How I hope this is true. I don't want this prick breaking Babe Ruth's record and certainly don't want him overtaking Hank Aaron.

Bonds exposed in new book

True or not, if he plays another full season chances are he's gonna pass them both.

The question is, "What (if anything) is MLB gonna do about it?"

The voters can keep him out of the Hall of Fame, because that's up to them - the voters.

But I don't see how MLB can not "recognize" Bonds' records.

Even if Barry winds up indicted or something, and tried and convicted, who knows how many other players - some of them seemingly quite obviously - were on steroids besides him?

And if he never winds up in court, what is MLB gonna do then?

What I see possibly happening is MLB appointing a "special investigator", a la John Dowd in the Pete Rose case.

Then, when his report indicates that Bonds did use steroids, doing some thing like putting an asterisk in the record books, with an explanation something like "It was determined in an independent investigation by MLB that Barry Bonds used illegal performance-enhancing drugs in the period from 1990 whenever until 2000 whenever."
They can't simply eliminate him and his totals from the record books, because that throws off the entire symetry of baseball record-keeping, which is considered almost sacred.

If he hit 3 homers one day off of a pitcher, why shouldn't those 3 homers come off the pitcher's record and not count against him?

If you don't count his personal records, why should games that he helped his team win count?

I think the real problem, though, is that what do you do about the maybe - who really knows - 100, 150, 200, 300(?) other players who also used steroids?

Investigate them all? Investigate some of them? What is the criteria to be used to determine who to investigate and who to leave alone?

And Goombah....

Why the personal animosity towards Bonds?

The guy may have been a "prick" as you put it, but if his achievements came without steroid use, he deserves the recognition for doing what he did.

If you have to hope that the allegations against him are true simply because you don't like him personally, why him?

As I have stated before, I used to be Barry Bonds's biggest fan and am still somewhat of a fan because I believe that before he even started using steroids (if he indeed used them at all) he was a first ballot Hall Of Famer. Does that mean he should get in now when he retires? I don't think so. Bonds must set the record straight once and for all. Only he knows what he did or didn't do.

I agree with P.L.'s idea regarding the asterisk on whatever records he may end his career with (most MVPs, 73 HR in a season etc.) unless Bonds can conclusively prove that he is not now and never did take steroids or illegal supplements of any kind.

I will not be rooting for Bonds to overtake Babe Ruth and to break Hank Aaron's record unless he does prove that he isn't and never did take any sort of steroids. I think everyone in Baseball knows that Bonds and his people are incapable of doing this and the circumstantial evidence surrounding him may be just too great. I hope that Bonds retires with 713 HR (not very likely granted, if he does play a full season) or he breaks the record and then Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols rewrite the record books cleanly.

I think he'll pass Ruth, but won't be healthy enough to break Aaron this season. With a little luck, this article will be true and force him to quit.

Why I despise Bonds:
My personal opinion of him is that he is always looking to be the victim. I’m paraphrasing here, but how many times have we heard Bonds say, “You guys are always hounding me” or “I’m not talking to you guys in the media,” or “Leave me alone?”

I don’t disagree that the guy is talented, but there are ways of stepping back from the media frenzy with class and dignity. And on just about every occasion, the guy acts like a complete jerk. And for Bonds to say he wanted to break Ruth’s record “because he (Ruth) was white” is absurd.

Look at Kirby Puckett. He, too, was great on the field and to the fans. He acted in a civil and fun-loving way to most. He wasn't perfect, as the years post-baseball demonstrated. In contrast, Bonds seems to be a 24 hr per day/7 days per week/365 days per year asshole.

Bonds will no doubt go down as one of the greats of his era, perhaps of all-time. In my mind, he’s a steroid-era player who will always have a taint that he cheated. That’s not say that Sosa, McGwire, Palmiero, and others do not have the same taint. But I’ll always view Bonds as the poster-child of the steroid player.

I ws just listening Mike and the Mad Dog to WFAN (NY sportstalk radio), and of course this is the big story.

According to the article, Mark McGwire deserves to be the "Poster Boy" here.

The article says that Bonds didn't start until he saw McGwire getting away with it so easily.

Anyway, they raised a very interesting question, also:

How is MLB gonna treat Bonds on the field when he passes Ruth and maybe Aaron.

Normally, you'd expect them to stop the game, you'd expect a big on-feild ceremony with Aaron there....Now what?

If they do nothing, they're acknowledging (with no real proof) that Bonds record is tainted.

But if they celebrate, MLB looks like a bunch of idiots.

I agree Plawrence - MLB is in a no-win situation. Maybe they will do something, just "toned down" as compared to the McGwire 62 or Ripken breaking Gehrig's streak. I, for one, would not watch either the passing of Ruth and/or Aaron.

I know it's not on the same scale, but there is precedent for not acknowledging the accomplishment of a player: Baltimore cancelled a celebration day for Palmiero last year that was to commemorate his 3,000th hit to go along w/500 HR.

Am I the only one that thinks the steroid thing gets WAY too much coverage?

I wish we could focus on the World Baseball classic or the NCAA tourney bubble....instead half of Sportscenter is dedicated to the same thing weve heard all along. Sure, he probably used them. Wake me up when some one does something about it. I could really give a shit that theres ANOTHER person accusing Bonds.

You're not alone Silvio, but unfortunately sports has drifted too far into the world of entertainment and $$. Steroid use is just another aspect of the entertainment/sensationalism/yellow-journalism that is pervading our society. Everything is money-driven, spun and hyped. The playing fields are not level. The old saying "records are meant to be broken" has changed to "records are meant to be tainted." pl capsulized it quite well. What will MLB do when (if) Bonds breaks the record? Is Barry destined to sit side by side with Pete Rose?

Rather this in the news than seeing him in drag again.

A very interesting article is found at ESPN.com