Barry Bonds

I believe that Barry Bonds took steroids. I know, I'm going out on a limb there. But he gets way too much shit from reporters and fans.

He will soon pass Hank Aaron and become the all time leader in career homeruns in Major League baseball. Many people think Bonds' record is tainted, because of steroids. But keep in mind that Barry Bonds was a phenomenal player while his muscles were still scrawny. Steroids took Barry Bonds from the greatest player of his generation to the greatest player of all time (numerically). Steroids took Sammy Sosa from a fairly garbage player to one with Hall of Fame statistics. Sosa would hit his share of homeruns and compile several players' share of strikeouts. His rightfield rivaled that of Austin Kerns for futility.

The outrage over Sammy Sosa's career has never come close to that over Bonds'. I guess the occasional smile and statement: "Baseball has been bery bery good to me," makes all the difference.

Barry Bonds is deeply rooted in the history of baseball. He respects that history. Bobby Bonds is his father. Willie Mays is his godfather. He never gets credit for that. In 1998, everyone loved how Mark McGwire revered Roger Maris and his homerun record. Unfortunately, McGwire was a total phony. That April I saw a report that said McGwire didn't even know who held the record or even what it was. It's amazing how a few months and a couple of newly hired PR personel can do for a person's respect for the history of baseball.

Barry Bonds isn't Hank Aaron. He never will be. But he is a great player, one of the greatest of all time. He should be treated as such.