Posted By:
Al C.risafulliWhen somebody can prove to me unequivocally that:
1) Hank Aaron did not do anything illegal during his career, despite the prevalence of amphetamines in major league clubhouses in the 1960s,
2) Barry Bonds was the ONLY player in his era to do steroids, and NEVER faced a pitcher on steroids
3) By taking steroids, Barry was not doing EXACTLY what Major League Baseball was practically inviting him to do by having a toothless banned substance policy and endorsing the greatness of the McGwire vs. Sosa home run rance
then I will wipe Bonds out of my memory banks altogether.
Until then, he is an absolutely phenomenal athlete, an incredible baseball player, SO far ahead of all his peers that it's ridiculous. And while his obvious steroid abuse may have turned some flyouts into home runs, it may also have turned some line drive singles into long flyouts, etc. He's still got 8 Gold Gloves, 400 (I believe) stolen bases, and a monster on base percentage, none of which are aided by steroid use. Furthermore, he's got multiple MVP awards that were won before it's universally accepted that his bulbous head began inflating (and should have won one more, but some people apparently thought that Terry Pendleton was more deserving).
The fact of the matter is that the man is a GREAT player, one of the absolute best ever. He's an idiot for tainting his legacy by ingesting every conceivable chemical that could add to his musculature, but then again, so are a great deal of other athletes, dating back years.
Hank Aaron was a great player - in my opinion, one of the top 7 or 8 ever. But I don't know he never cheated. I don't know Roger Maris never cheated. In fact, if Maris was playing today, we'd all be questioning how he could have ONE great year, during which time his hair was falling out in clumps, and then he suddenly suffered a rash of injuries that ultimately ended his career - all signs of steroid use in baseball.
What I do know, is that cheating has been a part of baseball since the day they started paying players to play. When we talk about John McGraw cheating, we talk about it with reverence. When we talk about Whitey Ford cheating, we talk about it with humor. When we talk about Barry Bonds cheating, we talk about it with anger.
I cannot wait for him to break the record. He may be a cheater, he may be a jerk, but he's following a rich tradition of cheaters and jerks who were also amazing baseball players. And like every other cheater and jerk who played, 30 years from now they'll talk less about the negative, and more about what a great player he was.
In my opinion, of course.
-Al