New Home Run Champ

August 7, 2007 in San Francisco, CA, Barry Bonds passed Hank Aaron's Career home run mark. I realize that unless you're a Giant fan, like I am, this is a "tainted mark." The reality is, this mark needs to be seen in its context and history will have to decide. Roger Maris' mark was "tainted" because he had a 162 game season rather than a 154 game season like Ruth. But unlike Ruth, Maris had to play in an integrated league. What if Josh Gibson had been playing or Satchel Paige was pitching? You see, there are lots of variables that are hard to account for.

So, being a Giant fan, I will celebrate this mark, knowing that if he stays healthy Alex Rodriguez will likely pass up this mark within the next 7 to 10 years. Baseball is an interesting sport -- it is a team sport that focuses more than any other team sport on individual statistics.

Did Bonds used performance enhancing drugs -- I'm not naive enough to say he didn't. That he apparently claims to have done so unknowingly does stretch his credibility some. But everything we're going on is circumstantial or he would have been banned already.

One final word: Yes, in the Sports World this is big news -- but with Alberto Gonzalez, Dick Cheney, and crew doing their thing, this is really small potatoes! Whether you like Bonds or not, dwelling to much on it is a distraction from the big issues at hand.