what say ye, legitimate or not? Did he do it or was it the bulldog in him? I say no, because I think Hank did not have any helpers, and the man had integrity and good morals. A real man,(not half bulldog half man. A real role model, not store bought. And he was a Brave!
No one can beat Babe Ruth’s record because it’s not the same game. Today the pitcher mound is lower, the stands are closer, they use a live ball, and they play way more games.
Not a legitimate record.
Not only was his performance enhanced by drugs, but Hank and George hit their homers in an era where the pitcher had total autonomy.
If you hit a homer off of Bob Gibson, back when Hank did in the sixties and seventies, your next at bat would have the ball coming at your face at over 90 mph. No helmets…no warnings to the bench…just good old fashioned bean ball. The batter’s box was not the safety zone then that is today.
Roger Maris went to his grave with an asterick. So will Bonds.
Yeah Nick, you are right, I forgot that Hank played a lot more games than Babe.
All records are made to be broken. Barry’s record will fall to A Rod if he stays healthy.
I don’t like Bonds, but he is the record holder. How many pitchers that Bonds faced were juiced? We’ll never know the depth of or the truth about the steroid era. I would bet though that there were a bunch of juiced pitchers. It is unnatural for so many to be able to throw 96 mph or more, especially since 90 was the benchmark prior to the steroid era.
The way the game has evolved, it will be a long time before we ever see another 300 game winner, if we ever do.
So he needs to play for the Houston Asterisk. 
I have to differ with you…but only because of the extra burdens that Hank faced as he approached the record.
Telephone calls to his family and telegrams beating him into the next town, threatening death to himself or family should he “defile” the Babe. Racial slurs and threats to distract him with no protection from the threats made against him and his family had to create an additional burden that the Babe did not face – making Hank’s record even more significant.
Thank god for steroids. . .
I’ll agree that Hank had some advantages and some disadvantages. So I’ll call it a wash and agree he holds the record.
Barry Bonds does not.
Could not agree more. If A-Rod stays healthy for another 10 years (that’s ambitious) and averages 30 homeruns a season, he will hit over 800 probably. Unless somebody comes clean and says he juiced, he’ll be the most prolific homerun hitter of all time presumably. The only controversy surrounding him to date is the blond he hangs out with in Toronto.
What concerns me more is the fact that A-Rod and the Yanks are creepin’ on the RedSox. Every effin season they find a way. No matter what. Go Sox!
Bonds holds the record for most home runs hit in Major League Baseball during a career. I don’t like the man but he holds that record. Of course Sadaharu Oh holds the World Record with 869 but that is a different game. Just like the game played today is different than the game played during the Aaron and Ruth eras.
The stadiums are so different now. During the Ruth era, Yankee Stadium was 500 feet to left center, now it is 399. Right center was 429 feet, now it is 385. And don’t forget the Polo Grounds. Center field was 455 feet, but right field was only 258. Records are different and whether you like the man who holds the record or not, they are records.
I never thought Roger Maris should have an asterisk. When they finally removed it, it was a good day for baseball.
If they want to use performance enhancing drugs and let their balls shrivel up to the size of peas, let them. Is it any different than Tommy John surgery? Most major league pitchers that have that operation come out throwing harder than before the surgery. What about lasik surgery for the eyes? They can see the ball clearer. Look at the difference in training facilities. The old way was free weights and bags of ice. Today they have machines that just about perform the work-out for you.
And who travels on a bus or a train anymore?
Rumor is they may raise the pitcher’s mound a little in the coming years. Bad choice for Major League Baseball. While I wouldn’t mind seeing a no-hitter once in a while, I want to see hits, lots of them. I want to see plays in the field and on the bases when the ball is in play, not a pitchers duel.
Just don’t get me started on the DH…:shock:
The real problem is that relative to real sports like football… baseball is more boring than watching grass grow.
Institute a pitch clock, we don’t have all day. Allow the defense to block runners when they try to steal. And put one offensive player in the outfit to try and prevent the other team from catching fly balls without anyone hitting them at full speed. Now you have a game.
Nick,
Baseball is not a game for those riddled with A.D.D.! 
Keep baseball as is (except for that DH rule!!) Great place to go, sit down, watch a game, quaff a few brews, and enjoy the outdoors. Especially minor league ball!
Nick, there actually is a rule about how long between pitches a pitcher can take. I lost a $50 bet on it. It was called with in the last 2 weeks. I should have read the damn papre that day.
Yes, he is the leader. Whether he juiced is irrelevant; it wasn’t against the rules when he did. I don’t like it, I don’t like him, but he didn’t break the rules in place at the time.
You can’t compare Ruth to Maris to Aron to Bonds. Different times. That’s like asking is Jeff Gordon better than Richard Petty? Is Gretzky better (no) than Eddie Shore? Todays athletes are in better shape and have better technology to work with than the guys who came before. IMO.
Ok, go ahead and trash my opinions.
So you would rate a two time “Cy Young Award” winner over Cy Young, who never won such an award?
Jim, I don’t see how they can be compared. Lets look at it another way. Are todays inspectors better than the ones who inspected in HI infancy? I bet they do a better job, but how much of that is better tyraining and equipment?
Blaine, I do suffer horribly from A.D.D. So does Chris Morrell. I think it’s why we start 10 projects for every one we complete. What were we talking about?
I grew up in Milwaukee watching Hammering Hank play ball. Things were not easy for him even in this town before they moved to Atlanta. We were so happy when Hank moved back to Milwaukee to play for the Brewers. Hank will be the record holder to me until someone who does not pump themselves up with drugs hits more. GO A ROD.
As a lifelong Braves fan, and someone who sat next to his dad watching Hammering Hank on the tube that fateful day, sorry Barry, but you’re a fraud. Okay, MLB didn’t punish steroid use until 2004. So what, Hank didn’t “need no stinking drugs” to accomplish what he did, Barry didn’t have hundreds of redneck scum threatening him or his family with death, nor did he have people screaming at him wherever he went. That Barry is booed is because everyone is certain that he cheated and he is genuinely disliked. Just because it isn’t against the rules doesn’t mean that its alright. Thats a lawyer’s argument. It is against the entire idea of sportsmanship, ethics, etc. Better training techniques, better nutrition, are natural, healthy means of improving performance and overall health. The side effects and health consequences of steroid use show that this is not natural for the adult body. Pointedly, if they find evidence of his steroid use after the beginning of the 2004 season, his record should be stricken and hit run total rolled back to that season. Also, Tom Glavine, a lefty, just won his 300th this past Sunday. It is especially satisfying since he was a Brave for so long and was the man who nailed down the 1995 World Series for Atlanta. And yes, I was seriously pi$$ed at his role in the strike the following year.
Any player who admits to using steroids, while only recently made illegal in MLB and has long been outlawed in most sports for quite some time, should lose any record they hold. The argument that it wasn’t against the rules rings very hollow, because the very essence of playing sports as a child is to encourage fitness and instill ethics and sportsmanship in our kids. We have a COE that doesn’t cover every possible aspect, but you know in your gut if what you are doing is ethical or not.
As for Tommy Johns surgery, that is a necessary medical treatment to a disability. And any doctor will tell you that a pitcher throws harder not from the surgery but the rigorous rehabilitation they undergo afterwards.
In summary, the guy who caught the homerun ball (A Mets fan passing through San Fran) should sell that ball ASAP. Before any more evidence surfaces about Bonds’s alleged steroid use, therefore decreasing the perceived value of it.