Aug 08

Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's career home run record - and shows why steroid testing is necessary in all sports

The biggest record in all of U.S. pro sports was broken last night, and aside from ESPN, few really cared. Barry Bonds hit career home run No. 756, to pass Henry Aaron as baseball’s all-time home run king.

Aaron’s record was cherished for years, as he broke through racial barriers, and used an amazing consistency for a power hitter to pile up home runs. Bonds had that same consistency - up until he gained 30 pounds of muscle one summer and started hitting ridiculous amounts of home runs.

And his record-setting home run drew stories as much about the likelihood that he used illegal perfomance-enhancing drugs as it was about his quick swing. Currently, a federal grand jury is investigating whether Bonds lied when he reportedly testified in the famed BALCO steroids case that he never knowingly took performance-enhancing drugs.

Basically, a great moment for baseball is all about steroids. And baseball’s most important record is now considered mostly worthless to many fans. Because Major League Baseball did not really care whether its players juiced.

What better proof do fans of golf need to understand why testing for performance-enhancing drugs is a necessity in today’s world? Some will dredge up impotent “slippery-slope” arguments that state “well, if you test for steroids, why not test for tobacco, and even chewing gum. They could possibly give a player an advantage.”

But the fact is, Barry Bonds showed up for the 2001 season with 30 pounds of extra muscle on his body. And everyone knew how. And then he shattered the single-season record for HRs with 73. And everyone knew how. Now he is the all-time home run king with 756 and counting. And everyone knows how.

And now the career home run record in baseball is virtually meaningless to many. It’s time for all sports to enact sensible, yet strict testing for performance-enhancing drugs on their players. Before even more records in more sports become meaningless.

–WKW

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8 comments

Comment from: Dirty old ______ man [Visitor]

Get over it! Babe Ruth was the greatest homerun hitter of the exclusionary period in baseball, though many who were alive will tell you that Josh Gibson was a far superior power hitter than Ruth ever was. Henry Aaron thrived during the "greenie" or upper era of baseball and now Bonds reigns supreme in the steroid era. I don't like it any more than you do, but baseball has had a checkered past and will continue to have it's cheats, what we can not do is condenm Bonds for being the best of the bunch during this era.

My questions to you are: Why is Bonds record tainted when so many others of his era were supposedly juicing as well, including a large majority of the pitchers he faced? Why does Bonds get ripped when so many others seemingly get a free pass? A-Fraud, his heir apparent comes to mind, this guy gained over 50 pounds of muscle in just a couple of years and yet everyone assumes he is clean...

08/08/07 @ 09:20

Comment from: putt4par [Visitor]

Comment from: Dirty old ______ man [Visitor]
"My questions to you are: Why is Bonds record tainted when so many others of his era were supposedly juicing as well, including a large majority of the pitchers he faced? Why does Bonds get ripped when so many others seemingly get a free pass? A-Fraud, his heir apparent comes to mind, this guy gained over 50 pounds of muscle in just a couple of years and yet everyone assumes he is clean..."

I think you just made a strong case for Wolfrums headline.
The fact that baseball has cheats galore in it's checkered past doesn't make it right either.
While Bonds record will stad, there will always be the feeling pf taint to it.As you so succinctly put it, "Get over it".

08/08/07 @ 09:38

Comment from: putt4par [Visitor]

sorry about the typos, Fingers are just too big for these dinky little keyboards. pf should read of and stad should read stand.

08/08/07 @ 10:01

Comment from: Ron Mon [Member]

As I recall, the left field fence at Atlanta County Stadium was shortened considerably to aid Henry in his quest. There is no Roy Hobbs in Baseball, nor was there ever. Do we have fireman records? Soldier records? Police records? No, just heroes. Maybe that's what we need in sports...less records and more heroes. Test 'em all!!

08/08/07 @ 10:21

Comment from: Ron Mon [Member]

Rafael Palmeiro did the commercials, so we knew that he was juiced in more ways than one. Carried a big bat, you know? Corked his wand...anyway, how limp can people be to resort to this stuff? And, it seems, at younger and younger ages. What, are they in constant need of a stiffie? I don't get the ED thing. Little blue pill for me is Naproxen Sodium, an alternative to aceto and ibu.

08/08/07 @ 12:36

Comment from: putt4par [Visitor]

I agree with you Ron Mon.
But as I told my wife, what can't get up can't get out.
I was just thinking of the Macho Male Pride thing some of these guys have and wondered how it would be explained?

I don't suppose any of that stuff will show in testing but it was a wildly hilarious scenario anyway.(Sometimes the imagination is more dangerous than actually deliberatly thinking?) My wife can't wait to see if the tests show it and what the reasons will be or who will actually admit it.
But as I said, it was just something to ponder while the PGA ponders.

08/08/07 @ 13:12

Comment from: Kristen [Visitor]

Everywhere I went that had the baseball games on TV in the days leading up to it, people would say "please tell me he didn't get one today" or something similar. Not a single baseball fan I saw was actually rooting for him. That attitude can't be good for any sport. If we need clean athletes to support, then it seems testing is the only way to provide some proof.

08/08/07 @ 15:21

Comment from: Oliver Sudden [Visitor]

Another view : I have to believe that many feel the way my wife and I do which is "We couldn't care less if pro athletes use steroids". The media hates Bonds because he treats them like the little weasels they are so they make a big deal about Barry and steroids even though he has never failed a drug test and been convicted of nothing.

08/08/07 @ 22:24

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