selig said in a prepared statement.


"I will attend Barry Bonds' next games to observe his potential tying and breaking of the home run record, subject to my commitments to the Hall of Fame this weekend. I will make an additional statement when the record is tied."

Hmmm....doesn't exactly fill one with excitement over the record. Selig will attend because "....all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty." Maybe instead of dignitaries on hand, MLB should have a panel of law professors from Yale and Harvard to preside over the moment. Bonds has not been indicted yet. If he is indicted for perjury, then that will sure be awkward down the road. Selig knows Bonds juiced and he hasn't done anything. He is probably hoping the Federal Government will take the pressure off of him via indictment and prosecution.

I definitely feel that it is an iffy subject. It definitely says something when Aaron is nowhere close to Barry's size, and he hit 755. Some people will say the pitching was no where as good as it is today, and thats why he hit so many. Some will say regardless of Barry's size, he still needs to put the bat on the ball, which he does very well. It does make you wonder though, if Barry wasnt so strong, how many of his long balls would have been outs at the warning track? Im not sure how to feel about the whole thing. Since Im only 24, I havent been priveleged enough to watch Aaron play, but I have watched Barry as long as I can remember. As far as the sport losing credibility, Im not so sure that will happen - at least upon the younger crowd. Everyone likes seeing home runs, its a big part of the game. I think we can all agree theres alot of them being hit these days, and for me that makes it a little more exciting. I also think some heat might be taken off MLB because of the while NBA referee unfairly calling games due to betting, but who knows. It will be interesting to see how everything goes once he breaks it thats for sure.

First off, I think the game IS different. The players ARE different. Our society in general is producing bigger and faster atheletes than ever before. Steroids or not, there are some giant players. And yes Bonds does have talent and he does work.
Second, his record won't last that long. I'm not sure if anyone is watching but A-rod has WAY more HR's than Bonds had at his age. If he keeps going at his current rate, he'll FAR surpass Bonds. I wouldn't call A-rod the classiest player in the league either, but he's a step above Bonds in my opinion, and he's a much better all-around player. He just happens to choke in the play-offs!
In any event, I am saddened by the publicity this whole situation gets. I don't approve of the special balls being pitched to him, the game being stopped when we walks up to the plate. Regular TV shows being cut to the game to show HIS at bats. It's ridiculous. It's not what the game was supposed to be about. I guess we have the media and marketing to blame for that. It makes me sick.
Personally, I hope he dislocates his should on his next swing. I have no love for the Yankees, but I hope Bonds' record doesn't last long.

If MLB allows Bonds to break it's most cherished record, all the time knowing that he was juiced, then MLB has fallen down the ranks in terms of integrity. When they let their esteemed athletes roid up, MLB makes themselves no better than Pro Wrestling. When they turn a deaf ear to reports of McGwire, Giambi, Bonds, etc. using performance enhancers that means they tolerate cheating, that means their sport is corrupt. When not let Don King manage a baseball team? :rolleyes: The Home Run record is special, REALLY special and it's about to be handed to a guy that cheated to get that record. It's about to be taken away from someone who was TRUELY great, it's sad. This issue is why I refuse to watch MLB anymore, they tolerate cheating.

When McGuire beat Roger Maris' record, it was a big deal. At the time (as far as we know), he wasn't taking any enhancers that were illegal in MLB.

When Bonds beat Big Mac's record, it was just a blurb in the paper. (or maybe I just don't give a shit about Bonds)

I wonder what the people from San Francisco think about the whole thing.

In any event, I am saddened by the publicity this whole situation gets. I don't approve of the special balls being pitched to him, the game being stopped when we walks up to the plate. Regular TV shows being cut to the game to show HIS at bats. It's ridiculous. It's not what the game was supposed to be about. I guess we have the media and marketing to blame for that. It makes me sick.



