Barry Bond's chase of Hank Aaron's all-time home run record is tainted by two issues. Bond's surly unlikability and the steroid allegations against him. But is Bonds a black mark on baseball, or part of something larger?

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Barry Bonds is not a cuddly figure.

We know that. He’s surly, unapologetic and unlikable. His relationship with the media has never been anything but rocky, and he’s not the most civil athlete in the world, as evidenced by his recently calling Bob Costas “a little midget man who (knows) nothing about baseball.” (although, to Barry’s credit, he has apologized) Not only that, Bonds practically has his own locker room all to himself.

No wonder people bristle at the guy.

Bonds has a temperament befitting an eccentric genius or a brilliant artist. He’s not your regular Joe Schmuck who everybody thinks would be their best buddy, if they were to meet. He’s no lunch-pail carrying, scrappy, hustling everyman who appeals to the fans and the media. He’s not a congenial, effervescently smiling type like Ken Griffey Jr. In fact, Barry seems to have more in common with that other irksome athletic genius, Floyd Mayweather Jr, than he does with his close friend, Griffey.

And that is what hurts Bonds more than anything.

His persona.

I like Bonds. But I’m a different cat. Many people look at him and see a complete dick, I look at the guy and see Van Gogh. His quirks are interesting to me. His unlikable personality seems genuine, if anything. Bonds doesn’t have to put on airs and be everybody’s golden boy, so he doesn’t. People already have their minds made up on him, so it wouldn’t matter much what he did anyway. His chase to break Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record would easily be the biggest story of the year if Bonds was even remotely likable, but he’s not, and that taints the whole show.

That, and the steroid allegations.

Now rightly or wrongly, Bonds personality fits into that situation as well. If Bonds was as likable as Mark McGwire, the attention for the record chase would be different. Even with the allegations. People can get over just about anything if they like somebody. Give him a smile and a generous, shimmering reputation, and vitriol over those allegations would be reduced significantly. Bonds is not that guy though. Never has been and never will be.

But the steroid issue is crucial.

Will Bonds breaking Aaron’s record be a black mark on baseball?

I will say this, after finding out Bonds’ testimony in the BALCO investigation, his accomplishments of the last several years are definitely questionable. His home run record will be a tainted one. No doubt. Now if the leaker is to be believed, Barry Bonds, in his court testimony, admitted to using a type of rubbing balm and what he thought was flaxseed oil. This sounds like the designer steroid THG, which is found in similar forms known as “the cream” and “the clear.” It’s hard to believe that someone who takes care of their body the way Bonds does, wouldn’t know what they were putting on it, and in it.

It doesn’t make sense that he would do that.

So if the leak is accurate, it’s hard to give Barry the full benefit of the doubt.

Questions will forever linger.

However, Bonds is an easy target. He makes a good villain. Definitely a convenient one. Any steroid use, if true, is made even more egregious when you consider he was already one of the best players ever. And this was well before the alleged use occurred.. However, Bonds isn’t a black mark on baseball. He’s just the most obvious guy to point a finger at.

The whole Steroid Era is the black mark.

And there are plenty of fingers to point in that one.

You can start with the owners. You can point at various other players. But the fact is, if Bonds is a cheater, than he is simply one of hundreds, if not thousands. You can’t condone it, but let’s not be hypocritical about it either. Barry Bonds isn’t the problem all by himself, it’s much bigger than that.

So chalk up the Steroid Era as the black mark on baseball. Throw it right next to the Black Sox scandal, the segregation of the sport, the excessive drug use of the 70s and 80s and the owners mid-80s collusion against free agency.

It is what it is, now baseball needs to find a way to recover.

The problem with that is the Steroid Era was good for baseball. Everybody loves watching crushing home runs. I mean, how exciting was it to watch McGwire and Sosa surpass Roger Maris in 1998? It was enthralling. Even Bonds. I was riveted whenever he came to the plate late in the 2001 season. He was such a machine. It seemed like Bonds could just glare at a fastball and it would rocket out into McCovey Cove. No swing of the bat needed.

As a fan that was unbelievable.

Thrilling.

And as a fan, I sat by and watched many a steroid crushed home run. Sure I was suspicious, however I watched and loved it anyway.

You see, fans are just as much a part of the steroid problem in baseball. Because we love the big numbers. The tape measured shots. We tune into television and buy tickets for that stuff. Power reinvigorated the sport.

Now, with Bonds poised to break Aaron’s record, we can get ready to move on to another chapter.

Because, in baseball, after every scandal, there is always something that comes along to wash away that pain. To get rid of our anxieties.

After the Black Sox it was Babe Ruth. After World War 2, it was Jackie Robinson who integrated the major leagues and inspired generations. There is always something.

And there will be.

For now, appreciate Barry Bonds for the great player he is, because he’s about to do something truly special. It’s tainted, but special. And sure, afterward he’s still going to be that same brilliant artist, sour, moody and unlikable.

But, remember, he will be the end of an era.

A new dawn is on the horizon.

Authors Website: http://twitter.com/billthebutcher2

Authors Bio:

Bill Wetzel is Amskapi Pikuni aka Blackfeet from Montana. His writing has appeared in the American Indian Culture & Research Journal, Yellow Medicine Review, Studies In Indian Literatures (SAIL), Hinchas de Poesia, Red Ink Magazine, Literary Orphans and various outlets. He is the founder of the Stjukshon Indigenous reading series at Casa Libre en la Solana in Tucson, AZ. He is a 2018 Peripheral Poet Fellow, and twice a Lijang Studio Spring Festival Writer-in-Residence in Lijang, Yunnan, China. He is the 2022 MFA Author Awards winner. He currently lives and teaches in Shanghai, China.