Part 1
Congratulations Barry Bonds on passing Hank Aaron to become Major League Baseball's new Home Run King. Cue the triumphant orchestra for the most polarizing figure in American sports who has been the center of one of the most turbulent period in American sports history it's been a long strange journey laden with with obstacles at every corner.
Over the course of the past two weeks we've gotten to know Bonds' immediate family better than the Huxtables as he attempted to clear the final hurdle on the road to 756. I felt like I was watching Bonds on Bonds reruns every night during a surprising run of exciting extra inning, walk-off RBI winning baseball games.
It was a swing like any other we've ever seen yet it was a swing more majestic than any we've ever seen in a transcendent moment. On August, 7th 2007 at 8:50 PT, on a night which I realized the WNBA was still intact, a 3-2 pitch was driven 435 feet by Bonds to the deepest part of right field after a thundering swing of his maple bat which gave the Giants a 5-4 lead. As he trotted around the bases the buzz was electric throughout the confines of
Five years to the day MLB players agreed to be tested, Barry Bonds obliterated Major League Baseball's all-time home run record, Bonds lifted the weight of the world off his shoulders and officially put a nail in the coffin of the turbulent Steroid Era.
I've come to terms with Barry's place in history. He is the symbol of an era, unique from the rest of baseball history, after all Jose Conseco is the baseball historian of our generation . On a baseball timeline, the era from 1980 to 1990 will inevitable be placed in parentheses. Even if he is innocent, the negativity directed towards this era will be too much for him to overcome. Yet unlike, McGwire Bonds had accomplished things as a player before his alleged use began that steroids could not be attributed too. His resume speaks for itself-- nearly 3,000 hits, 756 home runs and counting, in additon to 514 stolen bases a myriad of Golden Gloves and is on pace to become the only player in Major League Basenball history with 2,000 RBI's besides Hank Aarn despite being walked considerably more than anyone to ever play the game.
After wringing my brain for months, I've come to a final conclusion. You see the perception of steroids in baseball is a recent concoction of society. 10, 15 years ago the perception of steroids in our society was much different but since then it has evolved the same way it has involved on race since the 1930's and the same way the use of aluminum bats is being debated in college baseball and other leagues. Not only were steroids rampant in wrestling, football, and body building but they were also widespread throughout the underbelly of baseball.
86 years ago Babe Ruth broke the home run record as a heavy drinking, gluttonous outfielder who probably thought weight training had something to do with competitive eating and 43 years later, Hank Aaron was a frail outfielder by todays standards, who never knew, or needed to know the definition of a tape measure Home Run. Take a borderline NFL running back like Ron Dayne stuff in the Giants backfield in 1970 and his career resembles that of a Hall of Famer than a journeyman.
As for the unfair advantage that steroids bring, they will always be there, chemicals or not. Some guys will work their tails off in the off-season, while others simply eat themselves out the league. Look at the career arcs of John Kruk(who's younger than Bonds, believe it or not) and Barry Bonds or Tiger Woods and John Daly, who was once had very prospering golf career. Hw good would the round and rotund David Wells have been if he had given any credence towards the prospect of conditioning. Mickey Mantle, himself drastically shortened his career when he began drinking alcohol heavily early in his career
The disconnect began when the negative medical aspects of steroids began to come to light, the same way the dangers of weight loss drugs are now beginning to gather attention. Is it fair to look back with today's perceptions? Even former Saints head coach Jim Haslett recently disclosed taking steroids as a player-- with about half the 1970's Pittsburgh Steelers!
This is not the first time scientific advancement has beget raw ability and it won't be the last. Heck, the LPGA's rules even allow transexuals on the pro tour! Michael Witte of Editor & Publisher asserts ridiculously that Bonds' elbow brace is being used not only for protection but also as a "mechanical assistant. The apparatus locks at the elbow when the lead arm is fully elongated because of a small flap at the top of the bottom section that fits into a groove in the bottom of the top section. The locked arm forms a rigid front arm fulcrum that allows extraordinary, maximally efficient explosion of the levers of Bonds' wrists. Basically, Bonds hands are quicker than those of average hitters because of his mechanical "assistant."
