Nice Guys Don't Finish First In The Home Run Race

In case you were on a bender last night, Baroid Bonds tied Hank Aaron's career home run record, hitting his 755th in the second inning in San Diego.  The reaction was predictable.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig issued a convoluted congratulations to Bonds saying that "No matter what anyone thinks of the controversy surrounding this event, Mr. Bonds' achievement is noteworthy and remarkable."  Gee, thanks Bud.

Look, everyone knows Baroid was juiced for years.  But so were Mark MacGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998 when they became folk heroes for breaking the sixty home run barrier.  So were other players, some not so noteworthy who fans rallied around.

The fact remains that Baroid is a surly, moody, SOB that has little use for the media and the fans.  And this is the way he's been portrayed and why, besides the chemical reasons, the fans love to hate him.

Taking the personality issues out of it, there is no question that this is a tainted record set by someone who wouldn't have set it had he not had juiced up.  But before you go throwing stones at Baroid for being King Prick, know the history. This record is a sacred cow in baseball and fans have never warmed up to someone taking it away from George Herman Ruth.

Hank Aaron was never a darling of the media the way that Willie Mays was, perhaps because he played in two smaller markets (Atlanta was growing the the seventies and was not nearly as big as it is now and Milwaukee was and still is a smaller market) or perhaps because he played with a chip on his shoulder.

In an era where many black athletes were just happy to have an opportunity, Aaron was a vocal critic of the way things were at the time. But in that era, many of his statements and thoughts went unreported and Aaron remained a man who most people categorized as "quiet.and intense"  I even remember a MAD Magazine cartoon from the time where Aaron was portrayed as a surly guy, pushing autograph seekers out of the way to get to the clubhouse

When you were a kid growing up in that era, you wanted to be Mays or Roberto Clemente (who was very outspoken on behalf of the Latin athletes) because those guys were spectacular players, especially in the field.  Aaron was workmanlike; He simply did his job every day with no flash at all.  But over time, the numbers piled up and eventually it was he, and not the more popular Mays who passed Ruth.  For back in that day, Mays was clearly the one everyone wanted to pass Ruth and not Aaron.

I find it funny, especially since I actually lived through it, how people have made Henry Aaron out to be this beloved and now tragic figure in baseball, having his great record usurped by the chemically enhanced Baroid.  While it's true the baseball establishment is frowning upon Bonds, in 1974, few people were excited about Aaron breaking the record, one because he had all the warmth of a porcupine and the other for the obvious stupid reason that I won't acknowledge because I am embarrassed to live in a country where people actually think that way..

It will be interesting when A-Rod, who became the youngest man to ever hit 500 homers, passes Bonds and what kind of reaction he will get, especially if he is still in Yankee pin stripes.  It will also be interesting to see if someone else can challenge this record and what kind of reaction they will get, how they will handle the horde of media and the strain of everybody watching them.  Even A-Rod, who is a pretty cool guy, took a week to go from 499 to 500.  Imagine when it's time to pass Bonds. 

This is not the most sacred and unattainable record in baseball.  There are two records in baseball that most likely will be never be broken: Joe D's 56 game hit streak and Johnny Van Der Meer's back to back no-hitters. 

At the end of this season, when all this crap is over, Baroid will most likely leave the game and all of this will be behind this.  Accept or not, Baroid Bonds will retire as the most prolific home run hitter of all time.   And being a nice guy, as Hank Aaron proved before him, has nothing to do with it.

Lightning Round

Posted by Chip Ramsey at 8/5/2007 10:25 AM
Categories: Sports
 

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