Barry Bonds and #755

This weekend Barry Bonds will play at Miller Park here in Milwaukee, the very town where Hank Aaron played 14 years of ball and hit #755, and hometown of Bud Selig.

There's a good chance Bonds might make this the only city in the world to host two home runs numbered #755.

I'm not happy about it of course. In a much earlier post (circa 2005) I ranted about the injustice of steroids and how it will corrode the fabric of the record books.

 I still feel the same way. I don't think Bonds accomplishment can/will ever be viewed without suspicion and wariness. It's not like he'll soar past the all-time mark and bury it; if he finished with 1000 homers I'd say "Man, it's not likely the drugs account for all 300 of the extra dingers" but if he finishes at 775 or even 800 . . .

Well its more than likely steroids account for less than 50 homeruns, even by the most conservative of estimates, don't you think?

But . .

I am very much a pragmatist and barring an act of God the record will fall. Without question Bonds has been the most feared hitter of this decade, alarmingly so, and I do believe that minus 'roids Bonds would still be a Hall of Famer (albeit with 500 or so home runs).

Does it make it right? No. Does it make it equal to Aaron and Ruth's marks? Naw.

Is it going to happen, and is it still impressive? Yes and yes.

So I'm going to swallow my bile and raise a wary but complimentary round of applause for the guy when he sets the mark.

And then I'm going to sit back and hope he gets indicted in the near future.

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On the subject of historic events in baseball, in 2007 I have seen Justin Verlander no-hit the Brewers and the Phillies lose their 10,000th game (both on TV).

And I just might watch the home run record fall too (again, on TV).

Tags: Barry Bonds, Steroirds, Miller Park, Hank Aaron