How about double amputee track star, Oscar Pistorius, born without fibulas, who is attempting to qualify for the 400 meters at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing?
Pistorius who runs with prosthetics called Cheetahs has caused an uproar in the track and field community because of the ridiculous notion that
During Sportcenter's "This Is Your Life" coverage of Barry Bonds' 756th home run, they ran the gambit of special guests including Barry's
One of the most resonating positive statements was made by ESPN's Baseball Tonight analyst John Kruk who said he first marveled at Bonds' ability back when he[Bonds] was a 24 year old rookie in 1986. The only two players he ever saw with a swing as pure as Bonds' were from the bats of Ken Griffey and Alex Rodriguez. Yet why he would taint such a marvelous career with the potential black cloud of steroids baffles many to this day.
Years from now we'll remember the 2007 Major League Baseball season for a number of significant reasons from Roger "Johnny Appleseed" Clemens' final return to the Yankees, A-Rod's 500th, Glavine's 300th and Frank Thomas' 500th. (Ironic that the Yankees hitting has them back in the Wild Card race instead of the expensive pitching services of
From grand jury's to federal investigations ranging from tax evasion and perjury charges to the wrath of Bud Selig he has endured it all (so far)and outlasted even the toughest foes. As he wielded his bat with the skill and dexterity that a certain frontiersman once exhibited with his mighty axe, he knocked pitch after pitch after pitch out of AT&T Park into the depths of McCovey Cove.
Yet with great power came incredible accusations abut the suspicious origins of his record breaking success. . Steroid corruption infected the clubhouse from the bat boys, team trainers, team doctors, to the blissfully ignorant owners, management and I'll bet the managers as well.
He came into the game as a slender, quick, crafty and powerful outfielder with the Pirates of Pittsburgh.
As he began to near American baseball's immortality he had craved for so long, the detractors became increasingly vitriolic and injury began to quicken his body's deterioration as the intense scrutiny began to chip at his stone will.
2005's Game of Shadow which disclosed the detailed the steps Bonds took to achieve immortality and alleged his late power surge was paved with needles, syringes and cremes was more revealing than Halftime at Super Bowl XXXIX and severely tarnished his legacy.
The speculation that drugs took Bonds to the zenith of baseball was troubling. And as we know drugs of all kinds are harmful for you. Look what cocaine did to the lives and careers of Lawrence Taylor and Barack Obama. Marijuana nearly ruined Randy Moss, Calvin Johnson, Gaines Adams and Amobi Okoye. OK, bad examples.
When Congress detained Greg Anderson for his unwavering loyalty to Bonds, Barry kept homering on. Unlike the Dowd Report which banned Barry Bonds, George Mitchell's efforts may eventually prove to be futile.
For many I understand rooting for Barry Bonds to break Hank Aaron's HR record would have been like cheering for Craig Biggio after he gets plunked by his record breaking 287th pitch. Does he really deserve credit for this accomplishment or in Barry's case does BALCO deserve the credit? (Why does baseball even keep that stat?)
Unfortunately, the ambiguous fans who seem more confused than an 80 year old former NFL tight end with Alzheimers at a family reunion on whether to boo or celebrate whenever he hits another monumental home run will remain but Pedro Gomez will have to move out of Barry's basement and get his own place.
What's interesting is that as everyone is gaging the reaction of fans to his milestone HR's however looking down the road what will the scene be like at his Cooperstown Induction? Will fans make it their priority to tarnish his day or can time heal all wounds?
My solution. Take Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, (not Sosa because I've never heard an inkling of credible evidence against him) and place them in the same Cooperstown induction class. Not all were associated with steroids but each has been surrounded by swirling controversy which has tarnished their legacy. It's the Hall of Fame and like it or not, each was the embodiment of fame both on and off the field in their careers.
Plain and simple is that Bonds is a better than Henry Aaron or Babe Ruth, the same way Kobe Bryant, regardless of eras is a better player than Michael Jordan. His impeccable bat speed, hand eye coordination, awe inspiring power, flawless fielding ability and intelligence lent to his professional baseball bloodlines and helped him attain 7 MVP awards in 22 seasons.
>>> Part 2
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