Look East for your Home Run Hero
April 26, 2007Unfortunately for Braves fans, Brewer fans and baseball fans, Barry Bonds is probably going to beat Hank Aaron’s all-time record. Any hopes we had of his body completely breaking down like that anti-steroid commercial with that crumbling statue are probably dashed. Giants fans, of course, welcome the eventual milestone, because booing him would invalidate all they’ve ever cheered for over the last 15 years. Once he’s gone, it may be a different story. But for now, very few are looking forward to #756. Some folks have even stooped so low to start rooting for A-Rod to beat the marks.
There’s two reasons for this, both of which are obvious; (1), Barry’s an asshole. He cheated, he was a dick about it, and he was a dick even before people started questioning him about it. And (2), we all like Hank Aaron. When you think of great basketball players, the first 5 names that come to mind are Jordan, Bird, Magic, Russell and Kareem. Maybe Wilt sneaks in there sometimes. But there’s generally that top-5 or 6 that everyone agrees on. In hockey, the top is even tighter. It’s Gretzky, Howe and Orr. Football changes all the time, but most people agree that Jim Brown’s somewhere in that five. And in baseball, it’s Ruth, Mays, Williams, Mantle and Aaron. He’s one of the five greatest players of all time. Simple as that. And he was on Happy Days, so we all know he’s a cool dude.
Of course, most baseball fans also know of a man by the name of Sadaharu Oh. If not, they at least know about the Japanese guy who also hit a ton of homers. Sadaharu hit 868 home runs in Japan, which, of course, is 113 more than Aaron. But just about everyone agrees that Aaron is the home run champ. He hit his homers in America against the best pitchers in the world, while Oh hit his against the best pitchers in the continent. And while Jim Palmer says Oh would’ve been great in America too, it’s probably safe to say he wouldn’t have hit 868 over here.
Here’s my issue; people complained about the asterisk on Roger Maris’ record because they said a record is a record. It didn’t matter that he had more games to do it in. A record is a record is a record. And no one complained about Ruth’s records, even though he never played against black athletes. A record is a record is a record. So why do we so quickly dismiss Sadaharu Oh’s 868?
Here’s an idea. Once Barry passes Aaron, MLB holds a ceremony to annoint Sadaharu Oh the true home run king of baseball. Do it when Matsuzaka faces Matsui, so there’s already plenty of press there. And then we can all worship Sadaharu Oh and forget about Barry, and everyone will still agree that Aaron was one of the five best players ever. Does anyone have a problem with this? It’d be the ultimate distraction from Barry-land. Who’s gonna lead the backlash to acknowledge Barry as the home run champ? Skip Bayless? Please, he’s a dink. No one listens to him.
Works for me. I’d nominate Peggy Flemming if I thought it’d work.
Your lists of the “5 guys you instantly think of” in a given sport are far too arbitrary to me. Wilt is one of the first people I think of for basketball, as is Dr. J. Baseball? I think of Koufax and Clemens before at least as quickly as I think of Williams or Mantle. Hockey? What, no Mario Lemieux?
As to your argument that the quality of the competition shouldn’t matter–a record is a record is a record–why Oh? Why not Josh Gibson? Some estimates place his home run total at nearly 1,000.
If you want to consider Saduhara Oh the home run champ, I suppose that’s your perogative. And Hank Aaron, when he retired, was certainly one of the 5 or 10 best to ever play the game. At this point? Bonds, for the value of his career, has been a better player than just about anyone. The only other person even considered for the conversation is Ruth. Asshole or not, steroids or not, all his home runs count, and not liking him isn’t a good enough reason for me to discount him.
Lame argument because for the MLB home run record, we only count… wait for it… home runs hit in the MLB. We don’t include home runs in college, high school, or little league, yet alone Japan. It’s simply an MLB record.
TC-
The 5 guys thing is just an example. Ernie Banks is a great player, as are Cal Ripken Jr and Dave Winfield. But would you say any of them are even close to the level of Ruth, Mays and Aaron? No. Aaron is notable for being up at the top of the mountain and being constantly in the discussion for the best ever. Bonds has very good numbers, but side by side with Aaron, Hank wins a lot of categories, like hits, RBIs, Avg, total bases and, perhaps most importantly, championships. Clemens and Koufax are great too, but it’s hard to compare pitchers with hitters, so I’m just sticking with hitters here.
Jeff-
I think you’re taking me too seriously. The point of this whole thing is to create some alternate scenario where we can avoid paying attention to Bonds. This would just be one way to piss off Barry and, evidently, TC.
Huh? Lemieux has to be included on your hockey list. And how about picking someone other than outfielders for baseball as well? Honus Wagner comes to mind…
The list is not the issue here!
They peed on your fucking rug.
Nobody is really sure who the Negro League home run leader is, but it’s probably Mule Suttles with 250 or so. People are fond of saying that Josh Gibson hit 800 to 1000 home runs, which he certainly did, but most of those were in barnstorming tours and not in anything you’d recognize as league play. Gibson was without a doubt the premier power hitter in Negro League history, and would have undoubtedly held his own against the Major League pitching of the ’40s, but to get him anywhere near the Aaron/Ruth/Bonds range you’d have to count nonleague games against some awfully shaky competition.
As for Oh, a lot of his shots came in ballparks that don’t meet the minimum MLB standards for outfield dimensions. If he could have played in the Major Leagues in the 60s and 70s, his numbers probably would have ended up looking like Stan Musial’s — tons of extra base hits and a high batting average, but nothing like 700 HR either.
