BARRY BONDS HITS 756 - IS THERE REALLY JOY IN MUDVILLE ?
At 8:52 PM Pacific time in AT & T Park in San Francisco Barry Bonds hit career home run number 756 over the right center field wall taking sole possession of the Major league Baseball home run record passing Hammerin' Hank Aaron. Fireworks went off and Bonds bowed to the cheers of the crowd.
Hank Aaron congratulated him via a recorded message over the parks system. San Francisco icon and arguably the best all around player ever to play the game and incidentally Barry Bond's Godfather, Willie Mays was present for the post record ceremonies that crowned Barry Bonds as the new MLB Home Run King.
But is there truly joy in Mudville now that Bonds has broken the record. All sports records are made to be broken and this one is no different in that sense. Yet this one record stands out head and shoulders above the rest as the single most prestigious record in all of sports.
Babe Ruth held the record at 714 for more than forty years. Hank Aaron held the record at 755 for more than thirty year, and now Barry Bonds is the new record holder with the remainder of this his self confessed last season to increase the record into the 780's maybe even 790 or 800.
So what makes Bonds breaking this record so troublesome ? Is it because Aaron was such a beloved player ? For some maybe. Is it because Bonds throughout his career has been a less than stellar individual in his attitude and his arrogance as a player ? Possibly. To most baseball purists the problem with Bonds and this record is the stigma that hangs over his real and truly All Star abilities and the on going investigation and allegations of the use of illegal performance enhancement drugs or steroids.
For more than forty years when reference was made to Babe Ruth and his achievement of 714 home runs, historians, documentary and movie makers, baseball fans and even those who know little of the game but recognize , "The Babe, " talked about his amazing abilities and his tremendous talent on the ball field. Sure he had his darker side with booze and such but when one spoke of Ruth it was always in awe of a great player.
Likewise with the thirty plus years that Hank Aaron held the record at 755. He was always spoken of as a gentleman and a class act who had an ability on the ball field that few matched and a swing of the bat that placed him above the rest in home runs. Even during his chase to eclipse the, "The Babe, " in 1974 amidst death threats and racial slurs against this classy gentleman, no one questioned his right to hold the record because his abilities on the field earned him that distinction.
Bonds though is a different story. While his abilities are unquestionably among the greats that have ever played the game, the lingering questions and doubts concerning steroid use shadow his hitting and his title as the new home run king. Every news story brings up the question, every sports commentator talks about it as they tell of his breaking the record and until someone else passes whatever his final mark will be that will be the byline of Barry Bonds the Home Run King. Did he or didn't he.
There is mounting evidence that he did and a trainer who would rather stay in jail for contempt of court than face a grand jury and tell what he knows. Also pictures do not lie when you compare the pre - 1998 Bonds to the post 1998 Bonds. Statistics are also telling during the same time period. So until the real truth is revealed this is a tainted record, then if it is found because of the investigation that he did use steroids, baseballs ultimate record is little more than a joke unless they strip Bonds of the title.
So is there really joy in Mudville ? Many commentators who have regularly condemned Bonds over the past few days as he approached the record have changed their tune. My guess is that after the fireworks die down and the excitement of the milestone passes they will again become sceptics and question the record.
In the mean time has the chase been good for baseball ? Absolutely. Stadiums of even last place teams like Bonds own San Francisco Giants have been selling out games. Fans around the world have been watching the sport with renewed interest to see him hit 755 and 756. Baseball, whose glory days are behind it has at least momentarily become the national pastime again. So in that sense Bonds has been a asset to the game.
But in the future as the record is enshrined in Cooperstown and Bonds himself makes it to the Hall of Fame, baseball fans will always have the nagging question in the back of their mind about how the record was achieved and whether Bonds cheated.
With sluggers like New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez, who just became the youngest player in MLB history to hit 500 home runs, are in the wings chasing Bond's record, this time the record won't last thirty years maybe not even ten. So for now one must give the devil his due and recognize that Bonds in spite of the steroids shadow is a great player and the new Major League Baseball Home Run King ***** .
Ken Taylor
Hank Aaron congratulated him via a recorded message over the parks system. San Francisco icon and arguably the best all around player ever to play the game and incidentally Barry Bond's Godfather, Willie Mays was present for the post record ceremonies that crowned Barry Bonds as the new MLB Home Run King.
But is there truly joy in Mudville now that Bonds has broken the record. All sports records are made to be broken and this one is no different in that sense. Yet this one record stands out head and shoulders above the rest as the single most prestigious record in all of sports.
Babe Ruth held the record at 714 for more than forty years. Hank Aaron held the record at 755 for more than thirty year, and now Barry Bonds is the new record holder with the remainder of this his self confessed last season to increase the record into the 780's maybe even 790 or 800.
