For Bonds, it's all about Ruth, By: Pete Alfano
The magic number is two. That’s how many home runs Barry Bonds needs to tie Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time list with 714.
With three more homers, Bonds will have second place all to himself.
We know that Bonds has to pass Ruth before the discussion centers on whether he can catch Hank Aaron, the all-time home run champion with 755, but for most baseball fans, and maybe even Bonds himself, the magic number is 714.
“The only number I care about is Babe Ruth’s. Because as a left-handed hitter, I wiped him out,” Bonds said when he hit 73 home runs to set the single-season record, eclipsing the 70 hit by Mark McGwire and the 60 hit by Ruth in 1927.
“That’s it. And in the baseball world, Babe Ruth is everything, right? I got his slugging percentage,” Bonds added, “and I’ll take his home runs and that’s it. Don’t talk about him no more.”
Such is his obsession with Ruth that Bonds completely overlooks Roger Maris, another left-handed hitter who first broke Ruth’s record when he hit 61 home runs in 1961.
There is even speculation that Bonds might retire after this season and not stick around just to pass Aaron.
No, it’s all about Ruth, and how Bonds apparently resents the reverential status accorded the most famous baseball player of all time.
Some observers say that Bonds believes racism is a part of the equation, perhaps because Aaron - an African-American - was subjected to plenty of hate mail when he was closing in on Ruth’s career record.
Bonds has hinted that even the steroid witch hunt he is now being subjected to may be racially motivated.
Others say it is more about the fact that he may eventually hold both of baseball’s most sacred records, but the accomplishments will be tarnished because he cheated.
Certainly, McGwire - who is retired - was vilified when he refused to answer a direct question about his steroid use from a congressional committee investigating steroid use in baseball in the spring of 2005.
And no one gave Rafael Palmeiro the benefit of the doubt when he tested positive for steroids last season after he had pointed a finger at those committee members while saying he never used performance-enhancing drugs.
The first indication of how much steroid-era players will be held accountable for cheating will be seen this year when McGwire becomes eligible for the Hall of Fame. The baseball writers who vote in these matters are expected to deny McGwire the first time around, even though he never tested positive for steroids and openly admitted using Andro, a substance banned by other sports leagues but not baseball at the time.
Bonds’ paranoia will be fueled even more because commissioner Bud Selig has said that Major League Baseball will not honor the Giants outfielder when he passes Ruth. The rationale is that Aaron already did that, and holds the record.
Is Selig being petty? Or, is he on solid ground because there is good reason to suspect that Bonds has used performance-enhancing drugs?
Short of simply attaching an asterisk to all the accomplishments (hitting and pitching) of the past 15-20 years when steroid use was unchecked in baseball, the commissioner finds himself between a rock and a hard place.
Amphetamine use was reportedly rampant in the sport for even longer, and how do we begin to measure how much a player’s performance was enhanced by taking greenies? Baseball’s little helpers make it a lot easier to play a day game after a night game, and to get through the dog days.
Gaylord Perry admitted to doctoring the ball after he was voted into the Hall of Fame.
Should the writers consider a recall election?
Don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen.
No matter how many home runs Bonds hits, it won’t diminish Ruth’s achievements. Although it is foolhardy to compare athletes from completely different eras, the Monday Morning Quarterback consider the Bambino the best baseball player ever.
Why?
Not only because his home run totals were a quantum leap over what other players were doing between 1915 and 1930, but because Ruth had a career batting average of .340 and was just a flat-out terrific hitter.
What’s more, Ruth might have been a Hall of Famer if he had remained a pitcher. He was 94-46 with a 2.28 ERA and twice won more than 20 games.
Now, consider this: Ruth spent four full seasons at the beginning of his career as a pitcher. If he played the outfield then, and averaged only 25 home runs in those seasons (probably on the low side), he would have finished with well over 800 in his career.
Today’s players - juiced or not - could chase him ’till the cows come home and never catch that record.
So, let’s not get stuck on records.
On the other hand, whether or not you want to applaud him when he passes Ruth, remember than Bonds was well on his way to the Hall of Fame before steroids entered the picture.
Whatever recognition Bonds receives will not diminish Ruth’s impact on the game.
