by Timothy Williams

Created on: August 03, 2010

We do not need erasers to clean up our record books.  We do not need asterisks.  Footnotes are not necessary.  All we need is a little bit of context. 

Context will remind us that Barry Bonds was a talented ballplayer and one of the best of his era, but appeared in only one World Series and appeared disinterested in the fate of his team.  Context will remind us that Bonds' home runs came in an era where home runs were cheaper and more plentiful than ever before or, thus far, since.  Context will suggest that Barry Bonds, while not particularly criminal or violent, was not a favorite around clubhouses. 

Those home runs-every single one of them-happened.  Whether we think they were ill-gotten, cheap, even stolen, they all came off his bat and went over those fences.  We can't simply hit "delete" and expect it to go away.  Besides, think of the moment that matters the most in any sporting achievement:  the moment it  happens.  Along with the financial benefits and the ring, what players seem to want most of all is that celebration right after the title has been won.  We can take away Reggie Bush's national championship, but we don't get to find out how life would have been different if USC had never broken any rules.  No matter what the NCAA record book says, we're going to know what happened during Pete Carroll's tenure in Southern California.  Maybe they don't get to hang the banner, but they certainly don't have to give any of their money back either.  Likewise, Barry Bonds got to trot around the bases after hitting his 756th Major League home run, beating Hank Aaron as the all time home run leader.  We can reverse that, but he still got to make that trot and still got to have his celebration.  Those of us who didn't like it don't get  to not have felt upset that night. 

Still, we knew then what we know now:  Barry Bonds was NOT the home run king.  He just hit more home runs than anybody else.  He has the record, but that's where context comes in. 

Let's compare it to another form of entertainment for a moment.  Does the most well-liked film win Best Picture every year?  No.  Does the film that wins Best Picture end up with the highest box office numbers of the year?  Almost never.  Does the most talked-about movie of the year take either Best Picture or the top spot at the box office?  Surprisingly, not

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