Like it or not, Bonds’ feat should be MLB-blessed
By The Heckler
Baseball Big Mouth baseball news
Like the drunken uncle who refuses to leave the family reunion — even after falling down the stairs, professing his love for each and every person in attendance and breaking an expensive vase, just for good measure – Major League Baseball faces a conundrum of epic proportions this coming summer: do they honor Barry Bonds when (and if) he passes the legendary Hank Aaron to become baseball’s all-time home run king? Apparently not, as Bud Selig has essentially taken the approach most of us would if faced with such a family reunion nightmare as discussed earlier: keep your head low, stare at your drink and don’t make eye contact when he comes by. Move along, little doggie, move along.
And frankly, that’s just not fair. Not to Barry. Not to the game. And not to the fans. MLB is wrong, and needs to step-up and honor him if he passes Hank. Don’t compound one error by adding another on top of it.
Now, let me state here and now (as any regular readers of this blog would know) that not only do I hate cheaters, but I loathe Barry Bonds even more. His smug attitude has always rubbed me the wrong way, and in my eyes, Ken Griffey Jr. will always be the best all-around player I have ever seen, injuries notwithstanding. But if Bonds breaks the record — and let’s face it, he stands a mere 22 dingers away from it — MLB must grudgingly honor the man. They really have no choice. To not do so admits they were in the wrong all these years when they turned a blind eye to the 1000-pound white elephant in the room known as steroid usage. You can’t say they didn’t know. They did and chose to do nothing about it. And as a result? You now have a reported user about to break one of the most-hallowed records in all of sports. And let The Heckler be the first among all to offer to shake his hand if he does it. Truthfully.
Steroids don’t hit home runs. Barry Bonds does. And, my, how he has indeed done just that — even without the now seemingly-infamous 73 in 2001. In fact, the comparison to Aaron is more than fair in my eyes: both men had eight seasons each with more than 40 home runs, with the 73 being the one time either man hit more than 50 in one campaign. Impressive, no? Now that’s consistency. This coming season will be Bonds’ 22. Aaron played 23. Further, let’s not forget that Barry also has more than 1200 more base-on-balls than Hank - that’s like two season’s worth of free passes. Think how many more he may have if pitchers weren’t so terrified of him (and rightly so, even with that damn body armor he wears). Lastly, lifetime averages for both men? Barry - .295 heading into the season; Hank? Lifetime .305. Kinda spooky when you get right down to it. They are very, very close statistically. Then again, come the midway part of this season, and should be even closer - really close. And for that? MLB needs to honor Barry Bonds.
Even if he is found to have taken steroids amid all the fallout from the various investigations and allegations and rumors and innuendo, the fact remains that you simply cannot wave a wand and erase all those homeruns. Period. It’s as simple as that. You can’t erase time. Ben Johnson still was the first man to run a 9.79 in the 100m dash - recognized or not. And Barry Bonds will soon, most-likely be, baseball’s new all-time home run king. Nothing will change that. Not the least of which is the fact that steroids weren’t even illegal in the game until a few years ago. People seem to forget that, though. Technically, he wasn’t even cheating. Sure, he may even be on Human Growth Hormone today (anyone check his hat size lately?) but, as of now, the only way to test for that supplement is by blood. And in that case? It’s the Player’s Union balking at that route. Now baseball is playing it high and mighty.
MLB wants to clean up the game, they say. Forget the fact that the 90s homerun battle between another certain-rumored-steroider named Mark and an alleged-juicer named Sammy out-and-out saved the game from the ruins of unparalleled labor stopages. Nah, MLB plays it like the Wizard of Oz, flashing their lights and blowing their smoke machines in an attempt to distract curious onlookers: “Baseball is and always was a clean sport! Anyone who cheated will be smoked out of their holes for the good of the game! Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!!!” Puh-lease.
Barry Bonds may not be the poster child for public relations, but that’s no reason to ignore such a feat as what looms ahead. Kinda the same reason I always seemed to be the one talking to my drunken uncle, even as he blew boozy cigarette smoke in my face. Ugh. Nonetheless, he’s family. And family sticks together. Come August, the MLB clan must crown their new homerun king - no matter how much it disgusts them.