True Home Run King

[knuckleheads]

Am I the only one who sees the irony in calling Hank Aaron the "true home run king" tonight?

Might as well suggest we put an asterisk next to Barry Bonds name.

Also, Bud Selig has no shame. His hypocrisy on the entire steroids issue truly knows no bounds.

[Tom Kessenich]

Aaron is the "true" home run king.

Selig's hypocrisy with regard to the steroid era is absolutely a joke. To me, that's a big part of his legacy. Turning a blind eye to a league-wide epidemic because it was good for business.

[Edwards Kings]

So...whose autograph do YOU want?

[Tom Kessenich]

The problem with Selig calling Hank the "true" home run king is it's Bud's attempt to distance himself from Bonds due to everything Bonds did. The problem with that is Selig allowed all that to occur and did nothing to step in and put an end to the cheating that was going on. He's every bit as culpable as Bonds in my opinion (as is the Players Association who also were motivated primarily by greed). Selig shouldn't be distancing himself from a record he essentially helped create. That's where his hypocrisy runs deep in my opinion.

[Yah Mule]

Not only did Selig and the owners refuse to punish steroid users, they tacitly encouraged the usage of PEDs. They didn't think baseball fans would pay attention if every game didn't feature half a dozen home runs.

I probably became a roto baseball fan because of Babe Ruth. I can still remember sitting down with a book about baseball when I was a little kid and looking up his mind boggling statistics. Then I read further and discover he was a dominating pitcher before he became the greatest power hitter of his era. It may have been the first moment in my life I could have described as surreal. I'm no Yankee fan, but I still love Babe Ruth to this day and my fascination with baseball numbers is forever entwined in that affection.

It deeply offended me when Bonds broke Ruth's and then Aaron's marks, but what's done is done. I really don't care about him, Mac, Clemens or the rest of those guys one way or the other anymore. The sneaky weasel I will never forgive is Bud Selig and his increasingly desperate attempts to revise history and paint himself as a reformer are transparent and pathetic.

[DOUGHBOYS]

It is a little too easy for me to point fingers and try to pin the blame on those in charge. Or even those that injected, or swallowed, or creamed themselves. Or the reporters who knew and did nothing, but paint glowing accounts. Or the fans, who knew something was amiss, but enjoyed the power display all the same.
In my eyes, everybody shares in what happened. A total group effort.
We all share in mucking it up.
Way to go, team!


Our generation ruined it for the coming generation.
And THAT is the largest sin.
We grew up reading or watching Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays feats.
We marveled at the way they played the game.
A level playing field, taken for granted.
Numbers like 714 or 755 were sacred. The number '60' captured our imagination, then 61.
No numbers are sacred for the newer generation.
Now, we have a new generation of baseball fan who knows that the Major League hits leader is banned from baseball.
We have a new generation of baseball fan who knows that the home run record is not 'real'.
And now, because of our team effort, we have a new generation of baseball fan that deeply questions an old golden rule...
'Cheaters Never Prosper'.

[Tom Kessenich]

Here's my take:

As a fan I ultimately don't really care a great deal if a player cheats or tries to rig the game in some way. If that's what they want to do and if they want to potentially damage their life in the process that's on them. I ultimately don't care what you do. It's your life, not mine. I don't play the game and I'm not competing against you so what you do doesn't impact me beyond the enjoyment level I receive from the games I watch.

However ...

If you do decide to cheat or rig the game don't come crying to me when you get caught and your life, legacy etc. is damaged or tarnished. You get no sympathy from me whatsoever, especially if you did most of this due to ego. It's one thing for a 175-pound light-hitting middle infielder to decide he needs to physically change to keep up, but Barry Bonds, a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer? That's pure ego so whatever punishment you get is fine by me.

Secondly, if you run the game and insist there are rules in place don't be selective when you're going to implement the rules and don't try and re-configure your approach years later with the hope everyone forgets how you failed to implement the rules in the first place. Either apply the rules equally and consistently or don't apply them at all.

Not sure if any of this makes a bit of sense but that's how I feel.

[BK METS]

Hank Aaron is the true home run champion of all time. I remember the day he hit the home run to go ahead of Ruth, as a kid. I still cannot even recall when Bonds went ahead of him... the day is a blur, as it always will be.

[Yah Mule]

I will always love that anonymous booth technician who killed the audio during Bonds 715th homer. That was definitely intentional and awesome.

[Tom Kessenich]

I think it's easy to dismiss Bonds' place among the all-time home run leaders not just because he was a steroid-riddled freak but also because he was/is an insufferable a*****e. If Hank Aaron did the same thing I think people would be much quicker to recognize his accomplishments and forgive his transgressions because by all accounts he's a genuinely decent human being who treats people well. I know I'm much more willing to forgive nice people who screw up than a*****s.

[headhunters]

well tom- since old hank just called anyone who opposes obama a racist he is well on his way. this whole "race card" is getting really really really old.