A historic blast --

by Orod412

Barry Bonds is the new home run king. While his record chase was and will forever be swarmed in controversy, his 756 home runs are not up for opinion or debate.

They are fact.

And while many can not or will not accept him as legitimately breaking the record, he currently stands alone as the all-time home run leader.

Baseball holds more value to their statistics and records than any other sport, and chiefly among those, is the home run record. It is arguably the most sacred record in all of sports, and now the holder of that record, is arguably sports most polarizing figure.

Whether it’d be because of his race, or the opinions of him being a poor human being, the fact is that even if it’s never proven that he took performance enhancing drugs, he’ll always be viewed as a cheater.

Yet for as phony as some will claim many of his home runs are because of his alleged steroid use, those around the game have acted and reacted equally as phony.

For nearly a year, when it became apparent that Bonds will reach and break his record, Hank Aaron had repeatedly stated that he would not comment on the situation, effectively making a comment by doing so, even stating that he wouldn’t be present when his record was broken. He’s tried to distance himself from the situation as much as he could, leaving no question on his stance.

We’re then treated to a video tribute of Aaron congratulating Bonds after his home run.

Bud Selig’s lack of attendance and congratulatory phone call to Bonds is equally as deplorable and disingenuous. For weeks leading up to 756, the debate of whether he would be there when Bonds broke the record was as much of a story as the home run chase itself.

Selig was in San Diego when Bonds hit 755, hands in his pocket, refusing to clap, and with an expression that would make you think he just realized he let Michael Vick dog-sit his pups over the weekend.

Like Aaron, his lack of action spoke more than his words ever could.

So he doesn’t show up in San Francisco, but instead choses to call Barry to congratulate him. That’s as phony as any home run ever could be.

You’ll never convince me that Selig was unaware of what was occurring in his sport in the late ‘90’s. Coming out of the strike of ’94, baseball needed a way to get back into the limelight and the offensive explosion sparked by McGwire and Sosa helped do just that.

While there is evidence that suggests that cheating has always been a part of sports, Bonds, for whatever reason, continues to be considered the definition of cheating in this era. The court of public opinion has long since convicted Bonds, and though many have cheated before and many will certainly cheat after, Barry is the most vilified.

Clearly, steroids alone do not make you a great player. There is no way to quantify how many home runs Bonds, or anyone for that matter hit because of steroids.

That’s all up for debate.

So, while Bonds has finally broken the home run record in spite of the controversy, the discussion is far from over.

During a post game interview after his record breaking home run, Bonds was quoted as saying “This record isn’t tainted. At all. Period. You all can say whatever you want.”

Regardless of opinions and debates, Bonds is your new home run king.

And no one will ever be able to take that away from him.