Barry Bonds:Homerun Hero*

*'755'!That is the magic number....At least for Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds.A simple number really...nothing especially memorial about it...

...except...that is is the number of home runs that Major League Baseball hero Hank Aaron belted out...and the number that Major League Baseball villain Barry Bonds is about to break.

Barry,it seems,is a villain for all the reasons that Hank is a hero.Basically.Hank Aaron was an upstanding team player,well liked;well respected not only by his fans,but also by his fellow teammates.Mr.Bonds,on the other hand,does not appear to care about his fellow teammates or his fans.

Barry just wants to win.

What is wrong with that?So what if he used steroids and human growth hormones to keep his edge?Barry is a grade 'A' player-always has been-probably always will be.Why should a man of his talents be sitting the bench or retiring when he sees less talented grade 'C' players playing in front of him just because 'they' are using 'the stuff'?He shouldn't.He should be 'using' to extend his career.

My reasoning is clear.Why shouldn't he?For example,in 1967,rock & roll was threatening to pass The Beatles by.Newer bands like Pink Floyd and their psychedelic sounds were making The Beatles music sound quaint and irrelevant.So,what did The Beatles do?Pot and LSD...and came up with arguably the greatest rock & roll lp ever made,"Sgt.Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band".

Just why is it OK for The Beatles to extend their careers(and set records doing it)by using illegal drugs...and not Barry Bonds?

Besides,it is not like Barry is truly being compared to Hank Aaron.Hank Aaron played in the last true golden era of baseball.Integrated play,lower mounds,stiffer pitching,tighter strike zones,less souped up balls[well,not as consistently 'souped up' by the use of better technology],and most importantly,playing in slightly larger stadiums.MLB,as an organization,has changed the game more then Barry.'It could be said that Barry Bonds 'IS' the product of modern Major League Baseball.'

In fact,Barry Bonds shouldn't be compared to Hank Aaron and his record at all.A better comparison would be to Sadaharu Oh.Sadahuru Oh's record of 868(!)homeruns has always been discounted because it has been said that he played against weaker pitching,and,in smaller ballparks.But if you look at today's ballparks ,they are not far in size from their Japanese counterparts...not very far at all.




It is a sad fact that Barry Bonds plays the pompous ass so damn well,otherwise,he would about to be universally recognized for the outstanding achievement he is about to accomplish...but...aah,Barry,by the way,you better get hopping,Yo,or you never will capture Sadaharu Oh's 868.