Here is my take on Barry Bonds' recent tieing of Hank Aaron for the all time home run record. I don't want to spend a lot of time on it because so many people have spent so much time screaming about it.
The question that seems to constantly come up is "what do we do now?" As if we, collectively, could save this record, restore it to Aaron no matter what, and just find a way to wipe these records away permanently. The truth is that will never happen and we all know it. Chances are no asterik will be placed next to whatever number Bonds ends up with. No one is gonna wipe the slate clean, expunging Bonds and his steroid era cohorts from the record books. What is simply going to happen is that the NEW number, whatever number that is, will become as meaningless in the sports world as almost all others are.
Quick quiz, name me the record for most points scored all time in the NBA? How about the most touchdowns scored ever in the NFL? Chances are you know who holds the record but I would bet yah anything you have no idea what the number is.
Okay, how about this one: what is the single season record for home runs? Is it 70, 71, 72, 73, or 74 homers in one season? Alright, you might know that one, but just a few short years ago asking that question to good sports fans would be like slapping their sister on the ass at the bar; it would be a huge insult. Now, you might have to think about it for a second.
And even if you came up with the number, knew it by heart, there's no question that 73 has very little meaning to the baseball world now, nothing compared to what 61 was to the sports landscape. A-Rod was (and still is) putting on a virtuoso performance this year and was ahead of EVERYONE'S record pacing for a solid 3 months. Yet, no one talked about him challenging Bonds' record. No one was giddy about the idea of 74. No one was tracking his progression. Why? Because 73 just isn't that important to us. It doesn't role off the tongue. It doesn't intrigue us the way 61 did. And the name holding it makes most of us squirm now instead of admire the talent it took to accomplish such a record.
And that's the fate of 756, or 775, or whatever number Bonds lands on. It will become virtually meaningless. In 5 years or 10 years, when someone asks who holds the record everyone will know it was that bastard cheater Bonds. When you ask what the number is, chances are you'll have to think about it for a second. It won't roll off the tongue. It won't fascinate us as a fan base and it won't tantalize the super star looking to add his name to the greats of all time. It will just be another number.
And some people ask how anyone could not vote for Bonds for the Hall of Fame?
If From the Free Seats had a vote, this would be our answer; because Barry Bonds has made sacred records meaningless. Because he has put his own permanent asterik next to those numbers. He has wiped clean all the special meaning those records had to us as sports fans and have made them simply another number.
If and when A-Rod breaks the all time record the cheering will be less about the number and more about the man. A-Rod will be looked upon as being a clean player who did things the right way and restored the all time record back to respectability. But the number will never acheive the greatness, the importance it once had. It will never capture the hearts of young fans fascinated by the history of America's pass time. And that's why Bonds should never be inducted into the Hall of Fame, because his legacy is one of cheating and cheaters. What he did on the field before steroids was play at the highest level possible, but his importance to the game overall was minimal. He would have simply gone down as a great player, one of many who have had the chance to play professionally. Now, however, Bonds has seperated himself from the pack and injured the game immeasureably. How can one ignore that before casting a vote?
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