Barry Bonds did it, he finally did it. He hit the 756th home run of
his career on Tuesday night becoming the all time leader in that
category. A lot of people will tell you it's "tainted, diminished, he
cheated, or Hank Aaron is still the home run king". Oh really?
I'm here to tell you that every one of those things is inaccurate
and ignorant. First the easy one, when you look in the record
books, Hank Aaron has a number beside his name for home
runs hit, 755, Bonds has more than that, therefore, he IS the
home run king. You don't hit 756 home runs on accident or by
shear luck people. You have to have extreme talent, skill and
patience to achieve such a magnificent feat. Secondly, this
tainted, cheating, diminished non sense. Everyone is so quick
to say "Bonds used steroids, he cheated". Uhhh, how do you
know? What are you basing that on? Last time I checked,
Bonds didn't fail a drug test. Last time I checked, Bonds didn't
go in front of congress and say "I'm not here to discuss the
past" (Mark McGwire), or point his finger at the congressman
and say that he "never" took steroids" (Rafael Palmeiro), or
forget how to speak English all together (Sammy Sosa). He has
NEVER publicly incriminated himself in any manner like the
above mentioned players who at one time were considered Hall
of Fame locks, now they will be lucky if they gather enough
votes to even stay on the ballot. Until Bonds fails a test or some
serious proof comes out, his detractors need to let that
argument go. The majority of the people that use these
arguments against Bonds simply dislike him. Maybe he does
have an awful personality, maybe he's a jerk, and maybe he's
arrogant, but none of those personality traits have much to do
with his physical abilities. You don't hit home runs by being a
jerk, you hit them because you have bat speed, great eye hand
coordination and an athletic ability given to you by the big man
upstairs. Bonds was always a great home run hitter and this
latest record he's set must be celebrated. Only 3 men in the
100+ years the game has been played have hit over 700 home
runs. We witnessed history the other night, this is something
that some generations don't witness at all. Celebrate it,
acknowledge it and understand it. Quit the whining, complaining
and overall crying about Bonds, it will never change the fact that
he's hit 756 home runs and he's going to hit a few more. Each
one he hits now is a new record for someone else to break.
Let's see what the new number will be. You no longer have to
remember 755, the number you will ultimately have to remember
and one day celebrate being broken is....TBD.
