It's done, it's over. Alex Rodriguez will probably break it.
I think he will. I really don't like him but at least there doesn't appear to be any enhancements except lucky body and hard work.
It's done, it's over. Alex Rodriguez will probably break it.
The question really is who played less games to get to 755
A-Rod will be the HR record Saviour.I think he will. I really don't like him but at least there doesn't appear to be any enhancements except lucky body and hard work.
Bonds ~10K and Hank was ~12K
I'll bet Barry Bonds was pumped after hitting number 756...and juiced too!
Personally, I think all of this talk about Barry Bonds tainting the game, etc., is a load of crap spewed by knee-jerking, holier than thou hypocrites. Steroids are supplements meant to increase the capacity of the body to perform. Aren't there other supplements that people take to increase strength, stamina, etc? Why aren't they banned as well? Answer: because people have jumped on this steroid bandwagon like lemmings to the cliff.
Records can never be matched up generationally because the times are radically different. In Babe Ruth's time, teams traveled by train, bus and car. Nowadays, the teams travel for the most part by the air. This gives a distinct advantage as it's less wear and tear on the body. The bats were processed in different fashion as were the balls. It's much like golf, where the players in the 30's couldn't hit 300 yard drives like they do today. Why? For the most part because of the equipment, but also because of the training of the players.
My question is this: Why are supplements like steroids banned from "professional" sports. As stated above, we're never going to be back in the days of Ruth, Gehrig, etc. If you're going to ban steroids, what else should be banned? How about Lasik? That procedure gives a distinct advantage to the hitter and there's no way that it can be argued that a Lasik procedure is natural. How about the weight machines that target specific portions of the body to increase their muscle awareness, etc. Should they be banned as well? Should players be limited to lifting natural objects that they find in nature like rocks, cows, etc.? Even if you go back to the days of Ruth, speed, bennies, etc., were common place and used by countless players. Do we taint their records as well?
Anyways, I think the whole steroid controversy is a waste of time. Sports enthusiasts that argue that the purity of the game has been tainted simply don't get it. As time marches on, advances march on as well. If they didn't ... kick the can would be an olympic event.
The bottom line answer is that steroids ARE illegal and procedures like LASIK (which most batters avoid) are not. The question comes down to are you allowed to use a substance that is banned because you do not approve of the ban and did bonds do that.
I do agree with the statement that if Bonds did use the (and I think he did) that he was not alone and that baseball could not have been blind to the practice. In that sense the sportasa whole shares the blame for the fact that the record that it has told us for years is so sacred is now questioned.
The allegations concern using a substance that is banned by the sport not a substance that is necessarily illegal. those are separate questions. I understand that you---and likely those that may have chosen to sue the substance do not like the ban. But do players have the right to decide on their own whether to accept the bans?
and remember, THG wasn't banned until March 2004 and players weren't tested for steroids until Spring of 2003.