Sunday, June 17, 2007

Bonds - closing in

Barry Bonds is closing in on Hank Aaron's alltime home run record. It kind of bothers me because Aaron was always one of my favorite players growing up. First off I liked his name, and second off, my parents used to see him play at Brewer Stadium when they were the Milwaukee Braves. Aaron's record stood as a milestone not just for his accomplishment alone, or the consistency, but also as a racial mark - where an African American took ahold of the record.

Now the debate over whether or not Bonds deserves the record or if he used steroids or all that jazz has been debated and debated. But its going to be debated again here. First and foremost I am completely annoyed that he thinks this is about race. The comissioner and the Babe's widow didn't go to Maris' games, why is it so suprising that Aaron won't be waiting for Bonds to hit one out that shaters Aaron's milestone? And it isn't about race because Bonds is the same race as the guy who holds the record. The issue is about steroids. You used them Barry. How you have managed to stay ahead of the checks and balances so long is beyond me - whether its a restatement of an earlier admission or the timely termination of a trainer linked to steroids distribution. Hell, just look at the guy from his days in Pittsburg when he was lean and fast. Now he's huge and slow. Aaron was a man who stuck it out, played hard, played everyday for a long time, and consistently piled up the home runs. Bonds just doesn't seem like he's put in the time or effort to earn one of baseball's most fabled records. He plays a few games a week at most and seems to think he doesn't really have to field. If Bonds didnt have a looming record, he would probably be benched by any other team, because his fielding is that terrible.

In the end, everything has already been said on this issue, but I wanted to touch on it as the day creeps closer and closer when Bonds name has to go down above Aaron's. What do you think about it?

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