SPORTS TALK:
Aaron’s words reflect frustration with the game
It is without doubt the most cherished record in all of sports. More heralded than touchdown records, more loved than a hockey goals scored record, even more adulated than Wilt the Stilt’s famed 100 point record.
A home run is perhaps the most exciting play in sports. It makes fans go wild and changes the game in an instant.
Hank Aaron knew a thing or two about hitting the long ball. After all, Hammerin’ Hank belted 755 four-baggers in his illustrious career.
The holder of the sport’s most prized record, though, has decided he won’t be present when Barry Bonds breaks his career home run record.
“Uh-uh. No, no. I am not going to be around,” Aaron told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
“Again, it has nothing to do with anybody, other than I had enough of it. I don’t want to be around that sort of thing anymore. I just want to be at peace with myself. I don’t want to answer questions. It’s going to be a no-win situation for me anyway. If I go, people are going to say, ‘Well, he went because of this.’ If I don’t go, they’ll say whatever. I’ll just let them make their own mind up.”
Aaron’s quotes came from an article by Constitution columnist Terence Moore.
Despite the fact that Aaron says his not wanting to be in attendance for Bond’s record-breaking home run doesn’t have anything to do with anyone, it is clear there is frustration in how the home run records are falling.
And in all honesty, why shouldn’t there be?
It was said during McGwire and Sosa’ s home run summer of ‘98 that there should be an asterisk put by their names because of their use of performance-enhancing drugs. I say there should be an asterisk on this entire era of records.
Anyone who believes with any sort of conviction that Barry Bonds has not taken steroids in his career is in obvious need mental evaluation, so why the obsession over this record.
I used to play Scrabble with my grandmother all the time as a kid. No matter how hard I tried and no matter how much my vocabulary improved, I still could not beat my grandmother, who, in my defense might just have been the best Scrabble-playing grandma around.
Had I wanted to though, I, as the scorekeeper could have tried to manipulate the score in my favor at some point to gain that elusive victory over my ubeatable grandmother. I knew though, that the prize of that victory would be less satisfactory than even a hard fought loss.
I am pretty sure though, that Barry Bonds would have no qualms about trying to beat my grandmother by any means necessary.
Ok, so perhaps my Scrabble games with my grandma don’t hold a candle to the chase for sports’ grandest record, but the basic premise remains the same.
What joy is there in breaking a record that does not come exclusively from an athlete’s own merit?
There is no doubt that Bonds is a great baseball player, he was hitting home runs even as skinny Barry in his days with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but there is no way to tell how many of the home runs that he has belted out of the park were helped by his steroid use.
Aaron said he would not be in attendance even if Bonds had a chance to break the record during a series against the Braves in Atlanta, Aug. 14-16.
“I would probably fly to West Palm Beach to play golf,” Aaron told Moore.
As an avid baseball fan, I try to catch as many games as I can during the season, but I echo Mr. Aaron’s sentiment in saying that if Barry Bonds is near the record when the Diamondbacks host the Giants Sept. 17-19, I would rather head to the Sunshine State to hit the links with Hammerin’ Hank then stay here and watch a historic record fall to an undeserving player.
I love the new era of baseball. Players are faster and stronger and the game is just more exciting to watch. With that said though, there has to be an appreciation for what the history of the game means.
I want someone to break Aaron’s record, as all records are meant to fall, but there is just no excitement in watching a record be broken by the bad guy.
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Nick Kosmider