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Originally Posted by NJSPEEDER
i have no doubt that he is a first ballot hall of famer jsut because of that one number. the reason i don't consider him a great player is that he didn't stay great through his entire career. the past few seasons you could tell he had nothing to offer the world other than the chance to hang on long enough to break the record.
look at the great hitters of all time, hank aaron hit home runs consistantly throughout his career, ted williams was the best hitter in the league until the day he retired, cal ripkin put up numbers in the top 10% ofthe league quitely and on some of the worst teams in baseball history for more consecutive games that anyone in major league history. those are great players.
i think he WAS a great player at one time, but he let that time slip by and now he is hanging on.
i also do not believe that the home run record is the most difficult record to attain in baseball any more. i would give that one to the wins by a pitcher, no one will touch cy youngs 500+ career wins for a very very long time.
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Just because of that one number... what about the 7 NL MVPs, or the 8 gold gloves, or the 12 silver slugger awards, or the two batting titles the most recently in 2004 ( if he were to retire this year this would be within his last 3 active seasons not including 2005 where he played in 14 games) or leading the league in walks 12 times (5 times before 1998 )????????
Hank Aaron hit 20, 12, and 10 home runs in the last 3 seasons of his career. Barry Bonds has hit 26(2006) and 22(2007)... if next year is his last (which i believe it will be) he will hit more than 10 home runs... which makes his last 3 seasons of his career BETTER than the last 3 that Hank Aaron had.
Oh and Bonds has hit 25+ HRS in 16 career seasons not counting this year which would be 17. Aaron has done 18 seasons with 25+, Bonds will be within one after this year.
Your right its not the most difficult record, Ted Williams' consecutive game hitting streak is the most difficult record. And Baseball will never see a 500 win pitcher ever again, nor will it see a 400 game winner ever again.
So basically, people just look at what Bonds has done in his career, and don't think for one second that most major leaguers haven't taken some form of performance enhancing supplement, pitchers included, because I'll put money on it that they have. Bonds has done this against a level playing field, just as Ruth, Aaron and Mays did in previous years. So considering the stats, you have to give the man the RESPECT that is due to him as a ballplayer. Talk badly about him as you wish but statistically he is ONE OF THE GREATEST ever.
I would write more but I have to go eat dinner.
Oh and how can you put Cal Ripken Jr in the likes of Ted Williams and Hank Aaron... that is a joke.