Bonds ties Aaron

Asking questions is not smearing. Its asking a question.

Please point out where I said it was Babe's fault. Wasn't his fault, but it is still part of history

Surely you jest. Read "BALL FOUR" and "JOE, YOU COULDA MADE US PROUD", both books which talk about the number of players taking greenies during that time period. Any player from that era, is suspect when it comes to use of amphetamines, just as players of this era will be suspect of using steriods. Of course one big factor would be that Aaron himself wrote in his autobiography:

"Actually the 1968 season wasn't the best time to present my case. It was the first time since my rookie year that I didn't drive in or scored 100 runs. I was so frustrated that at one point I tried using a greenie that one of my teamates gave me."

Maybe that is one of the reasons that Aaron was so classy in his video salute to Bonds last night...maybe he knows we have all sinned at one point or another.

Doesn't mean they didn't. Again, any player in this current era of baseball will be suspected of steriods...even if its a 1% doubt.

I'll just wait for another young exciting hitter to come along before I start rooting for someone to break the record...when anyone I'm rooting for now may have used performance enhancements.


I think there is a fundamental flaw in how people think about steriods effecting performance. Under the logic many use, guess Hulk Hogan should be at the top of the home run list.

I think more credit for Bonds record might actually be because of:


NEW YORK (Commentary) Beyond his alleged steroid use, Barry Bonds is guilty of the use of something that confers extraordinarily unfair mechanical advantage: the “armor” that he wears on his right elbow. Amid the press frenzy over Bonds’ unnatural bulk, the true role of the object on his right arm has simply gone unnoticed.

This is unfortunate, because by my estimate, Bonds’ front arm “armor” may have contributed no fewer than 75 to 100 home runs to his already steroid-questionable total.
Bonds tied Henry Aaron’s home run record of 755 on Saturday night and will go for the new standard this week back at home in San Francisco.

As a student of baseball – and currently a mechanics consultant to a major league baseball team -- I believe I have insight into the Bonds "achievement." I have studied his swing countless times on video and examined the mechanical gear closely through photographs.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003621797

 

Rock,

So Aaron admits to trying one greenie? That is far different than building a fake body with PED's. Yes, we all understand that just being strong doesn't make you a great hitter. Sad thing is, Bonds was a great hitter before he started juicing. His juicing only took his talents to a whole other level and gave him a longer career.

That is an interesting article on the armor. I think a non-cheating Barry Bonds would have hit about 600 homers. Maybe half (of his add'l 150) are due to his armor and the other half due to juicing.

 

We know testimony was given, that's all. Doesn't mean it was true...people have been known to lie to Grand Juries. (Yes I think he used, but that has nothing to do with him holding the record)

Yes there are accusations and Aaron's own admission

Guess you really have a low opinion of the ballplayers of Ruth's era if you think that the "marginal and average black players" would have taken the jobs away from those already in MLB.

But is Bonds a cheater when MLB didn't test for the use and others were using themselves? What about the pitchers who were using (and still may be using). Again its the era of performance enhancement...all records from the era will be suspect to many of us.


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There is the key...he admits to only one. May have been years of abuse, we'll never know because MLB didn't test back then.

You claimed there were no accusations and no evidence. Sorry..but a simple google search shows otherwise.

 

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I'm not jesting.

And don't call me Shirley.

Since Hulk Hogan didn't play baseball, kindly explain the logic.

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Some people have a misguided notion IMO about what steroids can do for a baseball player. (Please note, the term some people..not accusing you of this thinking). If taking anabolic steroids was able to give someone muscle power to go over the fences...then someone like Hulk Hogan would be the home run king since he could have got in baseball back in the mid80s and shatter the record, since by his own admission he took steroids for over 20 years.

Steroids do provide muscle, help heal from injury...but they can also be the cause of injuries. Lots of people have tested positive for steroids, but they didn't have the bat speed or eye coordination of Bonds.

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Rock,

PED's can make a talented hitter (Bonds) into an even greater hitter. With the benefit of PED's, when Bonds normally hits a warning track flyball, it now becomes a homer. How hard is that to understand?

 

When you see most of Bonds homers though, rarely are they just over the fence. Sure, he has a few from that benefit, but IMO no ways as many as he does from the elbow contraption he wears.

Every time I see him crowd the plate with his elbow hanging over the plate, I long for the days of Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale!!!!!

 

But since Hulk didn't play baseball, I still don't see the connection. Hard to be home run king when you don't play baseball.

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Note the part of my response that states".... he could have got in baseball back in the mid80s...."

Of course in one interview, the Hulkster said he started doing steroids in 1975, so guess it would have been the mid 70s, given his age that he would have gone into MLB.

 

Who has suggest penalizing Babe Ruth? There is no asterick beside his name in the record book..but it is a legitimate point that he didn't face all the best players. But IMO, that is outweighed by the fact of the years he missed hitting by being such an outstanding pitcher.

Jim Bouton is certainly not the only one to report the use of greenies. Duke Snyder said almost everyone was taking in his day. As far as Canseco's...yeah he certainly had the wrong opinion about the use of steroids in MLB.


But bottom line, all records in baseball are generally questioned by the era if nothing else. Still doesn't change whether someone used alcohol, greenies, or steroids, Barry Bonds is the home run king...but for how long????