That's because Baseball is all about the stats. The HR record is the most cherished 'stat' there is in probably all of sports, that's the tradgedy of it all. Now MLB's most decorated stat is juiced.

I wonder what the people from San Francisco think about the whole thing.


I'm not from San Fransisco but I do live in Northern California and am a Giants fan.
I would not walk across the street to shake his hand but when he's at the plate, I'll stop whatever I'm doing to watch/listen. If you think he wasn't on steroids then you have your head up yor ass. If you think that a very large percentage of athletes aren't on steroids, you have your head up your ass as well. I can't wait untill he breaks the record so the Giants can get rid of him.
I wish the record would belong to someone with a little more class.

-Bryan

The LA Times had an article saying that Dodgers fans were all concerned that he was going to break the record in Dodger Stadium. Former Dodger pitcher Don Newcome was quoted as saying that if he was still playing, he would pitch around him to make sure it wouldn't happen.

I don't follow baseball very closely, but I'm heard some radio pundits say that people wouldn't be as upset over the steroids if he were not also such an ***********************************.

I don't follow baseball very closely, but I'm heard some radio pundits say that people wouldn't be as upset over the steroids if he were not also such an ***********************************.


Ding ding ding ding - Bill nails it.

By comparison, whether Lance Armstrong did anything illegal or not, you don't see a whole lot of people looking to burn him at the stake.
Other than the French, of course. :)

Personally, considering the rampant doping that goes on in cycling, I'd be shocked if he hadn't done SOMETHING, but in the immortal words of Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, personality goes a long way. :)

I would laugh my ass off if they pitched around him.

Not in my ballpark!!

I would laugh my ass off if they pitched around him.




I'd laugh harder if they pitched right AT him. :D

By comparison, whether Lance Armstrong did anything illegal or not, you don't see a whole lot of people looking to burn him at the stake.
Other than the French, of course. :)



The French and Greg LeMond. Greg has gone after Lance and Floyd Landis, last year's Tour de France winner, pretty hard.

Of course it could be just sour grapes because he won "just" three Tours, and Lance accuses him of being an alcoholic.

I hadn't heard that LeMond had said anything about Armstrong. I did hear that he basically told Landis to come clean. What did he say about Armstrong?

I can't recall the details, but I'm pretty sure Greg accused Lance of doping, and in return Lance called him an alcoholic.

Edit- here are a few Google hits from "greg lemond on lance armstrong."

http://www.news24.com/News24/Sport/Tour_de_France/0,,2-9-1506_1558141,00.html

http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/10099.0.html

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/cycling/news/2001/08/02/armstrong_lemond_ap/

I kinda hope it works out good for Barry , but then again I have 2 of his rookie cards in mint condition ! :D

I can't recall the details, but I'm pretty sure Greg accused Lance of doping, and in return Lance called him an alcoholic.

Edit- here are a few Google hits from "greg lemond on lance armstrong."

http://www.news24.com/News24/Sport/Tour_de_France/0,,2-9-1506_1558141,00.html

http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/10099.0.html

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/cycling/news/2001/08/02/armstrong_lemond_ap/



Interesting. Lemond didn't strike me as the type to beat around the bush based on his comments about Landis, so I guess it doesn't surprise me that he said some things about Armstrong as well.

Either way, the point remains; Allegations against Armstrong have largely been ignored. He's been given a pass on some stuff that Bonds would have been crucified for.

Either way, the point remains; Allegations against Armstrong have largely been ignored. He's been given a pass on some stuff that Bonds would have been crucified for.

And that brings us back to the good will/likeability factor. Even though my head tells me that almost every top cyclist must dope, I don't want to believe its true about Armstrong and Landis, while I'm perfectly willing to believe it about Bonds.

Jules (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000168/): I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.
Vincent (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000237/): Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true?
Jules (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000168/): Well we'd have to be talkin' about one charmin' motherfuckin' pig. I mean he'd have to be ten times more charmin' than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I'm sayin'?