Barry Bonds: Another Big League Star/Cheater
A mere three years after McGwire set the single season home run record of 70, a new challenger arose. Barry Bonds, the left fielder for the San Francisco Giants, was powering his way through the 2001 season. On October 5th, he did what people thought wouldn’t happen for a long time. He hit homerun number 71 of the season, topping McGwire’s single season record set three years prior. Bond’s went on to hit 73 total that season, leaving a record that has not been touched or even come close to since. The video above shows his 71st home run and the celebration that ensued in San Francisco. To think that a man could hit 73 home runes in a season is truly unimaginable to me. That is basically a home run every other game they play, which is astonishing.
However, Bonds was not done with setting only one home run milestone; he had his eyes set on the ultimate prize. Hank Aaron’s home run record of 755 for his career was a number that many believed would never be reached. Bonds continued to put up big numbers for the next six seasons, right into 2007. On August 8, 2007, Bonds blasted homerun number 756 into the sky in San Francisco, passing Aaron to become the all time homerun leader in Major League Baseball history. When the season finished, Bonds had hit 762 home runs, and this record stand to this day.
This record was brought to great scrutiny when the issue of PED’s once again came to the public eye. Bonds was cited for using PED’s, a cream specifically called the “cream and clear.” He said that he did not knowingly take any unauthorized substances, but did admit to using a substance. Whether or not he knowingly or unknowingly used a steroid, his image is tainted and his record is as well. Yet another man who couldn’t get by on raw talent, he had to cheat. The number 756 will forever stand with an asterisk next to it. In fact, the 756 home run ball was launched into space with the text “756*” printed on it in pen. This was the perfect way to treat a blemished record, get rid of it for good.
