No

by B. B. James

Created on: January 12, 2010

Barry Bonds hit 762 home runs in his illustrious major league career.  Nobody has hit more - yet.  But many people want to deny recognition of the home run record to Bonds because he used steroids and, possibly, other performance-enhancin g drugs during the second half of his career. 

I believe that Bonds' record should stand, and it should be listed in baseball's official records without any type of footnote.  While Bonds is hardly a sympathetic figure (he is an arrogant, obnoxious philanderer and malcontent), he broke Hank Aaron's home run record while abiding by the rules of baseball that existed during his playing career.  There is no suggestion that Bonds did anything that was outside the boundaries of the sport at the time.  The fact that the rules have been changed should not invalidate his performance retroactively.

Let's start with an admission: Bonds did use steroids.  Although he has denied it, the evidence against him is overwhelming.  Bonds' denials are stupid and self-defeating, and it's certain that he will admit the truth at some point.  Defense of his records does not have to stand on the spurious claim that he did not use steroids.

But now let's look at the rest of the facts.  First, steroids were not illegal when Bonds was playing.  Baseball should have banned steroids, but it didn't.  Whether the fault lies with the owners or with the players' union (or both), the fact is that baseball did not have a policy in place that penalized players who used steroids until 2005.  From 2002-2005, players were occasionally tested for steroids, but the penalty for a first offense was counseling and treatment.  Prior to 2002, there was no real policy at all.

So, using steroid allegations to void Bonds' marks would necessitate showing that he used steroids after 2005, when the league had a reasonably strong policy against them.  That's never been shown nor even alleged against Bonds. 

The other accusation is that he switched to even more advanced drugs in about 2005 when the steroid ban went into effect.  This relates to evidence seized from California drug lab Balco.  However, once again, baseball was not banning any substances that Bonds is alleged to have used.  So why should he be penalized?

Those are the fact-based objections to sanctioning Bonds.  The other objections are more subjective, but they carry weight, too:

1. Other players were unquestionably using steroids.  They were caught or admitted it.  Nobody is suggesting that their records be voided (i.e., Mark McGwire's home run titles or Ken Caminiti's Most Valuable Player Award selection).  Why single-out Bonds?

2. You can't erase the records.  It's been said that baseball statistics are like an accounting balance sheet in that everything must match.  So if you wipe out Bonds' home runs, then you have to eliminate the home run that a pitcher gave up against him.  And you have to wipe out the runs for his team, or the run scored by players who were on base in front of him.  And so on.  It's an endless cycle that quickly becomes silly.

3. Where does the penalty start, and where does it end?  Since we don't know what he was using nor when he was using it, which home runs do we eliminate?  Which seasons or parts of seasons?  What about his singles or doubles or triples?  Or his outs?  Why just subtract his home runs?

4. What does stripping him of the record mean?  The books could list Hank Aaron and his 755 home runs at the top, or would they still list Bonds, but add a footnote?  What would the footnote say - "Suspected of using legal but morally suspect substances during the years he hit some of those home runs."

5. He isn't going to hold the record for very long.  Two active major leaguers have very legitimate chances of breaking the record that Bonds now holds.  Both Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols are on a pace to hit 800 homers.  So Bonds might hold the record, but he might not hold it for very long anyway.  Of course, Rodriguez is an admitted steroid user, so we can start the argument all over again.

6. What's the difference between steroids and protein shakes or advanced nutrition supplements?  How about steroids and advanced elbow surgery or Lasik for better vision?  All of those things enhance performance.  All are legal except steroids.  But none were available to Hank Aaron or Babe Ruth.  So what's a fair advantage, and what isn't?  Bonds played in an era when certain things provided an advantage, and he shouldn't be penalized for using those advantages.  After all, Babe Ruth never had to play against black players in the majors, nor Hispanic players.  In other words, was he playing against the best possible competition in the way that Bonds did?

In short, Barry Bonds broke baseball's all-time home run record within the rules as they existed during his playing career.  His noxious personality and the weakness of baseball's rules at the time should not be used as a reason to deny him recognition for his on-field achievements.

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