Great Baseball Moments: Barry Bonds Breaks Henry Aaron’s Home Run Record- #756: August 7, 2007.
There was so much controversy over Barry Bonds and performance enhancing drugs- and that fact that Bonds is such an unlikable guy- that his breaking the home run record of Henry Aaron didn’t received the news coverage that you’d expect out of such an event. Less than a million households watched Bonds pass Aaron, in 1974 14.9 million watched as Aaron passed Ruth. This would be Bonds final season he would end up with 762 home runs.
As far as the question- should Bonds- and Roger Clemens be in the Baseball Hall of Fame- of course. However you feed about PED’s- -those two were Hall of Famer players well before there were any hints that they were involved in taking PED’s. I think the problem both guys have – they are both hard to like guys. Even when Bonds played with my Pirates at the start of his career- I certainly enjoyed watching him play- but he came across as a jerk. Having said that- I’ve been watching baseball for 55 years- and he is the best player I’ve watched in their prime.
August 7, 2007 at AT&T Park in San Francisco- bottom of the 5th, one out- Washington Nationals pitcher is Bacsik.
slicethelife 
I did hate to see Aaron’s record broken like that. I totally agree he would have been in the Hall of Fame with or without help…He was one of the greats and that made it more baffling why he may have gone there. Do you think he would have hit the number of home runs he did without help?
I just can’t see him at 39 hitting 45 home runs without help…I could be wrong. Yes, he was a great player and he should be in because the playing field was littered with PEDs but he had the talent to do more than the rest.
I think the biggest reason he is not in is because of yes…the jerk moments and he broke important records…but again yes he should be in because he was doing what a lot of players were doing.
That 73 home run year really sticks out- his next highest 49… also an odd stat for a guy with the most home runs- led the league only twice in the category.
Yes it is…just being that old and doing what he was doing…his OBP was astronomical.
I’m with you on the Hall of Fame. I wasn’t always that way but a few years ago I did realize…they would have gotten in anyway without the PEDs. If they were the only ones doing it…that would have been different but they were playing with the rules that everyone else had and the lack of rules and enforcement…so why not?
I also think in that era- we will never know really who was or who wasn’t. I am sure there are guys in the HOF right now who were- but didn’t have seasons that gave notice.
I would bet yes…there are….two come to mind right away who would be possible. One a former Dodger and one a great lead off hitter…but we will never know.
It looks like the Dodgers were eating their Wheaties — 22-1… yikes.
Yea…one night they can’t hit lol and tonight they play homerun derby.
the poor D-Backs- they are not only bad- but are stuck in the best division in baseball- having to play the Dodgers- Giants and Padres again and again…
Yea…I knew they wouldn’t contend but I didn’t know it would be this bad for them.
When the season began i thought one of four teams would be the WORST- the Pirates/ Rockies/ Orioles or Tigers. I don’t think I even thought of Arizona. Again, I didn’t see them finishing above .500 or anything but didn’t think they’d be this awful.
Me either…I thought they would be competitive anyway. They were building something there I thought.
I can’t believe we’ve about reached the all-star break without any managers getting fired.
That is odd. Boone and Cashman can’t feel too secure right now…
especially after Steinbrenner gave them the ‘vote of confidence’– I figure some of those teams that are really bad- figured to be bad so teams are like– the manager isn’t the problem- example the Pirates- who knows if Shelton can manage or not- he has little to work with- changing managers would be a pointless exercise. ..
Yea…the Yankees have talent…now I knew their starting pitching was suspect but I didn’t expect this! I don’t see them turning this around either…they have the time so we will see.
For the rebuilding teams…there would not be any good coming out of getting rid of the manager I agree.
The one thing those great Yankee teams had in the late 90’s- early 00’s- the core of the team came through their farm system.. they haven’t had that since. I don’t see them turning it around either- but I figure they will continue- to trade their prospects for the here and now…. that trade they made in the off-season with the Pirates so far is looking great for the Pirates- this young kid Contraras who came in the deal isn’t being challenged in AA [ a pitcher] – I am hoping the Pirates can cash in on Frazier’s outstanding season. He’s a valuable chip right now.
Ron…that is exactly what I tell people…about the core…that is what was different about them and those 80s store bought teams. Gene MIchael did that didn’t he? George would have traded some if it was up to him. Wasn’t George not allowed to have anything to do with the team during that time?