So what makes Bonds breaking this record so troublesome ? Is it because Aaron was such a beloved player ? For some maybe. Is it because Bonds throughout his career has been a less than stellar individual in his attitude and his arrogance as a player ? Possibly. To most baseball purists the problem with Bonds and this record is the stigma that hangs over his real and truly All Star abilities and the on going investigation and allegations of the use of illegal performance enhancement drugs or steroids.
For more than forty years when reference was made to Babe Ruth and his achievement of 714 home runs, historians, documentary and movie makers, baseball fans and even those who know little of the game but recognize , "The Babe, " talked about his amazing abilities and his tremendous talent on the ball field. Sure he had his darker side with booze and such but when one spoke of Ruth it was always in awe of a great player.
Likewise with the thirty plus years that Hank Aaron held the record at 755. He was always spoken of as a gentleman and a class act who had an ability on the ball field that few matched and a swing of the bat that placed him above the rest in home runs. Even during his chase to eclipse the, "The Babe, " in 1974 amidst death threats and racial slurs against this classy gentleman, no one questioned his right to hold the record because his abilities on the field earned him that distinction.
Bonds though is a different story. While his abilities are unquestionably among the greats that have ever played the game, the lingering questions and doubts concerning steroid use shadow his hitting and his title as the new home run king. Every news story brings up the question, every sports commentator talks about it as they tell of his breaking the record and until someone else passes whatever his final mark will be that will be the byline of Barry Bonds the Home Run King. Did he or didn't he.
There is mounting evidence that he did and a trainer who would rather stay in jail for contempt of court than face a grand jury and tell what he knows. Also pictures do not lie when you compare the pre - 1998 Bonds to the post 1998 Bonds. Statistics are also telling during the same time period. So until the real truth is revealed this is a tainted record, then if it is found because of the investigation that he did use steroids, baseballs ultimate record is little more than a joke unless they strip Bonds of the title.
So is there really joy in Mudville ? Many commentators who have regularly condemned Bonds over the past few days as he approached the record have changed their tune. My guess is that after the fireworks die down and the excitement of the milestone passes they will again become sceptics and question the record.
In the mean time has the chase been good for baseball ? Absolutely. Stadiums of even last place teams like Bonds own San Francisco Giants have been selling out games. Fans around the world have been watching the sport with renewed interest to see him hit 755 and 756. Baseball, whose glory days are behind it has at least momentarily become the national pastime again. So in that sense Bonds has been a asset to the game.
But in the future as the record is enshrined in Cooperstown and Bonds himself makes it to the Hall of Fame, baseball fans will always have the nagging question in the back of their mind about how the record was achieved and whether Bonds cheated.
With sluggers like New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez, who just became the youngest player in MLB history to hit 500 home runs, are in the wings chasing Bond's record, this time the record won't last thirty years maybe not even ten. So for now one must give the devil his due and recognize that Bonds in spite of the steroids shadow is a great player and the new Major League Baseball Home Run King ***** .
Ken Taylor
posted by The Liberal Lie The Conservative Truth | 10:28 AM
4 Comments:
Your conclusion on this post is about the same thing that President Bush said when I saw him interviewed yesterday. He called Bonds and congratulated him. After all, Bonds did beat the record, and until it is known whether he did it on steroids or not, he should be given credit for it. It's a shame he's not personable. Will there ever be any more Babe Ruth's or Hank Aaron's? I sure hope so, but it seems doubtful. What a shame.
Incidently, Ken, baseball is really the only spectator sport I have any interest in, and it's fading fast! :(
Agreed Gayle. When I was a kid I used to go to 60-70 ganes a year. I grew up in the SF Bay Area and watched Willi Mays, McCovey and company of the Giants. On the East bay it was Reggie Jackson, Rollie Fingers and company for the A's.
I was there when Bobby Bonds, Barry's dad played his first game. It was a whole dofferent game then and the players were great because they had tremendous abilities. While Bonds has similar abilities it just wasn't enough for him so he cheated with the steroids and now has cast a shadow over the most prestiges and identifiable record in sports history. It is a shame.
I never followed the sport as faithfully as you did, so this sort of stuff must impact you even worse than it does me.
nice blog Ken - - followed a comment on Gayle's site to get here...enjoyed browsing around...
but being a hardcore baseball fan, i can't disagree with your post - but i must add that although barry is the one taking the heat because he's challenged and surpassed THE most cherished record in baseball, nothing is being said about all the "other" players during the 80/90/00/01/02 seasons and all their records that are affected by their use of ehancement drugs (steriods or cheating as you call it)...
it's something that baseball and the commissioner (who has done more to hurt the sport during his tenure than any other) has completely mishandled and misrepresented to the fans...
so i weigh in with a split mind on the matter - - i understand why folks are upset at bonds and i also understand why folks are amazed at him - - i'm a little of both myself..but also upset that other record holders over the past 10 years of baseball aren't being stigmatized as well......
Post a Comment
<< Home