As Barry Bonds approaches Hank Aaron's all-time home run record of 755 home runs, the world of baseball seems divided regarding how this accomplishment should be recognized, if at all. Many people outside of San Francisco feel that his record should be ignored or have an asterisk next to it to indicate that this feat took place in the "steroids era" of baseball. Though I strongly believe steroids should be banned from professional sports and young kids should be taught to avoid them, I'm not as tough on Barry as others seem to be. For the sake of fairness, let me make some arguments as to why his eventual passing of Hammerin' Hank should be celebrated, not shunned:
For those who are focusing on the amazing offensive numbers he has been posting since 1999, I remind you that Barry had 446 home runs before that season - no small feat for any player in a full career. He also had a .408 on-base percentage prior to that season, which is phenomenal.. (His OBP has increased to .444 as pitchers would rather walk him than risk being his next victim.) He had already joined the 40-40 club (40 home runs & 40 stolen bases in the same season) in 1996 - a club that has only 3 members in the history of baseball.
Before 1999, Barry Bonds had already driven in 1216 runs, had walked 1357 times, had scored 1364 runs, had stolen 445 bases, and had nearly 2,000 hits. He had also won 4 gold gloves, 2 NL MVPs, and the ESPN Male Athlete of the Year (1994) award. Remember - all of this occurred before his "anomaly year" of 1999. In the mind of most baseball analysts, Barry was a lock for the Hall of Fame before there were any serious allegations of steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs in baseball.
There are those who argue that his body's growth and added weight are sure signs of steroid use. One might counter by pointing out that we've been watching Barry on TV for the past 22 years. Who doesn't gain 20 pounds between the ages of 21 and 43? Those of us who sit in cubicles pack on the pounds around the waist, but someone like Barry who spends his life in a gym and who has a personal chef, nutritionist, and weight trainer might be more efficient with his weight gain.
Those who argue that Barry's record will be tainted by steroids should also be clamoring that Jose Canseco's AL MVP and Ken Caminiti's NL MVP awards should be stripped from the record books. Why do we not see asterisk signs and syringes - or better yet, cork - being thrown onto the field whenever the Rangers and Sammy Sosa come to town? Also, how much should we water down Babe Ruth's career home run total for balls that bounced over the fence? (For part of Ruth's career, balls that bounced over the fence were counted as home runs.) The truth is that every era had its own unique traits, and Barry Bonds has dominated through 3 decades of baseball. Regardless of which era you put him in, he is one of the all-time greatest.
How can you quantify the effect of alleged steroid use on Barry? Would the balls that land in McCovey Cove in San Francisco be bouncing off the sidewalk instead of bobbing in the water? Would upper-deck blasts have landed in the lower decks without the help of steroids? Perhaps you feel the steroids help keep the athlete fit and energized, but what about the negative effects of added weight and muscle mass on his joints and bones (not to mention the many other negative side effects)? Do steroids have the ability to help the man improve his hand-eye coordination and mental focus to the point where he can see pitchers intentionally throwing outside of the strike zone all night and to have the patience to wait for one he can crush - and then help him to actually crush it when that single errant throw enters the strike zone?
Perhaps you feel like his distaste for the media and his cantankerous attitude with fans and teammates should be reason for not recognizing his accomplishments. If that were the case, we would also have to ignore the likes of Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, and a bunch of other "legends" who were notoriously disagreeable with the media, fans, and teammates and who were involved with alcohol problems or illegal drugs off the field.
If you simply look at the number of home runs he has been hitting over the past 10 years as proof of something artificial, consider that the entire league's offensive numbers are exploding over that same time period, so to see Barry Bonds jump by some percentage in his offensive production is not far out-of-line with the average increase in offensive production across the league.
If you want to really consider how amazing Barry Bonds is, consider this: Barry will tie and pass Hank Aaron in 300+ fewer games and 2500+ fewer at bats than the Hammer took to get to 755. That's the equivalent of nearly 4 full seasons of extra at bats that Hank Aaron used to get to this point. If Bonds had 4 extra seasons to swing away (and if pitchers would dare throw him a strike), we might be talking about 955 instead of 755!
Those who have admired and watched Barry Bonds and the way he plays the game of baseball (notice I didn't say his personality) are not terribly surprised by the milestones he's currently achieving. Though I do not like his personality and his demeanor off the field, Barry has always been the consummate professional on the field (imagine how you would react to getting ridiculed, mocked, and walked as much as he does on a daily basis) and has provided more than 20 years of spectacular and exciting baseball for fans to observe.
I have trouble embracing Barry Bonds and what he has unwillingly come to represent, but it's sad to me that Barry's excellence and incredible God-given talents are being overlooked because shadows of doubt that have fallen on the entire league have found a way to linger longer on the greatest offensive player of all-time.
