Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s career home record yesterday. It’s one of the
most important and visible records in all of sport.
The home crowd here in San Francisco went wild. Too bad the cheering
elsewhere has been so muted. Barry Bonds is the best baseball player of our
time. He just reached an epic milestone, capping off a career of great
milestones. Why can’t we all just enjoy it without restraint? Enjoy it without
the caveats.
I know. Barry Bonds is a jerk. But the world is full of jerks. It’s hard to
be a nice guy and fight your way to the top in a very competitive world. Look at
our industry. Is Steve Jobs a nice guy? How about Larry Ellison, Eric Schmidt or
Rupert Murdoch? I once heard Charles Barkley make a profound point on this
topic. Barkley said kids shouldn’t think he is a nice guy or think of him as a
role model. They should look up to their parents and see them as role models. If
Barry Bonds needs to be arrogant to get into his game, so be it. The homers
still count. The record still fell. Let’s all celebrate.
What about the steroid allegations? I believe Barry Bonds is innocent until
proven guilty.
When I was 10, the New York Mets won the World Series. I was 15 when Hank
Aaron passed Babe Ruth. Both times we all went wild in Flushing. This time an
epic record fell and there’s lots of grumbling.
Hey, it’s summer. It’s baseball. Let’s all have some fun. If not for us, then
for all the kids around us.