Chicago Sports Inside and Out – The Chicago Sports Maven

I want to be perfectly clear — I do not like Barry Bonds, the person.  Enough has been chronicled on the character of Barry Lamar Bonds, in some cases he makes his own bed with his boorish, impish behavior, especially to the media.  But I will say this — I do respect Barry Bonds the baseball player, and I do respect the magnitude of his accomplishment tonight, hitting home run #756 in the 5th inning of tonight’s game vs. the Washington Nationals.  It was a 3-2 fastball from Nats left-hander Mike Bacsik that Bonds made history.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

I believe that Barry Bonds used steroids.  I believe that Barry Bonds knowingly used steroids and has played a game with the media, fans, and the game in general.  And these innuendos have cast a shadow on tonight’s historic event like no other milestone event in baseball history.  The home run record is perhaps the most beloved and revered record in all of baseball.  Greats like Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron have proudly, honestly, and distinctly held that record.  It is with these names that Barry Bonds will find his place in history.

One thing I would like to say about tonight’s event is that regardless of if Bonds used steroids, or if you like him personally or not, he had to actually swing the bat and hit those home runs.  Nobody gave those home runs to him, so he had to earn each and every one of those with his actions.  Regardless of whether steroids enhanced that swing or not, he did accomplish this feat on the field of play.  History will ultimately be the judge of what Barry Bonds accomplished tonight.  And besides, A-Rod is next on the list to potentially break Bonds record, just in case you feel you can’t accept anything that Barry Lamar Bonds accomplishes.