The wait is over, congratulations Mr. Barry Bonds

Congratulations to Mr. Barry Bonds
Baseballs All Time Homerun King on being crowned by none other than the great
Hammerin' Hank Aaron.

As a season ticket holder I had the pleasure of watching your Godfather Willie Mays, and your father Bobby Bonds play at Candlestick Park as members of the Giants. I had the pleasure of watching you play as well, though as a memeber of the dreaded Pirates.
I have yet to get to the new park.
I hope to make it this year.

Barry Bonds
756 Home Runs #1 all time
73 Home Runs in a season #1 all time
2540 Walks #1 all time
679 Intentional Walks #1 all time
7 MVP's #1 all time
14 All Star games
513 Stolen Bases
The only member of the 500/500 club
500 or more home runs/500 or more Stolen Bases

I predict very little good will come of this thread . Hell , let me start it . Biggest hat size growth over a career goes to none other then Barry Bonds . Next .

This thread is an example of people getting Butthurt.

Biggest scapegoat for the pervasive use of steroids in all of baseball--Barry Bonds.

Among the top seven home-run hitters of all time, the four who could be present, in some form or another, came together to celebrate the moment. Frank Robinson attended as a representative of Major League Baseball, and 76-year-old Willie Mays emerged from the warmth of a suite to join his godson on the field.

Then came the deposed king, Henry Aaron, whose face appeared on the park's enormous scoreboard, offering videotaped congratulations full of warmth and goodwill. Aaron had said long ago that he would not try to be in the park when Bonds broke the record. His statements, though very limited, were widely interpreted as a rebuke to Bonds, who has been linked to performance-enhancing drugs and remains under investigation by the federal government and Major League Baseball.

But when the time came, Aaron passed the torch with all the dignity he displayed when he overtook Babe Ruth 33 years ago.

"I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historical achievement," Aaron said. "My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams."

The audience cheered Aaron vigorously, drowning out almost half of his message. "It meant everything," Bonds said of the video. "It meant absolutely everything."

Either way, he owns the record. Even if it has an asterisk on it. I don't like the guy because his team clobbers my LA Dodgers whenever, but give respect where respect is due.

exactly

How funny is it that a guy who ACTUALLY was busted for steroids gives up the record-tying home run to a guy never busted, and the fact that the pitcher was the guilty one is never mentioned?

I can't speak for anybody but myself...but part of the reason I'm so hard on him is that he was a Hall of Famer without steroids. Before he ever left Pittsburgh...he was one of the best in the game.

After he started taking steroids his numbers became ridiculous...comical even. You just don't get THAT good...THAT late in your career.

I know a lot of people get down in him because he's an asshole. Well...he IS an asshole...but so was Charles Barkley...so was Bill Bill Laimbeer...that doesn't bother me nearly as much as Bonds' raping of the record books.

He's the scapegoat because he's the biggest talent to get caught up in the steroid scandal. I think you'll be hard pressed to find baseball fans who LIKE the fact that players are taking steroids...but who is going to raise more ire...the middle reliever who pisses dirty because he's trying to stay in the bigs or the ALREADY HUGE STAR who's assaulting long-standing records as a direct result of absuing performance enhancing drugs?

Bonds is also the bullseye because most of the big names are either out of baseball...or have no shot at tainting the record books. Canseco, McGwire, Palmiero, Caminiti, Juan Gonzalez....those guys are gone.

Admitted users like Bobby Estalela, Jeremy Giambi, Wally Joyner, Jason Grimsley, & David Segui.....sure, they're jerks for doing it....but they weren't exactly pushing "honest" guys out of the record book.

There are also guys like Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffiled and Jason Giambi who have either admitted it...or been strongly implicated who haven't felt the same wrath as Bonds...Clemens being the closest to Bonds as far as greatness before the allegations.

