I admired Hank Aaron greatly as a fine all around ballplayer – not the best of his era – but he hit 755 HRs in 12,364 At Bats. Ruth’s 714 was accomplished in 8,398 with a dead ball and fences far beyond those of today.
Yes, pitchers have more weapons today, but the Homerun of today is what Complete Games were in Ruth’s Era – much more common place.

Bonds is a cheater and should always be looked upon with suspicion, even he’s not the only one on steriods and HGH.

ARod’s eventual title as “HomeRun King” should be weighed with the Era that he plays in, where pitching mounds have been lowered, balls are livelier, bats are designed for speed and distance, fences are shorter, and utility players are capable of hitting 30 Hrs a year!

Here’s a quote you can use from a Californian that lives about 80 miles from SF:

“BARRY BONDS IS A FRAUD. Alex Rodriguez is the real deal.”

Barry Bonds is the worst thing to happen to baseball because of his steroids use. How idiotic can a future hall of famer (yes, before the roid use and sadly, still so after) be to start juicing when his career was already acknowledged as arguably the best of his era as a hitter?

Unbelieveable.

Perhaps he’ll pull an Agassi and become a beloved elder statesman, but I’d be surprised.

When he was down last season he accepted he wasn’t using his talent at the bat. To take time and work as hard has he has with Kevin Long, I think it showed he was really serious an really wanted to better himself also worrying about the team instead of the focus on himself. I loved the way he gave all the credit to Kevin for helping him. It shows with he and the others who had trouble hitting.

Being a Yankee is a plus.

Yankees have a history of legendary players. What better team could you use to add your name next to the great Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron than a Yankee.

I hope he does hit his mark in history but I certainly hope he does it as a Yankee. If he’s thinking right being a Yankee is a plus for him. If he ever decides to leave I’ll still root for him because he wore the Yankee pinstripes.
I’m rooting for him to get there.

Regarding Bonds, I agree with KurticusMaximus that he is a tragic figure rather than a classic bad guy. Maybe he’s mean to journalists but I don’t have any other information on his interpersonal skills. I do know that McGwire was seen as a great white hope the year he broke the season home run record. (Sosa was the smiling Latino “good” minority who had the good grace to lose the race.) It’s my impression that rumors of steroid use by members of the Oakland teams were already in circulation. The fact that Bonds is now reviled doesn’t quite calculate for me. Murray Chass is right that he is a Black man breaking another Black man’s record, but the comparison should be to McGwire who was treated so well by the fans and the press in his big year.

Regarding A-Rod, I think he is the first post-therapeutic superstar in baseball and that has caused him some problems. It’s a two-way thing with him, fans didn’t like something about the way he spoke and carried himself and his performance seemed to suffer when he was feeling mentally uncomfortable in his first few years with the Yankees. His comfort level and the fans comfort level with him has been growing this season and that has shown in both his performance on the field and their cheers for him in and out of New York. With A-Rod the equation is a little more complex because of his mental make-up and it is mutually reinforcing and multi-factorial. The fact that he will break Bonds record will only contribute to his mental comfort and the fans response to him.

They may be looked upon in 20 years as a way to live longer and healthier. If so, how do we treat guys like McGwire, Sosa, Giambi and Bonds then.