Home Run King????

I'm sure bloggers all over the place are weighing in on this subject so I won't spend a lot of time with it but I do have a few thoughts I would like to express.

It's pretty obvious to me that Barry Bonds was using steroids at the point in time when he really bulked up. However at that time I do not think that steroid use had been outlawed by Major League Baseball. Has he used them since then? Probably, but he has not been convicted of it and he may never be.

Personally I think the guy is an arrogant, self-absorbed, antisocial idiot (of course the same may be said of many professional athletes) who doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath with a class act like Hank Aaron. I have read some who say that the whole "his record should have an asterisk by it" has racial overtones - that Pete Rose's record doesn't have an asterisk by it even though he was convicted of gambling on baseball games while managing the Reds. However that makes no sense - especially since Aaron was also black. And the thing about Hammerin' Hank was that he playing and setting records in a time when he had real challenges in his daily life because of his race.

I don't think there needs to be an asterisk. I think the controversy will always follow him and will taint his record. What will be interesting is if he is convicted of illegal steroid use during the time after it was banned by MLB will that keep him out of the Hall of Fame a la Pete Rose? Probably not - and it probably shouldn't.

Still I think that Barry had a chance to do something great. On the Fox and Friends program Brian Kilmeade suggested that maybe Monsieur Bonds should have retired when he tied Hank Aaron's record. I think that would have changed the demeanor of the public instantly and would have been great for the game. I think it would also have provided a great lesson for the youngsters who look up to their sports heroes. Now there will be those who say, "Should Tiger Woods retire when he ties Jack Nicklaus' record of major tournament victories?" But it's not the same thing. In fact I wouldn't even think that Bonds should have done it if I didn't feel certain he knows he violated the rules. But I guess he never would even have considered it since he didn't care about the rules in the first place. It was always all about him. Apparently a lot of pro athletes are of the same mindset.

When asked about being a role model Charles Barkley once said, "I'm just a basketball player." I think that is a terrible attitude and that type of thinking contributes mightily to a lot of the problems kids have today caused by being self-absorbed and thinking what they want is the only thing that matters and whatever they need to do to get it is justified. Personally I believe every adult should think of themselves as a role model and act accordingly. It is even more important for athletes, musicians, and other celebrities because they are much more in the public eye.

Senor Bond will probably hit a few more this season and that will more than likely be it. I don't think he will make it past this season. San Francisco won't be interested in keeping him around. In fact I think they will drop him faster than Billy Bob dropped his drawers when Halle gave him the green light in Monster's Ball. And I doubt that anyone else will be interested in paying his price as a pinch hitter. Fortunately I don't think it will be another thirty plus years before someone breaks Double B's record. It will probably be A-Rod so I hope he acquires a little humility before then. For the good of the game I can only hope.