Barry Who?

Barry Bonds is two home runs away from tying Hank Aaron's all time mark. He is on the verge of breaking sport's most sacred record.

I couldn't care less.

About two months into the season, I gave up hope that Bonds would simply fall apart physically and fall short of the record. Since then, I've resigned myself to a world in which Bonds is the home run king, and thus I haven't had to follow the quest towards 755. When he does break the record, I won't feel anything.

Tom Verducci has a great article in this week's Sports Illustrated, not about Bonds, but Hank Aaron. It gave me a very good sense of who Hank Aaron is, and what he went through on the road to 755. Verducci also adds some much welcomed editorializing:

"Even when Barry Bonds holds the record, Hank Aaron can still be the people's home run king--and 755 can still be the number in which we believe," Verducci concludes.

I have to agree.

25 years from now, on ESPN Classic, you'll be more likely to see Hank Aaron running around the bases surrounded by chaos than Barry Bonds jogging around the bases alone.

As for Bud Selig, I think he has to go watch Bonds break the record. If he does not watch Bonds, then what's to be done with the record books at Cooperstown? By ignoring Barry, Selig will set a precarious precedent. He will tacitly admit that Bonds cheated and that his record is illegitimate.

Was Selig at Busch Stadium to watch Mark McGuire break the single-season home run mark? I'm not sure. But if he was, then I think he has to go to Bond's games. Either that or Bond's numbers should be erased from the record books.