Nice article, man. Well articulated and most certainly warranted. Barry Balco is a despicable human being but a great athlete nonetheless. Yes he cheated, yes he’s a clubhouse cancer, yes he likes to fight with teammates, and yes, his sac is the size of a cumquat. The ol’ bastard can hit though, and what saddens me is that he’ll end up breaking Aaron’s immaculate record with the Giants and then move to the other side of the bay to become a Sosa-like DH. An interesting note about Aaron’s career is that he never topped 47 jacks in a season. Now that’s consistency.
In Big Headed-Barry’s defense,you can say what you will about 73 homeruns in a season being a complete hoax, but steroids doesn’t improve your hand-eye, it just makes your wife squeal more after you choke the shit out of her after an 0-5 night.
My whole thing about ‘roids is that, sure, it doesn’t help your hand-eye coordination or your ability to read a fastball or slider coming out of a pitcher’s hand at ridiculously high speeds. I could lift weights for the next three years and consume more mysterious white creamy substances than Paris Hilton; I still can’t hit a baseball going faster than 70 mph. However, if you already have that going for you, wouldn’t steroids and HGH increase your bat speed and, as a result, how far the ball goes? I’ve never forgiven Jason Giambi for sterioids, because one of his homers in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS just barely went over the wall. If he was clean, would Johnny Damon have caught it? Since I’m a biased little dipshit, I say yes.
It’s probably more professional of me to not respond to any and all comments. But I only get readers once every few months, when Will links to me. So I kinda relish it.
[...] Look East for your Home Run Hero Unfortunately for Braves fans, Brewer fans and baseball fans, Barry Bonds is probably going to beat Hank Aaron’s […] [...]
“Here’s my issue; people complained about the asterisk on Roger Maris’ record because they said a record is a record. It didn’t matter that he had more games to do it in. A record is a record is a record. And no one complained about Ruth’s records, even though he never played against black athletes. A record is a record is a record.”
So, that being said, what exactly is the problem with Bonds holding a record for home runs hit against pitchers using steroids?
As I said, he’s a dick. The only reason I bring up this situation is because we’re looking for a way to avoid acknowledging Bonds when he beats the record. We’ve all accepted that he’s going to own the record in a month or so. But no one outside of San Francisco really wants him to.
Do you have evidence that Bonds cheated, or are you another one of the bots who will believe anything that they hear on TV or read on the Internet?
If he cheated, and there is evidence to support it, why is he still playing baseball?
It’s hearsay and rumors. Nothing more at this point.
I’m a die-hard Cardinals fan. But I want to see Bonds break the record. He is one of the best, if not the best, to ever play the game, in many more categories than just HRs. You should learn more about the game and the history next time you whine like a girl.
How is this whining? I’m just presenting a theoretical solution for comedy’s sake. I’m just being a dick. I’m not trying to defend the honor of the game or anything.
Jesus, sometimes people get really uptight about stupid shit. Is there anything here in my article that makes you think I’m serious about this shit? I called Skip Bayless a dink, for Christ’s sake. Did David Halberstam ever call anyone a dink? Calm the fuck down.
(1). Barry’s an asshole.
(2). we all like Hank Aaron.
Why..???? :)
Best Regards…
ngadutrafik
“Do you have evidence that Bonds cheated, or are you another one of the bots who will believe anything that they hear on TV or read on the Internet?
If he cheated, and there is evidence to support it, why is he still playing baseball?
It’s hearsay and rumors. Nothing more at this point.”
__________________
Tv, internet? what the fuck are you talking about brent? this all came about from a book that was published using gathered EVIDENCE that has cited sources, based off of actual items that are in police custody right now, written by respectable writers for other respectable publications. Saying theres no evidence bonds used steroids is just retarded.
“If he cheated, and there is evidence to support it, why is he still playing baseball?”
I dont even really need to address that one, thats one of the dumbest thigns ive ever heard. As if baseball has a strong, proud history of policing itself on this issue.
You’re right, because EVERYTHING that was ever written in print is true right?
If the evidence amounted to ANYTHING, the authorities would have acted upon it. This is not the case now is it?
By the way, your vulgar vocabulary paints a pretty picture of your intelligence.
I would argue that perhaps you hate Bonds because he is black. Are you racist? You are obviously bigoted in other ways, according to your ugly worded response.
Go Cardinals!
no i dont hate bonds because hes black, i hate him cause he’s a homo.
good arguing brent. when you cant come up with reason, call them a racist!
It always pisses me off when people throw out the racist defense with Bonds. If Ken Griffey Jr was approaching the home run record , no one would have a problem. If Hideki Matsui was approaching the record, no one would have a problem. And people would have just as much a problem as they do now with Bonds if Mark McGwire or Jason Giambi was approaching the record nowadays. Race has nothing to do with it. Fans love winners and despise cheaters. I’m from Boston, where we’ve been accused of racism more than just about any other city. And who knows, maybe some of that reputation is earned. But we were also the guys calling for Pokey Reese to start at shortstop instead of Nomar back in 2004.
Personally, I never use more than a single link in the comment I post because doing so can trigger spam catchers if the user has that plugin activated, whereas a single link will not.
Que?
DO you read what you write? How old are you? Obviously no older than an adolescent, in which case, what the hell do you possibly have to tell me about the game of baseball, son?
If anyone should hate Bonds, it ought to be me –being a McGuire fan. But I don’t, because I do not have hatred for others in my heart.
You have much to learn boy. The fool always makes a fool of himself.
Why can’t you enjoy the game, as we, the true fans of baseball do? By the way, are you aware of all of the other records that Bonds has broken, that have nothing to do with power hitting? Obviously not.
Barry Bonds has more talent in his pinky that you do in your entire body, and that will always be the case, face it. Jealous?
P.S. since you obsess over homosexuality, it would not surprise me a bit to learn that you are a closet case yourself –fantasizing about it, and even sodomizing yourself while viewing sick porn. You know it’s true, sicko.
I won’t lie, I would sodomize myself If I could physically do so.