Yep….trade him when his value is high.
Yes when Micheal built that team- The Boss had been silenced- if he hadn’t been I have no doubt those guys would have been traded for established players. They Yankees won with the farm system-and then of course adding some necessary parts– it works that way- like your Dodgers have done- they’ve won because of their farm system and then adding a piece here or there… the Yankees once again- just too impatient to wait. They want to win EVERY SEASON- so they end up what once now in 20 years..
Bernie Williams probably would have been traded no doubt…heck in the late seventies George was going to trade Ron Guidry away and someone finally talked him out of it.
Yes it’s hard to buy a team and have them win…not impossible but almost. The one I think of the most is the Florida Marlins in what…97? It is rare though.
I wonder somewhere down the road- will Cashman make the Hall of Fame as an executive- when the honor should really go to Michael?
He probably will.
You know I don’t understand Cashman. He was supposedly into the numbers and the new metrics but he doesn’t act like it. I’m not a Cashman fan and I don’t know of any team that would hire him if he became free…but do you think that the front office pushes for star players? How much is him and how much is the front office?
I would have thought that- towards the end of The Boss’s life- he wasn’t a well man-and from that time on you’d think Cashman would have more control over things but I really don’t know how they are doing things. Steinbrenner’s boy doesn’t make the headlines like his old man did- and doesn’t seem to be the blowhard either….they have all the resources and I don’t mean just to buy players but to run an organization- I agree- Cashman has survived on the success of what happened 20 years ago. … and Michael- also saved the legacy at least to a lot of Yankee fans of The Boss- he was at a low point when Michael saved his butt– he died a Yankee hero to many Yankee fans [The Boss that is due to the dynasty of the 90’s- without that…. he was a blowhard who spent billions and couldn’t win after the early 80s..]
I never thought of it that way about George but you are right. Without that success at that time he would have been more remembered for the 80s failures more than the 2 seventies successes.
Like I said…I can’t see any team hiring Cashman if he became free…no one. Some of their deals are head scratchers…the Stanton deal was to me…they had the same player in Judge…a younger version but with Stanton you knew he was going to get hurt…you just knew.
I don’t know why they always feel they have to make the big splash- with a big name. Stanton was hurt a lot in Florida like you said- that hasn’t changed… I agree I think Cashman is a Yankee- and if he is replaced it would probably be a kicked upstairs kind of move- no one else is going to look at him and think he can come to us- and do more with less than he had in NY…
I totally agree just a title job. Stanton had red flags all over him and everyone could see it.
I agree with you… he was a fine player without help, but I don’t know if he would have been HOF worthy… I don’t think he would have hit 40 let alone 73 homers a year without those steroids (might have stolen a lot more bases mind you). But his surly nature has really worked against him, as his constant denial of taking those PEDS even when he tested positive. If he’d been a bit nicer to fans and reporters in the day and said “mea culpa – I took them because I wanted to be best for my team and others did the same” all would have been forgiven. As it is, I think Alex Rodriguez might get in long before Bonds.
Bonds had won 3 MVP Awards and led the league with 46 home runs- before steroids. He was the best player in baseball- before steroids.
Hard to know that because it’s hard to know when he began using them. But I looked over his numbers and see he was a better player early on in his career than I thought. Makes it all the more regrettable his career is thus tainted. It’s all a bit murky… what seems way out of whack though is his 21st Century performance, when he was 36 and older… from 2000-2005, he was getting a HR at least once every 10 at bats (about one every 6.5 in 2001) compared to only one in 15 AB in first half of ’90s, and even less than that in ’80s. Obviously , some of the improvement could come from better knowledge of pitchers and better plate discipline but not to that extent, especially not when coupled with such changes to his physique. Reuters suggest a 10% increase in a male’s muscle would result in about a 50% increase in home run hitting strength… and on a 200 pound dude, that would be about 8 pounds more. Bonds put on almost 40 around the end of ’90s-early 2000s. Again, some of that might be from working out more, eating more protein etc, but unlikely it was the main reason. That said, to be the Devil’s Advocate, other guys were doing the same and weren’t getting Barry Bonds-type stats or being walked over 200 times a year – so he had something special.