10 Reasons Why Bonds HR "Record" Is Ho-Hum

From our point of view, here are 10 reasons why Barry Bonds home run "record" doesn't mean a whole lot to us.

First and foremost, unless Alex Rodriguez gets hit by a truck or shot by a jealous spouse, Bonds isn't likely to hold the record all that long.

Second, for any Dodgers fan, Bonds is, ugh, a Giant.

Third, Bonds, with or without steroids or any other supplements, isn't a very nice person, probably the most disliked in the sport since Ty Cobb or Rogers Hornsby, both thoroughly disliked for their peers.

Fourth, the sport itself has (over)expanded while other sports have at least caught up with baseball with the result the number of big league caliber pitchers is in short supply - meaning a home run just ain't what it used to be.

Fifth, the players are pampered, have nicer travel arrangements, play in nicer parks, paid enough to keep in shape (legal or otherwise) all  year round. There's more in it for them as opposed to a Jimmy Foxx or Ralph Kiner who had to find a job in the off-season.

Sixth, Gary Sheffield was right when he said or at least intimated that there were at least two Barry Bonds, first the slim, slender player then the overmuscled one.

Seventh, it isn't so much that Bonds is in his early 40s, it's that so many of his home runs came off pitchers in their 40s. Those are softball statistics and ought to be labeled as such.

Eighth, Bonds should never have gotten this far if justice were swifter than a snail's pace or baseball had a commissioner with any courage. Or at least they wouldn't have come in the big leagues.

Ninth, if they all were real home runs hit by a player playing and competing on the up and up, Hank Aaron would be (or would have been) there to see it. And that says something doesn't it?

And finally tenth, the temporary record will belong to Barry Bonds who is not a very nice person and a Giant to boot. Well yes, we have already said that, but it is worth repeating.