 
The news came too late for MLB and Bud Selig, but Barry Bonds has been indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. What MLB would have given to have this come down last spring before he chased Hank Aaron this summer.
Two questions immediately come to mind:
What does this mean regarding his future?
A: Well, we’re certainly not going to have a long line of teams pounding on his door. No team wanted the Bonds headache anyway, but only an idiot GM would go after him now.
Should Bud bring out the asterisk?
A: I don’t recognize Bonds as the all-time home run leader anyway, but officially this opens the door for the asterisk if convicted. Selig said he wouldn’t do anything until the justice system took its course. That’s about to change.
How would you answer these questions?
10 Comments
The track star, Marion Jones, gave back her medals. If he’s convicted or takes a plea, there shouldn’t be an asterisk, 755 should be reinstated as the record. All records starting with 1987 should be obliterated and then the Mets will have a twety-one year reign as World Series Champions!
the asterisK will xertainly be implied no matter what Selig decides.
You do open up the can of worms about where to stop. Is every player every linked to PEDs going to have an official career asterisk?
It’ll probably be a while until “justice runs it’s course” unless Bonds takes a plea. But if he pleads guilty or is found guilty and the evidence shows that he did in fact take steroids knowingly ( the charges are perjury and obstruction of justice- not taking the steroids), the record should be set aside and Henry Aaron named the official home run champion until A-Rod breaks it.
Asterisks are stupid. I thought so as a kid when the majority of people slammed Roger Maris hitting 61 in 162 games. There were plenty of people in the early 1970s who wanted “2,000 asterisks” next to Henry Aaron’s number because he had 2,000 more at bats than Ruth. I don’t have any sympathy for Bonds, Giambi or any of these guys if they get indicted or die young like Alzado or Cammaniti. If they want to risk their health to keep me entertained, then who am I to complain?
Bonds Indicted:
1. What does this mean regarding his future?
It will mean one of two things depending on whether Bonds is smart or stupid. If he is smart he will cooperate with the feds, but if he is stupid he will stonewall and lie again. It’s his call.
2. Should Bud bring out the asterisk?
At the end of his trial – if there is one – either the records will stand or be expunged. An asterisk is a cop-out.
Bonds can certainly afford the best lawyer money can buy. Perhaps he will get off. If he loses then at the end of the day some people will say he is the best player who ever lived and others will say he is a cheater and it is like he played with a corked bat.
I think in todays world where the joe public does not really care about morals , standards or anything else at some point he will be enshrined in the hall of fame as the best hitter who ever lived. What a sham(e).
They needed to prove that he knew what he was taking. His claim to the grand jury was that he didn’t know. Everyone understands that that is nonsense but they couldn’t prove it. Now they think they can prove that he knew that there were steroids in the stuff that BALCO gave him. I believe they have some evidence that Bonds tested positive for steroids on a privately administered drug test that was given to him by the BALCO people.
From what I’ve read about it, it sure seems like the could have sidelined Bonds in the Spring. It’s pretty clear that the Giants knew what was coming.
As to the asterisk: forget about it. What does it really serve—that Bud Selig was asleep at the wheel for a decade? In this case, an asterisk is a FAR greater indictment of MLB and Selig’s tenure as commissioner than it is of Bonds.
And it’s not like Bonds was the only one! How many hits deserve asterisks, too? How many pitches? It’s unfair to Bonds if he gets the sole asterisk over this and it’s impossible to determine where all the asterisks belong. Let it die; in 100 years, no one will care anyway.
It’s almost a hundred years since the Babe was around.
Some people still remember him or at least know about him.
The home run record is the single greatest baseball record. Of course it matters.
1. Bonds right now is a public relations risk for any team that wants to entertain the possibility of signing him. That, on top of enormous ego, probably will spell the end of his playing career.
2. An asterisk would not be enough if he Bonds is found guilty of having used steroids and then lied about it. Records are based upon achievements that identify individuals as superlative in their individual performance. Bonds’ indescretions have tainted the integrity of these records. If it were up to me, the career HR record would still be held by Aaron, and the single season record would be held by Maris since Bonds McGuire and Sosa all seemed to have majored in chemistry and put themselves above the game.