If Ryan Howard hits 62 HRs will he be the single season HR KING? Or Bonds, Mac or Sosa?

Question

In your opinion, with steroids abuse suffocating baseball, would you view Ryan Howard, if he hits 62 HRs, as the real single season HR KING? We know Bonds and McGwire were juiced, but there has been no credible proof about Sosa.

read juiced by jose caneseco and game of shadows. it's interesting read.

i said in your personal opinion not the official MLB record books. your personal opinion ain't the MLB history books. We all know the what the official MLB history books would say.

Answer 1

As a lifelong Phillies fan, I'll always consider Ryan Howard the champ if he hits 62 -- or at least until someone else beats him.

However, the record books carry no asterisks and Barry Bonds will remain the home run king until a naturally gifted hitter can top 73. The best candidates at the moment are Albert Pujols and Howard, or perhaps David Ortiz -- if he can stay healthy for a full season.

Even so, a lot of people feel the same way I do -- that 62 by Ryan Howard would make him the "legitimate" home run king. Roger Maris' family feels cheated that the current record breakers all have unofficial asterisks next to their names for either bat corking or alleged steriod usage. But they have said they believe a Ryan Howard record would be clean.

So the answer to your question is "no" and "yes." No, Ryan Howard will not get an official record this season. But, yes, if he does hit eight more homers (as of September 8), a lot of folks will recognize in their hearts and minds as the true record.

Answer 2

Maybe you could look at him as the home run king of the post-steroid era, but as far as history goes Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa would still be 1, 2, 3. The reason is because they were not the only ones who were using steroids. How many pitchers were using as well? We don't know, but more pitchers than position players have tested positive since testing began. So in a way that evened the playing field some. So as much as it may leave a bad taste in our mouths now, Bonds is the single season home run king.

Answer 3

Why are you so confident in the other guys' guilt, but not Howard's? None of those four has ever failed a drug test, and only McGwire has ever admitted to any substance use, but HGH was legal at the time. Now, I'll admit that I'm very suspicious of all of these guys and many more players, but suspicions don't warrant changing the record books.

Answer 4

I'm getting tired of this question. You can't rewrite the history books whenever you feel like it. Baseball recognizes Bonds as the home run king, end of story. Even if he tests positive now, that doesn't prove he was juicing last season or in 1990 or at any other time in his career. And even if we can magically prove that, it wasn't against baseball's rules at the time he hit 73. And even if it WERE against baseball's rules, they don't have a provision to take away a player's stats or records. They didn't kick Gaylord Perry out of the Hall of Fame after he admitted to using spitballs and who knows what else. They aren't going to to anything to Bonds.

Answer 5

Sosa denied taking steroids but lets face it during those 3-5 years the home-run records were way inflated due to those drugs.The year before he embarked on his tear Sammy hit 40 HR's which at that point was the most in his career. Tell me that all of a sudden he hits 64? and in the 4 years after he hits 60 or more in 3 of them? I say give Ryan Howard the record if he passes 61.

Answer 6

Is Howard clean? Is it because he is a little roli-poli and doesn't have a built body.
The suspicion is in hitting 60 HR's 3 or 4 yrs in a row. He did become more muscular. Look how quickly his prowess faded (questionable?).

Answer 7

Unfortunately what was once perhaps the most sacred record in sports is going to be pretty much relegated to suspicion, skepticism and even outright ridicule. It is sad that since there was nothing in baseball's rules regarding what those others did there records will have to stand.

Answer 8

The single season record stands at 73.

I won't even address the "no credible proof about Sosa."

Answer 9

We don't "know Bonds and McGwire were juiced". You may think they were, but there has been no proof of that yet, just suspicion. (Remember, andro was legal when McGwire took it, and then he stopped taking it and still hit 65 home runs.)

So Bonds is the record holder, case closed.

Answer 10

I know the media really liked to hype up the cork incident, but I genuinely bought into it. Plus, I have serious doubts he was clean. I know they are innocent until proven guilty but McGuire basically screwed himself with the "we're not here to talk about the past" or whatever it was. Bonds has even been proven to have taken steroids even though I guess he "didn't know" he thought it was flaxseed oil and bengay or whatever lol.

All of this build up basically means, yes, if Howard hits 62 I will consider him the true HR king because I am a strong advocate of the asterisk and not acknowledging records set by known steroid users.