by Harry Burlington

Created on: June 23, 2010   Last Updated: June 24, 2010

Barry Bonds has chosen to not come forth and admit to using steroids or any performance enhancing drug that powered him to 762 home runs and owning the all-time home run record.  In the United States we do not find one guilty until proved in a court of law, but guilty by perception may just be as bad.  The guilty by perception is Barry Bonds' fate until he either comes forth and admits to performance enhancing drug use and the all-time home run record is taken away or later in the future he passes away.  A great deal of debate will continue on as we have seemingly passed the MLB's "Steroid Era" and are now in the "Era of the Pitcher." 

I have a very difficult time trying not to think about Roger Maris or Babe Ruth and any performance enhancing drug use that was not detected or drug test technology was developed to screen all drugs and masking drugs.  How do we know they did not use amphetamines or steroids that were available during their respective era's?  As not to answer that question, because we will not know ever, we can only focus on what evidence we have today and apply that the actions taken against Barry Bonds all-time home run record.  We cannot prove those in the past used performance enhancers, so my opinion is to have Bond's record stripped and thrown away.  I also believe McGwire's home run records should be stripped as well and everything returned to Hank Aaron and Roger Maris records.

Bonds' went from a 190lbs man with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1993 to a 270lbs freak of power in little under five years and suspicion started to grow around 2002 about his body development.  He did hit home runs with Pittsburgh and they were long powerful home runs as well, but not as consistent and with such force until his rapid development from 1997 onward.  We, the fans, watched without a whole lot of suspicion until Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa put on their home run record breaking year in 1999.  Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire finally brought the use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs to its forefront in American perception. 

Parents and coaches of youth leagues, little league, and high school teams who once motivated kids to get "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" changed the methods of becoming "BSF."  As becoming "BSF," at any cost, may have once been the means to achieve results, the thought patterns changed to inspire the best performance without drugs.  Hopefully, the all-time home run record of 762 home runs will be stripped and Barry Bonds comes clean to finally using drugs and we can all move on and forget him.

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