Off Topic

Okay I know this is my running blog but I couldn't resist dropping a couple pictures from last week's baseball trip to Florida and Atlanta on the site. Call it my editorial prerogative!

Everyone knows Barry Bonds is on the verge of breaking the all-time home run record held by Hank Aaron. While at the Atlanta Braves game last Friday, I had my picture taken along with my dad and my son. Of course, Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium no longer exists. But they kept the section of fence the Aaron's 715th home run went over on April 8, 1974. That home run broke the long time record held by Babe Ruth.

I couple of items of easy baseball trivia.

Who caught Aaron's home run ball?

Who was the play-by-play announcer who called Aaron's 715th blast?

Too easy, right?

Braves pitcher, Tom House, caught Aaron's home run in the bull pen.

Hall of Fame broadcaster, Milo Hamilton, made the famous call.

Now for an abbreviated seven degrees of separation to tag on to the trivia.

House later became the workout training partner of former Astro and all-time great Nolan Ryan. Ryan attributes aspects of his remarkable longevity to techniques that House introduced him to. Of course, Ryan is from Alvin, Texas just south of Houston. In a truly ironic twist, House is one of the few former Major Leaguers to acknowledge that he used steroids during his playing days in the 70's.

Milo Hamilton is currently the Houston Astros radio play-by-play announcer. I don't think Milo has ever used steroids but occasionally wonder if he's on something! There are times when I can hear the fans going berserk over the radio but Milo isn't saying anything. Occasionally when he does say something, it's unclear what exactly he'd describing. I'm sure I was absolutely spoiled during my four year in Los Angeles listening to the absolute perfection of Vin Scully's radio broadcasts of Dodger games.

I'm not necessarily an Astros fan. I'm a die-hard Pirates supporter. And, yes, it's been a long, slow death! But mentioning the Pirates would circle my comments back to Bonds, who was once a Pirate. I loved skinny Bonds as a Pirate from 1986 - 1992. This period coincides with the last time the Pirates were a good team so I hold them as fond memories. However, my feelings for Bonds changed during Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS and the subsequent off season.

During the off season, he left Pittsburgh for San Francisco via free agency. (Not the first all-star to leave Pittsburgh!) But with a trip to the World Series on the line and within the grasp of the Pirates. Former Pirate Sid Bream is on second base for the Braves. Important fact - Sid Bream was wearing a knee brace at the time and he was a slow-footed first baseman without the brace. Braves no-name, pinch hitter Francisco Cabrera steps to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. Bonds is in his usual left field position. Cabrera hits a hard line drive through the hole between short and third. Bream, the potential winning run, starts from second. Unbelievably, he doesn't even slow down at third base. Bonds, the all-everything superstar, is coming in on the ball in left. I'm thinking to myself, "If there's a play at the plate, it's not even going to be close." I was absolutely right. Bream was safe by a mile! Bonds throw was short and about 15 feet up the first baseline. From that very moment, Bonds dropped several notches in my mind. I also mentally placed the tag "overrated" on him.

In a few days, Bonds will break Aaron's record under a performance-enhancing drug cloud of suspicion. Should the commissioner be at the game? I don't know. The commissioner wasn't at the game when Aaron broke the record. Should Aaron be at the game? My personal opinion is no. My reasoning is simple. I remember watching Rickey Henderson break Lou Brock's all-time stolen base record on May 1, 1991. It was a great moment. Brock was in the stands. The game stopped. I'll never forget part of Henderson's speech. In part he said, "Lou Brock was the symbol of great base stealing. But today, I'm the greatest of all time." What an absolute jerk! Today's greats stand on the shoulders of those who went before them. However, it seems in today's egocentric, SportsCenter-driver environment, it has become very difficult to see this fact and acknowledge the past. Hank Aaron doesn't need to be sitting in the stands to watch Bond's relegate him to #2 on the all-time list of homerun hitters. He certainly doesn't need to be there to honor Bonds and I suspect receive little mention or respect himself.

Okay that's about enough baseball ranting. That's not what you're here for, right?