Hammerin Hank

[Boom_70]

Saddened that Aaron would use the forum of his 40th anniversary
to get political.

http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2014/04/09/hank-aaron-compares-republicans-that-oppose-obama-to-kkk/

I'm going back to recognizing Barry Bonds as the HR king.

 

[jr/shotglass]

Bud isn't.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/04/08/selig-hints-aaron-still-baseballs-home-run-king/7483779/

 

[Mark2010]

I still regard Aaron as the greatest power hitter of all time, given the whole steroid era.

 

[jr/shotglass]

Debatable. Did he have to face true closers an at-bat per game?

 

[BTExpress]

Hitting home runs under an avalanche of death threats > hitting home runs off specialized "closers" whom Bob Gibson would have never let on the mound in the first place.

 

[jr/shotglass]

Well, there's that, too.

 

[The Big Ragu]

He also hit 755 home runs off the same exact pitchers that nobody else hit 755 home runs off of in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Good for Hank.

 

[JC]

He also would be banned for life under these PED rules.

 

[jr/shotglass]

I'm not going to go too far into a defense of Bonds, because a lot of his story is indefensible.

But what I've always said about PEDs -- you still have to have the eye-hand coordination to make solid contact. Bonds had a .311/.456/.624 before anyone said anything about his hat size.

 

[BDC99]

I'm not going to go too far into a defense of Bonds, because a lot of his story is indefensible.

But what I've always said about PEDs -- you still have to have the eye-hand coordination to make solid contact. Bonds had a .311/.456/.624 before anyone said anything about his hat size.

I am actually of the belief that if these guys want to do irreparable damage to their bodies and shorten their lives to get better at a game and make more money, then that's on them. And if they are caught they need to pay for it, since it is against the rules and federal law. Bonds' hand-eye coordination and skill hitting a baseball are not in question. Same with A-Rod. What the PEDs do is give them that little bit more strength and recovery to be able to hit just a few more homers every year. I don't care a bit about the argument of who is the true HR king. Bonds was a great player and the record is his. But Aaron was a great player as well, and I respect him a hell of a lot more.

 

[BDC99]

As for the political statement, you have to remember how Aaron was treated by a lot of fans and where he is coming from. Race is a part of his story. I do wish he had chosen a different time to make the statement.

 

[jr/shotglass]

I don't care a bit about the argument of who is the true HR king. Bonds was a great player and the record is his. But Aaron was a great player as well, and I respect him a hell of a lot more.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Boom_70]

As for the political statement, you have to remember how Aaron was treated by a lot of fans and where he is coming from. Race is a part of his story. I do wish he had chosen a different time to make the statement.

That's where I'm at too. Why today? Turn a great event into a political statement.
To compare The Republican Party to the KKK is just way over the top. Besides I bet
it was mostly southern democrats that made up the kkk in it's day.

 

[Bubbler]

Besides I bet it was mostly southern democrats that made up the kkk in it's day.

Who are now predominantly Republicans.

 

[Boom_70]

Besides I bet it was mostly southern democrats that made up the kkk in it's day.

Who are now predominantly Republicans.

I think the KKK lost a lot of it's membership to The Tea Party

 

[Smallpotatoes]

Well this guy says the people who really sent Aaron the threatening letters were KGB agents who were trying to stir up racial tensions in the U.S.

http://www.wnd.com/2014/04/what-hank-aaron-needs-to-know/

Is that really as stupid as it sounds to me?
And is Jack Cashill really a legitimate journalist?

 

[BDC99]

Is that really as stupid as it sounds to me?

Yes. It sounds pretty stupid.

 

[Starman]

The RWSM of course going predictably berserk.

Bill Russell, not to be outdone, likens NCAA athlete exploitation to slavery, and QUITE suprisingly, likens the current struggle of gay athletes for acceptance to the battles of black athletes in the 1940s-60s.

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/content/20140409-bill-russell-gay-athletes-today-face-similar-struggle-to-black-players-of-past.ece

Jim Brown, you're on the clock. Make this one good.

 

[Mark2010]

I'm not going to go too far into a defense of Bonds, because a lot of his story is indefensible.

But what I've always said about PEDs -- you still have to have the eye-hand coordination to make solid contact. Bonds had a .311/.456/.624 before anyone said anything about his hat size.

I am actually of the belief that if these guys want to do irreparable damage to their bodies and shorten their lives to get better at a game and make more money, then that's on them. And if they are caught they need to pay for it, since it is against the rules and federal law. Bonds' hand-eye coordination and skill hitting a baseball are not in question. Same with A-Rod. What the PEDs do is give them that little bit more strength and recovery to be able to hit just a few more homers every year. I don't care a bit about the argument of who is the true HR king. Bonds was a great player and the record is his. But Aaron was a great player as well, and I respect him a hell of a lot more.

Bonds was a fraud. Not alone, of course, but it hardly excuses breaking the rules and messing up the entire numbers argument.