As I said in my own LJ, unless people want to try erasing the entire last twenty years from the baseball records -- all of them, not just those set by Bonds -- bleating about individuals' drug usage is pointless. Even if you assume for the sake of argument that Bonds was enhanced in some way (it's possible, and circumstantial evidence is there, but it's not proven), he was playing against other people (including pitchers) who were almost certainly also enhanced. That's about as level as the playing field is going to get. I don't condone use of performance-enhancing drugs, but I also don't see how you can unbake a cake, and that's what people wanting to flag Bonds' records or ignore them entirely are trying to do.
But of course, people were griping and complaining about Aaron breaking Ruth's record -- doubtless they included the fact that the seasons were longer, just like the metaphorical asterisk on Roger Maris' record. I don't expect Bonds' new record to last forever (unlike DiMaggio's consecutive-game hitting streak, which seems insurmountable to me), and I expect that there will be complaints when someone passes Bonds, too.
...and as gridlore reminded me this morning before I left for work, Ruth should get an asterisk because all of his HRs were logged in the days before the ground-rule double. Nobody knows how many of his "homers" actually bounced over the wall, because nobody recorded those stats, because it wasn't relevant to the game as it was played in those days.
Ruth might also get an asterisk for not being able to play against the best pitchers of all races, as when he played, racial integration had not happened yet.
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But of course, people were griping and complaining about Aaron breaking Ruth's record -- doubtless they included the fact that the seasons were longer, just like the metaphorical asterisk on Roger Maris' record. I don't expect Bonds' new record to last forever (unlike DiMaggio's consecutive-game hitting streak, which seems insurmountable to me), and I expect that there will be complaints when someone passes Bonds, too.
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