What I'm getting at...is that Barry Bonds gets the most flak because he's the biggest name in the pickle barrel. Just like despite the fact that PLENTY of MLB teams over spend on their roster...it's only the Yankees who are accused of "buying" their success.

never "busted", no....but admitted.

Meh...he was on a career trajectory of maybe 550 homers (without Griffey-like injury problems) before he started juicing. He probably would have made the Hall of Fame anyway but the combination of his poisonous personality and his lack of being on any great teams wouldn't have made him a mortal lock for the first ballot, in spite of his numbers.

Thanks for succinctly setting the record straight.

I'm not doubting or denying that Bonds took steroids. It's everyone's right to dislike him, or dislike the fact that he broke a record, or dislike the fact that he took steroids but it bothers me that the rest of baseball--NOT just the players, but management, ownership and the media get a free pass because they participate and encourage everyone to focus on Barry instead of looking at the entire era.

Feel free to hate the guy, hate the record or whatever.

Personally, I hate when I read Mike Lupica's column today disparaging Bonds while ignoring the fact that his book cashing in on the records of 1998 totally ignored the facts about steroid use. I hate that Tony Larussa is constantly called one of the great baseball minds, but no one puts an asterisk on all of his wins when he was the coach of the team that was, by all accounts, ground zero for steroids in baseball (and who later got a man banned for asking saint McGwire about drugs). I hate that Bud Selig can act put off at having to salute this record despite his complicity in the entire era.

A lot of people made a lot of money on ignoring what was going on.

I hate the fact that people think they can't point to a swollen head or big muscles and say "aha! steroids!" I hate that most people don't realize that the majority of those who have been busted are pitchers, not hitters...and that most aren't very big guys at all. I hate that people who haven't read Game of Shadows or Juicing the Game (both great books) are now acting like amateur scientists.

Mostly, I hate that, by solely focusing on one man, we make it harder to confront a problem that's not going away when Barry retires.

Thanks :-)
btw If you folks are so concered with steroid use I would like to suggest you head on down to your local High School, Junior College or College and file your complaints and concerns there. I've read estimates that up to 40% of these athelets have at one time or antothe used or are using them. And no I'm not gonna link just type in steroid use and see for yourself

Congratulations Barry Bonds. I don't care for the dude and it has nothing to do with PEDs. He just seems like an arrogant whiny prick. But all that aside, he still played long enough to break the record. He still spent countless hours in the gym staying in shape. He still had enough talent to be a shoo in HOFer home run record or not.


As a Yankee fan, what I find more interesting, is that Alex Rodriguez has a 46% chance of hitting 800 home runs before his career is over. Albert Pujols has a 7% chance of hitting 800. Alex Rodriguex has a 7% chance of hitting 1000. 1-0-0-0!! So barring injury or apathy Rodriguez could render the whole thing moo.

Where do you get that math? If Arod retires in two years, then he has 0 chance.

Personally, I think if ARod wants to stick around long enough to break it, he will.

I get that math from people who are a lot smarter than you or I when it comes to stuff like this.

All this makes me is depressed that Griffey will never get to sniff this record like I always thought he could...pre-cincy era

Dude, i was just asking...it sounded like a Bill James stat.

Sorry I overreacted, makes me glad I didn't end my post "you snarky fuck." As I had intended.

I think the possibility is quite low that A-Rod will break this record. I think it's silly to think that A-Rod is going to consistently hit 45-50 homers into his 40s. Bonds had those monster years with the aid of Balco. A-Rod's prime is the here and now, in my opinion. He may still be a great hitter when he's 42, but I can't see him keeping it up in the power department. And there's always the risk of injury between now and then. I wouldn't mind being proven wrong though. I love watching A-Rod hit. And I could care less about what his personality is like. I take the same attitude with Bonds.

Ha! You should see what i edited out, you pissy fucker!

A Rod is 32. He has 500 career home runs. In order to hit 800 homeruns, he would have to average 30 HR per season for the next ten. That takes him to his age 42 season.

Very doable.