Hank Aaron is King

Now that the sad days of Bonds inking his name into the record books - by fair means and foul - are upon us, I think I should make a few things clear. I have read bloggers denouncing the fans who dislike Bonds as racists and haters of every sort under the sun. Neither racism nor hatred has any place in this discussion, and everyone on both sides knows it. The only reason people place asterisks by Bonds' records is that he used substances to improve his bulk, whereas Hank Aaron hit 755 home runs the honest way. By looking at his arms, anyone can see that Aaron never took steroids or any other artificial enhancers. His stats tell the same story: Aaron never hit more than 47 home runs in a season, but he broke 40 eight times and played consistently good baseball for a very long period of time. In his first fifteen seasons, Bonds never slugged over .700 or hit over 50 home runs. Suddenly, in 2001, he slugged .863 and hit 73 home runs to surpass McGwire's record. How many times has he surpassed 70 since then? Answer: 0. How many times has he surpassed 60 since then? Answer: 0. How many times has he hit over 50 since 2001? Answer: 0. The statistical explosion that was the 2001 season raises questions as to how a man of his age could commit such remarkable feats and gain so much muscle. It seems logically sound to suppose that Bonds is taking or has been taking human growth hormone. That would explain his shoe and hat sizes expanding, his accumulation of muscle bulk, and his ability to sustain his muscular growth. Steroids cause a rapid increase in muscle followed by a sudden decline, which Bonds has not experienced. The simple, irrefutable fact is that men of Bonds' age do not naturally accumulate muscle as he has done and experience hat and shoe size growth of any kind. It does not matter that he has not actually tested positive for drugs: it is painfully obvious that he has taken them.
I don't hate Barry Bonds, nor do I bear him any kind of ill will. Fans like me have tolerated his extremely arrogant attitude and lack of appreciation to the fans and never dispute that he belongs in the Hall of Fame. The only player to hit 500 home runs and steal 500 bases belongs in Cooperstown no matter who he is. Substances do not help a player develop the keen eye and lightning reflexes that enable him to hit a ball traveling at 100 miles per hour. Moreover, Bonds accomplished these two feats before substances had become an issue. The problem we have with Bonds is his "breaking" Hank Aaron's record for career home runs. Aaron played honestly using his natural talent and hard work. Bonds used talent, work, and substances, so his statistics, whatever they end up being, deserve an asterisk. Aaron is still the Home Run King.