Juiced Stats

I know the timliness of this is off a little, but I just haven't taken the time to write about it. So here goes:

Barry Bonds passed Babe Ruth on the all time home run list last week. This makes me sad. While I am convinced he was pumped up on steroids and I don’t disagree with those who think his records should have an asterisk by them, that’s not why it really bothers me. What bothers me is that Bonds comes across as a jerk with no respect for the game. We want our sports heroes to be likable. When talking about Michael Jordan, people talked about his infectious smile as much as his skill. I doubt there were many people who begrudged Emmitt Smith when he passed Walter Payton because people like him. People don’t like Bonds. People don’t enjoy watching him play. Part of the allure of sports is that it is comforting to people. I don’t think people get any comfort out of Bonds’ accomplishments. So I am sad. I just hope he gets no where near Hammerin’ Hank.