Buying Bonds

Barry Bonds now holds the all-time record for career home runs. On Tuesday, he hit career home run 756, putting himself ahead of the previous record holder Hank Aaron.

Full article on the historic at bat.

Many people are going to claim that this record is now tainted, that it needs an asterisk. They believe that steroid use is what enabled Bonds to hit so many home runs, so his total is not legitimate. But this is not something to be upset with Bonds about. Rather, our dissatisfaction should be directed at Bud Selig and Major League Baseball. It is solely their fault that Bonds is suspected of using steroids. It is their fault we can't prove that either yes he did use, or no he didn't use. If the League had tested for steroids in the '90s, then there would be no questions, but they turned a blind eye to the issue of steroids because the sudden surge in home runs was bringing back the popularity that baseball had lost during the strike. Sure, you can get upset with Bonds for possibly cheating. But is it really cheating when the League doesn't care?

Whether or not we should celebrate Bonds' achievement is debatable. One thing that is not, however, is the fact that it now sucks to be Mike Bacsik.