If Barry Bonds breaks the Homerun record, should he be respected as the greatest homerun hitter ever?

Question

Also, If Barry Bonds sneaks into the hall of fame, then Pete Rose and Mark McGuire should be there, too? accept or reject

Answer 1

bonds should not be respected as the greatest home run hitter ever, for reasons not the least of which are the steroid question...the baseballs are juiced now, bats are more powerful, and overall technology has improved drastically in favor of the hitter, while the hank aarons and babe ruths of the world hit in a completely different era

i think rose should be in regardless of whether or not bonds gets in, rose was a hall of famer on the field and he has admitted to gambling on games, so i think that is more than enough for bud selig to let him in...i think mcgwire should be voted in only if bonds is, because that will prove that the writers accept the fact that there is suspicion of them cheating, and are willing to live with it if it is proven that they did in fact cheat...of course both of them are guilty in the court of public opinion, which will make it difficult for either to get in, although i think bonds eventually will unless he tests positive for something

Answer 2

Barry Bonds if he stays healthy should break the homerun record and officaily will be recognized as the all time leader. Thats stats. He will never get the respect that Ruth or Aaron has gotten and I agree with that. Ruth put up astronomical numbers year in and year out when he became a full time player and Aaron was the model of consistancy. Barry Bonds was a HOF player before the steroids controversy, but the most compelling stat is that is he has had most of his carrer years after 35...and no player ever has done that. He was a career .280's hitter and averaged in the .330 range after 35. He averaged over 46 HRs from 200o to 2004...with 46 being his career high before 35. McGuire will get in the HOF eventually after the furor dies down, but his name will be forever tarnished. Rose is a different story. In baseball, the most heinous crime you can commit is gambling. Pete Rose knew this as well as anyone. I respect him as a player and a human being. He played the game harder than anyone I ever saw and was one of the best ball players I ever saw. But gambling on baseball, especially on your own team, even if its to win, in baseball terms is akin to the death penalty....and Rose knew that. It was the one rule you couldnt break and Rose did it anyway.,so the punishment fits the crime. I feel sorry for Rose, but he made his own bed, now he has to lie in it

Answer 3

The greatest home run hitter ever has to be Babe Ruth regardless of who has the most. How about this...he hit more home runs a couple of times than entire teams did during the season and the baseballs werent wound very tight so they didnt fly very far. No matter for the Babe though, he hit prodigous home runs when a lot of other players had no chance to leave the yard. But if we take a moment to eliminate all the outside things (steroid, attitude, etc.) Barry Bonds is still an incredible hitter. If the Hall of Fame voters suddenly decide to inject morals into their decisions then are they willing to look back at all the other various forms of cheaters that they often voted in knowing full well what the particular player they voted in did to enhance his game? Steriods have been an issue in the media for the last 5 or 6 years (after the Canseco book) but the reality is the steroid problem has been around for around 25 years at least. Look back at every team and see the career 10 home run hitters per season who suddenly bust out for 35 to even as much as 50 home runs (Brady Anderson, Luis Gonzalez, etc., etc., etc.). Does anyone really think they just suddenly discovered a home run stroke? What about the base stealers who have someone paid by the team stealing signs from the scoreboards, video rooms, stands and relaying that info to the baserunner so he can steal on the next breaking ball (how does anyone think a great PURE basestealer like Lou Brock feels about that). Or the pitchers that after they are in the Hall of Fame admit to "doctoring" a baseball? I agree that the integrity of the game is being challenged by the likes of Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, etc. but this isnt a new story, it is the creation of a media that craves being bigger than the sport they cover. The Black Sox scandal was how long ago? Think that this was the only episode of cheating until Bonds arrived? Remember this if you are concerned about integrity...the President of the United States paid both Canseco and Sosa at one point of their careers (and i love hearing the naysayers who say "Nobody knew back then"). I say B.S., team doctors took physicals for each player then and Canseco so much as said he took steroids in the lockerroom but for the love of the almighty dollar it was easy for teams to look the other way (and dont think some teams didnt even have a hand in helping some players obtain "help").

So I guess my answer about allowing entry to the Hall is simple. If the voters arent willing to "correct" the status of some Hall of Famers that they knew cheated in any way then they need to vote the same way now that they did when the media was willing to look the other way about the cheaters. After all if they are now concerned about integrity then shouldnt they consider their own integrity first? Voting for the Hall should be decided by what happens on the field only since it has historically been the way they have voted or they should revisit the entire history and "correct" all the of the field issues that suddenly deem a player not wothy. Sorry Mr. Ruth....loved your ability but you were a drunk womanizer so we need to remove your plaque now!

Answer 4

No way. It is obvious by what has happend to his body that he is on or was on steroids. If he gets into the hof which i hope does not happen then McGuire probably will get in even if he doesn't belong there. If he or McGuire do get in it will be like making steroids ok and send a message to the rest of the players in the MLB. Pete Rose has nothing to do with steroids so I don't know why you put him in the question. Pete broke the rules but did not cheat and transform himself into a superhuman player by using steroids. Well the answer to your original question is no. If you use substances to make yourself much more powerful than any other player and the great hitters before you did not have that edge than no you are not the greatest hr hitter of all time you are the biggest cheater of all time.

Answer 5

Yes, forget the past and move on. The fact is, we have no idea how rampant steroids were - assume that many of the pitchers he was facing were users as well. There is no way to know at this point and the fault lies just as much with MLB for allowing it to happen for so long. Clean it up now but stop making only certain players scapegoats for possible (even likely) past transgressions. If Bonds' stats should be disregarded, then all MLB stats for a period of years should be as well.

There is no reason to compare Bonds and Rose as to HOF consideration - their issues are completely different. Having said that, my opinion is that they should both go in. As for McGwire, he shouldn't be kept out because of steroids but I think he's otherwise borderline anyhow.

Answer 6

There's a great deal of suspicion about Bonds and McGwire and steroids. I would say no to Bonds being the greatest. The fact that he's an a**hole doesn't help his cause, and the fact that the bulk of his HRs came in the last half of his career.

I think Rose deserves the Hall of Fame more because he never cheated to improve his performance.

Answer 7

Bonds was a great player as a younger man and would have earned a spot n the hall of fame. However, it is as obvious as oj's guilt that Bonds used steroids AND knew he was doing it. This would constitute an obvious lack of integrity and we know that many of his home runs would have been caught on the warning track or swung behind the pitch for a strike had he not used roids. Thereby, if he makes it to 900, I'll call him the greates. Otherwise, take a seat behind Aaron, Ruth, and Mays.

Answer 8

It will be interesting how Major League baseball will handle that. I think Henry Aaron should still be recognized. Bonds will probably not break the record anyway. Bonds would have been in the hall of fame without steroids. Yes if Bonds makes it McGwire would be in.. Rose should already be in.

Answer 9

I think heck no.Pete Rose should be in there and it will take a new commissioner to do that ( Mike Greenberg) Mark McGuire should be in there also. Barry Bonds ? I think he is still using drugs. M Mc took something yes however it was not illegal at the time.

Answer 10

Bonds shouldn't be respected at all. Bonds, Rose, or McGuire won't make it into the Hall of Fame.