So Bonds has finally tied Babe. It was inevitable that someone would eventually, I suppose. But Bonds has done so in part with the help of performance enhancing substances. I don't think that can be denied. Say it's alleged, say it hasn't been proven, say whatever you want in Barry's defense. But the cold, hard truth is this: Bonds has not brought any legal action against the writers of the book detailing his steroid use. Nor has anyone who Jose Canseco named in his book. Any person whose name was associated with something like that and are innocent would be suing like there's no tomorrow. Face it. And since he did admit to using the 'clear' and the 'cream' in grand jury testimony, I don't think there's any doubting the fact.

Having said that, the Bonds steroid issue is not what I meant to address here. Rather, records were made to be broken. At the same time, I've always been of the belief that you can't compare athletes or teams from different eras. Instead, one has to look at what an athlete or team did compared to their contemporaries. This blog addresses this subject-Bonds is nowhere near the player Ruth was. Ruth was not only a stellar pitcher before he was moved to the outfield to get his bat in the lineup every day, but he didn't just break records. He destroyed them, annihilated them. Bonds numbers came in an era when home runs were much more commonplace than they were when Ruth played. I believe the single season home run record when Ruth came along was less than 15. He hit 60. The career HR mark? Around 100. Ruth is in a select group of athletes who redefined the game they played. (Incidentally, Ruth's lifetime batting average was .342. A slugger, yes, but perhaps the greatest offensive machine the game has known.) Players who did something so far above and beyond what had been done to that point that it was staggering. Wayne Gretzky, Wilt Chamberlain, and Jim Brown, among others (possibly) also fall into this category.

Barry can have his record. I frankly don't care. Baseball lost me as a passionate fan during their last strike in '94. I went from being a baseball junkie to one who was too hurt for the last time by what the owners and players had done to the game to feel any real attachment to it.

Hopefully all of this controversy regarding Bonds will play itself out and the truth will be known. But MLB is responsible for this whole mess, and now they are reaping what they have sown.

Thanks for taking the time to read.