Barry Bonds vs. Hank Aaron?

Question

Now that Barry Bonds has admitted taking steroids, do you think Hank Aaron is the best ever?


Source for Bonds steroids:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=bonds+admts+steroids&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz2

Answer 1

I would also say that both Bonds and Aaron are great players but Babe Ruth is unquestionably the best Major Leaguer. He would have made the Hall of Fame as a pitcher, became the greatest hitter in history by hitting more home runs than entire teams in his days, and was underrated on defense and baserunning as he stole home several times.

It's hard to say whether Bonds is better than Aaron, but I'd have to give Barry the edge because he's stolen so many bases and rarely misses the one or two pitches he gets a chance to hit in a game. But again Hammerin' Hank is surprisingly underrated with this generation as some people don't realize that if you took away all of his 755 home runs, he'd still have over 3,000 hits.

Answer 2

This question is tough for me, because I admire Hank Aaron greatly. He is a great man full of class and dignity. However, I am also a huge Barry Bonds fan (been on board since 1986, when he was pittsburgh's starting centerfielder). That being said, I have a hard time classifying Bonds as the greatest ever, steroids or not (it should be noted that Dusty Baker was an outstanding hitting coach before he became the Giants' manager in 1993. Couple that with Boonds arriving in San Francisco, and one can see the dramatic improvement in his hitting stats. Couple that with the talent that had always been there, and you see what you get). Bonds is by far the best player of his generation, no doubt. Aaron is the classiest ballplayer of all time, no doubt. When I think of the best player of all time, Willie Mays comes to mind. A genuine five-tool threat who played the game on another level, especially since there were tons of great players in his era (Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, Frank Robinson, Ted Williams, Al Kaline, etc.). People will try to put babe Ruth on the pedastal, but...Ruth simply couldn't field his position the way Mays did, nor did he have the speed. However, Ruth was an outstanding pitcher (and would have made the Hall of Fame based on that alone).

So to answer your question, it's neither Bonds or Aaron. It's Willie Mays.

Answer 3

Who's Hank Erin/Barry Bond/Bary Bond/"the Gaint's????? Are they a new Irish step dancing group? In other news..... I think that Barry Bonds will definitely surpass the record after the AS break. If Hank Aaron took steroids, I guess they did not work for him to only hit 755 HR's. On the other hand, Barry Bonds also did it naturally (so far), because there were no positive test results to show he was guilty of drug use. I believe that no one is an expert, but I only listen to the truth, and the truth is that Barry Bonds never took steroids. Ask anyone in MLB, their independent labs or their investigators. There are no positive test results to prove any guilt. The media is the source of all the BS and people are brainwashed into following what they are saying.

Answer 4

Barry Bonds, is the better player steroids or not. look at all the players that have tested positive for steroids, none of them have even came close to producing like barry. Im not a firm believer in steroids helping a hitter that much, sure they make you stronger, but barry is great because of his eye and his natural ability. Bonds has produced the numbers while being pitched around for the last 10 years. look at the on base percentage and how many times barry walks compared to Aaron. Plus i dont think Aaron is even in the best 10 players ever.

Answer 5

I love question like this one, Steroids dont hit Home Runs, the players (IE Bonds, Aatron, McGwire, Sosa, Ruth, ET AL) Dont Hate the Player hate the Game.
I know this comment is going to be very unpopular but look at the facts, Before Ruth Started Hammering (exucse the pun) Home Runs at a record rate back in 1919 the record for home runs in a season WAS 29 by non other then The Babe. Then after that season no one other then the Babe hit more then 20 Home Runs (Ruth led the league with 54 homers in second place was George Sisler with 19) then finally in 1921 The Babe hit 59 and his closest competitor was Bob Meusel (another Yankee) and he hit 24 (oh yeah he was second in the league) Finally in 1922 ?? Ken Williams and Tilly Walker ?? led the league with Ruth coming in Third with 35 Homers. Why this sudden explosion of Home Runs in the 20's. Aaron on the other hand was a master of his art and consistently never hit no more then 47 Home Runs in a season . Then came 1961 and the rest is History a farm boy from Oklahoma Hits 61 in 61' but in the process loses hair by the hand full ?? what was in that powder they mixed into their drinks any who back in the 60's ?? Then came the 90's, oh those 90's how we hooped and hollared when Big Mac, Slammin Sammy, The Big Hurt, The Kid (Griffey Jr.) and yeah even Bobby Bonds son Barry were hitting mamouth Home Runs by the Dozens and yeah records were meant to be broken back in the 90's, Ok. lets Fast Forward to the Year 2007 now, all of a sudden there is this great debate whether or not Bonds belongs in this company (Ruth, Aaron, Bonds) Guess what all you haters stand up and applaud the man (that goes for you Mr Selig and Mr Aaron also) respect what is about to happen and stop trying to compare the what if's or have not's.

Answer 6

First of all, Bonds only admitted to using "the clear and the cream." He has never said he knowingly used "steroids," so you need to get your facts straight on that.

Yes, everyone KNOWS he used them and most intellegent baseball fans know that probably hundreds of players (including Clemens, Bagwell, Helton, Sheffield, Giambi, Thome, etc.) used them or used HGH at some point in their careers. No it's not right, but it's common knowledge.

The fact remains is that Bonds (along with Griffey) was the best all around player in the game before using PE drugs. He already had MVP awards and gold gloves and could steal bases--he was the complete package. What happened is that all of the media and novice baseball fans went ga-ga over Mac and Sosa hitting home runs in 1998 and that pissed Bonds off. While he was still the best player in the game in '98, all these idiots were giving attention to a pair of one dimensional players that cared only about hitting home runs, every time they went to bat.

So his reaction was, if the idiots want home runs, I'll give them home runs so he juiced up, and worked out in the weight room harder than any other player ever has and turned himself into the overgrown player he is today.

Anyway, to answer your question, Hank Aaron is definitely the greatest home run hitter ever as he did it naturally and Bonds wouldn't be in the chase if he didn't bulk up. However, Bonds is a better all around player than Aaron, as he ran the bases, played the field and got on base much better than Hank did. Yes, Bonds could be the biggest JERK of all time in sports, but if you look at the player, he is phenomenal.

Answer 7

KCS, Sammy Sosa (a man who hit 60+ HR three times in four years) has something to say against Bonds' production being thoroughly dominant relative to others who've been guilty of steroid use. He and Bonds both had the same decline, and have now decided to come back to fulfull 756 and 600 HR (respectively).

Hank Aaron's not the best ever, nor is he the best HR hitter, but he's a hell of a lot better than Bonds. He had 40 HR seasons throughout his career, Bonds got one or two prior to 2001, and won't ever get one again.

Answer 8

Bonds was a hall of fame caliber player before he took steroids but he was not the best ever. Hank Aaron wasn't the best ever either. Hank was just the most consistent home run hitter ever. If you ask me, there was no better hitter than Ted Williams. Had he not missed 5 years due to military service, he would have easily hit over 700 homers.

Answer 9

I think that Barry Bonds is better. Athletes now work out harder and lift weights more...even the ones that don't take steroids. I think todays athletes have better equipment and understand the game a lot better. I am not trying to take anything away from athletes from a different era, but those guys didn't have the technology or study the game like people do today.

Answer 10

Barry Bonds is nothing but a big mouth who thinks he's better that everyone. If you have to take steroids, you ain't s**t! All the guys that have take steroids should have there stats taken away. He will never beat the record in my book because any he hit on steroids don't count. Barry, Sammy, and Mark have ruined the records by baseball officials keeping record of there drug induced hits. Baseball is just a scam anymore.