I thought about this a lot and decided that I needed to post something regarding the mantle being passed from Hank Aaron to Barry Bonds. I read a lot of articles and did some serious introspection.
Next to the Sopranos finale, this was the most significant, jarring, and polarizing event of the summer. And, since I didn't write anything about that (sorry, my bad - by the time I had reconciled it in my brain, it was a dead issue), I felt a responsibility to myself and my readers (both of them) to say something.
As I have mentioned before, I hate Barry Bonds. As much as I hate him, he doesn't deserve an asterisk and he doesn't deserve to be torn apart by the media and the public in general for hitting a ball with a stick for 21 years and doing it better than anyone else on the planet during that period.
He says he plans to play next year, that it's not about the record, but I think this is the last season we see Barry suit up, strap on his body armor, and face a barrage of intentional walks and criticism. Unless (Jesus, if you're listening, please don't let this happen) the Giants let him walk and he signs on with a desperate team in need of a DH. I had ignored the man for most of the season to avoid complete saturation on the topic by the time he got close to the record, so I hadn't seen him play much this year (or the past few years, for that matter). He is in serious decline, can't play defense, and can barely run the bases. He should not play for a National League team next year. He will do them more harm than good.
But, as he proved last night, the man can still hit. He always could. 'Roids or no 'roids, he was always a threat with a bat in his hands. If you add in the fact that he's been choked up one knob on the bat for his entire career, it makes what he's done all the more impressive.
For the last 21 years, he's been better, more consistent, and a bigger threat than anyone else in the league.
As Henry Aaron said in his videotaped speech last night (which, by the way looked like it was going to end with him saying, "They say they're not going to hurt me. Put $2 million non-sequential 20 and 50 dollar bills in an unmarked briefcase...") setting this record is an accomplishment that required, "skill, longevity, and determination."
Would he have hit 756 home runs (and counting) without steroids? Who knows? And, really, now that it's in the books, who cares? Forget the fact he outpaced every other juicer out there, forget that more pitchers were likely juicing during the Steroid Era than hitters, and forget that he denies that he ever touched the stuff to this day.
It's asking a lot, but I'm feeling pragmatic here.
Records were made to be broken. With the high quality of athletes filtering into the game every day, strength, conditioning, medical science, and longevity continuing to improve, and the fact that no one seems to want to be a pitcher anymore, someone's going to break Barry's new record.
Could be A-Rod in six years. Could not. It was supposed to have already been broken by Griffey Junior or Frank Thomas by now, right? When Bonds started, I can assure you that no one figured he'd be the new all-time home run king.
If you want unbreakable records, try rooting against anyone who tries to break Cy Young's all-time wins record (511 - Roger Clemens would need to win 15 games a year until he's 55) or Rickey Henderson's all-time stolen base record (1,406 - Lou Brock is next with 936). Did you know the single-season triples record is 26? The career record is 309! Those are safe.
Besides, home runs are more fun. Really, they're the only exciting part of the game of baseball. They're what everyone watches highlights for. They're as much of a national past time as the sport itself. So, would anyone be as up-in-arms as they are if Bonds was trying to unseat Sam Crawford by hitting his 310th career triple?
Nope. And that's why it's so important that Bonds is so controversial and so reviled.
Aside from a bunch of racist morons that didn't want a black man to break a white man's record, the biggest problem everyone had with Aaron was that he wasn't sexy. He never hit 50 home runs in a season. He won only one MVP (Bonds has seven trophies, in case you're keeping score at home). Like Bonds, he wasn't a media darling.
He wasn't well liked or flashy, he was just... skilled, consistent, and determined.
This time around, the story was about how Aaron was a better hitter and a better man than Bonds. Next time around, the man who unseats Bonds will have it easy - he'll be supplanting a cheater and a curmudgeon. If it's someone with dreamy eyes like A-Rod, women will even pay attention.
The best part of baseball is that the debates are never over, the next story is always more compelling, the next season is your team's chance to win it all, and everything is steeped in history. It's the past and future at constant battle in the present - and no one really seems to care too much about what's currently going on.
You can't compare players across eras, but that doesn't mean you can't try. Statistics are a tool. They're a marker. You can revere them if you like, but they won't revere you back.
We don't need an asterisk. We need another story.
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