Home Run King?
· Aug 8, 09:52 AM
The crowd leaned forward with anticipation as he stepped up to the plate. He was about to break the all-time home run record that had stood for years. Some want him to fail. Some don't care. As he felt the familiar CRRRACK!, he knew it. He knew he had made history.Reading the above, you might think I'm talking about what took place last night in San Francisco. Yes, last night, Barry Bonds hit home run number 756 to break the record. But that opening narrative was not about Barry Bonds. It was about Hank Aaron. See, not many today remember this, but Hank Aaron's race for number 715 was tainted by controversy as well. At the time, Baseball was an establishment not quite ready to accept black players as superstars. To all the bigots, it was some boy trying to one up a white hero, Babe Ruth. In fact, Hank had to deal with hate mail and even death threats from racist fans who thought a black man was not worthy of breaking the record. Now though? Hank Aaron is considered by many baseball fans as the greatest hitter to play the game. As to the controversy surrounding Bonds "accomplishment," it's not something as stupid as racism or bigotry. It's the fact that Bonds is a cheater. A no good, low down, lying cheat. Oh, he's not the only one to blame. You have to blame baseball itself for being slow to institute rules regarding "performance enhancing drugs." But, he is still a cheater. In my book, Hank and the Babe are my home run kings.
Labels: barry bonds, baseball, cheaters, grrr, home run, sports