Well, It Finally Happened

Back in the days of baseball yore, if you lived in New York, you were a fan of one of three teams: the New York Yankees, the New York Giants, or the Brooklyn Dodgers. Then, in 1958, the Dodgers and Giants moved to California, preserving the Dodgers/Giants rivalry (one of the greatest in all of sports), while at the same time maintaining a tremendous dislike for the Yankees from afar (at least, from my point of view). And it seems that only Yankee fans like the Yankees these days (except, of course, for Alex Rodriguez).

Why the history lesson? Because history was made last night. Barry Bonds belted #756 into the stands at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Now, love him or hate him, you can't deny this achievement. Sure, you can talk about the whole Balco thing, or about his trainer being in jail, or the fact that he's been implicated in at least two books about steroid abuse. Sports show talking heads from Colin Cowherd (ESPN Radio) to Bob Costas (HBO Sports) "know" he uses or has used some form of steroids. Many people in this country think he should be given the Roger Maris treatment ("*"). Others think he doesn't deserve mention at all. I think the real controversy is not Barry Bonds, but the lack of respect he got on this special occasion.

Hey, I'm not crazy about him either, simply because of the fact that he is not the most receptive person when it comes to the press. I tried to justify it by thinking that his standoffish attitude was because he was focused on the game. That may be true, but for baseball fans outside San Francisco (and even some within San Francisco), he comes across as a jerk. And with all the press (both good and bad) about him this year, everyone got burned out. This, if you ask me, is why Bonds got dissed last night by the two people who should have been there: Bud Selig and Hank Aaron.

When Hank belted #715, breaking Babe Ruth's record, in 1974, at least Ruth had an excuse for not being there: he was dead. After Bonds toppled Hammerin' Hank, Hank offered his congratulations... via video! Months ago, he said he would not be there because of the Balco controversy, but he did send a video message that was taped about three weeks ago! I should note that "three weeks" is a guess, but a logical one, as Barry Bonds was still at 753 at that time.

As for Commissioner Bud Selig, he was nowhere to be seen. As a matter of fact, he was in San Diego, visiting with George Mitchell, the guy in charge of the MLB steroid investigation. How's that for irony? Oh, sure, Frank Robinson and some other muckety-muck baseball VP were there, but Selig wasn't. And his no-show last night only reaffirms my personal animosity toward him; he should've stepped down as Commissioner of Baseball after the 1994-95 strike, but that's just my opinion.

Look, love him or hate him, Barry Bonds now holds what is arguably the most sacred record in all of sports: Most Career Home Runs. But there is a good chance that his reign at the top won't last 56 years, or 33, or even 15.

I decided early on this season that I have become a fan of Alex Rodriguez. Of the three active players behind Barry Bonds in career home runs, A-rod, Sammy Sosa and Junior Griffey, it's A-Rod who has the best shot at toppling Bonds. He's only 32, and he recently hit his 500th homer, making him the youngest player to do so. Assuming ten more years in his career, with an average of about 25 dingers per year, and he's easily in the 750 Club!

Oh, why do like A-Rod? Because Yankee fans hate him!

And why am I defending Bonds? Because, steroid allegations aside, he is still a tremendous talent on the field.

So all you Barry-haters out there, give it a rest. It's done. Nothing more to see here. Move along.

(Photo from AP/Jeff Chiu)