It’s inevitable. At some point in the very near future Barry Bonds is going to break Hank Aaron’s home run record; that is unless the media convinces the pitching staffs from all the other teams to intentionally walk him every time he comes to bat from now until he dies with bat in hand in the on deck circle. Sadly, that’s not as far fetched as it may seem. I mean, I’ve seen some righteous indignation in my day, but nothing to date comes close to the way the media is handling the idea of “steroid freak” Barry Bonds becoming the new home run king. They’re aghast, to say the least; drunk with self-righteousness. Over the past few months (and it continues without slowing up) through columns, TV, radio, blogs (sometimes by people who barely know what baseball is) we’ve had to listen to “sermons” on why Bonds hitting number 756 is bad for baseball…and for America. It’s like they put the John Saunders speech directly following the November 2004 Pistons-Pacers brawl on repeat. Same message, different context.

Now, I haven’t even come out with it yet, but I reckon 90% of you are already screaming foul at the notion of me not jumping on the judgmental bandwagon. Well, here it is; I am writing this blog in defense of Barry Bonds and in defense of his ensuing record. I know, I know…look, I know. Hey! I KNOW, OK! Before you freak out, though, hear me out…please? Put your stones back in your knapsack, set your gavel down, and take off your black robe for just a minute. Deal? (I’ll tell you one thing. It’s a good thing that pretty much nobody reads this blog, otherwise I’d have a lot of hate mail to go through after this one. Lucky me…hmmm).

Let me start by making two points. Number one, I realize that Bonds has taken steroids. No, nothing’s been proven, but I’m not retarded. The 2007 version of Barry Bonds could easily eat the young rookie from roughly two decades ago. When a man’s head is three times larger than it used to be, you assume that he’s taking more than a multivitamin; I’m aware of that. Number two, I also understand that Barry has never been mistaken for Mr. Congeniality. He’s not quite Ryan Leaf, but he’s not exactly Sean Casey aka “The Mayor” either (if you watched the playoffs last year, the media was constantly gushing over how nice a guy Casey is. They were even making classically unsubstantiated statements that only the media can make like, “there’s not a nicer guy in the whole league…that much I know for sure.” Another example of such claims include comments from the 2007 NCAA tourney such as “Tyler Hansbrough is the hardest working player in college basketball…period, there is no one close” {this, of course, does not take into account that there might be some 5 foot 4 inch, slow-footed, can’t shoot, can’t dribble, can’t defend his own shadow, half-witted nimrod playing NAIA Division XII only because he’s the coaches son that could out work Hansbrough 24/7/365…but that’s beside the point}. The point is, even as quickly as the media will fall in love with a player or players {see Joe Theismann’s constant need for a cold dousing of water during the Manning-Brady showdown on Sunday night last season}, they have never once seemed to be smitten with Bonds…and {hold your horses folks, I’m about to agree with the media} that’s understandable).

However, all that being said, there are a couple realities that can’t be ignored.

1. Major League Baseball did not ban performing-enhancing substances until after the 2002 season. I’m not one to condone or promote steroid use, but the truth of the matter is that when Bonds hit his 73 homers in 2001, he could have been foaming at the mouth with blood shot eyes and hair growing out of his palms; he could have been reduced to a grunting, home-run-hitting gorilla because of the roids, and he still would have been within the realm of the law. I know that no one likes to admit this, but it’s true. In fact, since baseball didn’t ban performing-enhancing substances, as a player you were almost stupid to not take some (ignoring moral implications for example sake)! You were creating a disadvantage right off the bat (no pun intended) for yourself by avoiding the roids. For real! It be like being told it’s ok to use a metal bat and still choosing to use a wooden one. Look, there are obviously far-reaching negative effects of steroid use, but in an arena as competitive as professional sports, athletes are going to do whatever they can to get ahead. Unfortunately, because of baseball’s ignorance on the issue, prior to 2002 (and probably still today) the use of performing-enhancing drugs was the norm not the exception. This brings me to my next point.
2. Everyone was doing it! Ever heard that before? Think back to the “don’t succumb to peer-pressure” talks you heard during your teen years. “Everybody’s doing it!” Well, everybody was doing it. I remember reading the interview with Victor Conte from BALCO when a lot of the steroid scandals started to really gain public exposure. He basically stated that to not use performing-enhancing drugs was the same as to not even start at ground zero. In other words, before talent, before skill, before work-ethic, before all that is even factored in, if you didn’t use some kind of steroid like substance you were already behind the 8-ball! Do I think that’s good? No. I say that, though, to say this. If everyone was doing it, then everyone was basically on an even plane (albeit a higher one than years ago. It’s also worth noting, that includes pitchers…a phenomenon that is altogether ignored in light of the hitting surge of the last decade). Barry Bonds just happened to be a better player while using steroids than everyone else was. The thing that everyone forgets too, is that Bonds was dang near better than everyone else before the steroid era as well! If Bonds never takes a steroid in his life; if he remained skinny bonds, pre-1998 Bonds forever, he is still a hall-of-famer and one of the greatest hitters of all time.

This is why, in addition to the absolute impracticality and impossibility of doing so, I don’t support putting an asterisk next to Bond’s home run record, whether on paper or even just mentally. If you don’t consider Barry’s 2001 season or his home run record valid because of the assumed use of performance-enhancing substances, then you have also consider bogus the 13 home run season of such-and-such no name player from 2001 who used steroids too, but simply isn’t as good a hitter as Bonds. There are too many unknowns out there, in my opinion, to justify ignoring Bonds accomplishments as a player…let alone to justify a witch hunt on any level. What’s done is done; you enforce the law from now on because that’s all that can be done.

Here’s the bottom line. Did Barry Bonds use steroids? No doubt. Did it probably help his game? I’m sure it did. I’m also sure of this, though; there were countless other players who used steroids who didn’t hit 73 home runs in a season and will never come close to 754+ in a lifetime. Therefore, I for one plan on giving Barry his due credit when he breaks the record. Do I like the man? Do I think he’s a nice guy? No and no, but the home run record never specified that you had to be a media darling or a stand up guy…just an unbelievable hitter. That…Bonds is, and that is why I’ll take my hat off (or as Scottie Pippen once said, “I’ll take my hands off”) and congratulate him when he belts number 755, 756, and every home run from that point on. I just hope that at least a few members of the media will get down off of their high horse of self-righteousness and do the same.