The taint is in.
Barry Bonds has admitted using steroids, sort of. He acknowledges using a cream provided by his personal trainer but denies knowing it contained steroids. The likelihood of Bonds, as disciplined and determined a player as ever pulled on a baseball uniform, using a substance without knowing what it contained seems remote at best.
As I wrote in this space a month ago, “the popular argument is that performance-enhancing drugs may increase strength but they don’t do anything for hand-eye coordination. Less popular is the inescapable reality that hitting home runs is a combination of both.”
Bonds is unquestionably one of the game’s greatest players, but these revelations diminish his greatness somewhat. The whispers of yesterday have become the reality of today and will inevitably attach themselves to his legacy in the future.
Henry Aaron remains the greatest home run hitter of all time, final numbers notwithstanding. Aaron faced much tougher pitching consistently and hit his home runs without the aid of anything other than great eyes and strong wrists.
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