Resounding Disappointment

Barry Bonds hit career home run #745 last evening, which puts him 10 shy of tying Hank Aaron at 755 and just 11 shy of setting the all time career home run mark. It is no secret that I and countless other baseball fans do not want to see Bonds pass Hammerin’ Hank. But it seems as if it will come to fruition over the next month. Those that have swagger in the game have already made up their minds as well about Bonds’ chase; Hank Aaron has decided not to attend the game(s) that Bonds may potentially pass him. Even the Commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig is still indecisive about attending the record breaking game. What does this say about Bonds and the integrity of the game?

Short of Bonds being indicted and thrown in the slammer, there is an almost certain probability that Bonds will surpass Aaron. MLB clubhouses are divided on whether to support Bonds in his chase. Some believe Bonds took steroids, some believe he did not. The point is that this “pick” countless players and fans have with Bonds is not over race; America is slowly moving beyond that. Hank Aaron is black and is one of the most respected men to ever play the game of baseball. This is more or less a resounding cry to keep the integrity of the game intact. I do not doubt that Bonds has taken steroids and I do not doubt that steroids have helped him attain the massive numbers he has to date.

Baseball has obviously come down hard on steroids over the past 5 years and rightly so. The trouble is that we may never have definitive proof that Bonds took steroids; it is not like he is exactly a reputable individual. He has never denied taking steroids, nor has he been stand up about this entire chase. With Bud Selig contemplating not attending the “big game,” it shows that Selig does not want Bonds viewed as the ambassador of the game; he does not stand for the true essence of what American baseball really is. Needless to say, at least those in San Francisco will be cheering for Bonds. But the rest of the nation will more than likely not even take notice (in a positive light) when it finally happens.

Even though the gesture may seem petty and inane, the next time I purchase a baseball almanac I will take it upon myself to place an asterisk next to his final tally. Bonds claims he does not pay attention to the rapture surrounding him, I would beg to differ. Steroids may change the body, but they cannot change our infallibility; he does care. Deep down inside I am sure that he is chewing himself to pieces over the issue. For me, well, I am done commenting on Bonds and his chase for 756. Short of a miracle, it seems as if baseball is going to take another cataclysmic hit to its already tarnished reputation.