I don’t believe steroids should be used to “restore” baseball to its former glory after the baseball strikes of the 90′s. You want to make baseball a viable sport in this country? Stop spending ludicrously insane amounts of money on these players which have zero allegiance to the ball clubs for which they play. Because “they can sign a better, bigger and more lucrative multi-million dollar contract” with a different club. That’s why I stopped watching baseball. It became apparent to me these people don’t play baseball primarily for the love of the game and the competitive spirit but to draw in the money and increase yet more revenue. Now its all about money, money, money and thus ends up driving players to use drugs so that they “measure up” to themselves and their contracts and perform as they are expected to.

I don’t think steroids are good for the sport, but McGwire and Sosa did electrify that season. Baseball has benefitted ever since.

“On Opening Day in 1995, three men, who were each wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the word “Greed”, leaped onto the field at Shea Stadium and tossed more than $150 in $1 bills at players. In Cincinnati, one fan paid for a plane to fly over Riverfront Stadium that dragged a sign reading “Players and Owners — To Hell With You” The meager crowds at the openers often booed at the players for their rusty fundamentals, shoddy defense, and in response to frequent high-scoring contests. Fans in Pittsburgh disrupted Opening Day by throwing sticks on the field, and holding up the action for 17 minutes. Despite just 6,300 fans at the New York Yankees’ pre-opening workout, 50,245 showed up for the opener, the smallest opening crowd at Yankee Stadium since 1990.”

It is not much of a reach to make the statement that steroids and that steroid fueled homerun record race brought the fans back to the parks and the broadcasts and saved baseball. Everyone who stood to gain from it, the commissioner, the owners, the networks, even broadcast talent like Costas, were at best – complicit and enablers and more likely – actively encouraged anything that helped fans forget that strike. Including and especially a juiced homerun record derby.

Jeremy – your first comment indicated that you turned your back on baseball. That is completely understandable given the recent history of game. But to single out Bonds for something that was tacitly (if not explicitly) encouraged by the entire baseball eco-system while he was a player – just not right.

Just to be clear. I enjoy the game, but I am not a Giants or even a Bonds fan (Cubs are my team). I can still appreciate what Bonds has accomplished.

Maybe so, that doesn’t change a lot of peoples minds about the situation. If he had broke this record without being on drugs then we’d all be cheering him on. Fact is, it didn’t happen that way. No one made Barry Bonds use steroids. He made that choice. Some people think he broke a record, other believe he hasn’t. No matter, people are entitled to discontent his accomplishment because he made that possible.

Barry Bonds isn’t a terrible guy, he just made a poor decision and now he’s going to have to deal with the consequences of that decision. In the end, I don’t believe steroids were worth it, now he has this question of legitimacy that is going to haunt his record as long as it stands. All-in-all it is Barry Bonds who got cheated. He cheated himself out of a legitimate claim to a significant accomplishment. That’s only my opinion, many disagree. I understand why they feel that way. But understand why some people question it.

I am not very impressed with Barry Bond’s home run record. The whole situation with steroids imbroglio makes me feel as if this guy didn’t earn what he has been given. Sure, he’s a very good player and he would have hit a lot of home runs without the steriods, but there will always be an air of illegitimacy about his so-called achievement as far as I am concerned. You can’t artificially “enhance” yourself and expect people to think you achieved something like this all on your own, even if you in fact did. Cheating is about the lowest possible thing you can do in a sport. The biggest loser in this has got to be Barry Bonds himself. He knows his record isn’t a valid one considering the man that he has beat didn’t use performance enhancing drugs to attain it.

Now, Barry Bonds. Try breaking the record without the steroids. The count begins now. Good luck!