Bonds was a competitor, like many competitors, driven to be the best.
He saw what Sosa and Maguire were doing and it pissed him off. They were cheating to be better than him. His competitive nature pushed him to beat them and if he had to cheat like them to do it, so be it. That's as much on Baseball as it is on Bonds. If Baseball wasn't going to police it, he was going to do what he had to do level the playing field against the juicers.
That said, I think Bonds is a monumental prick and I can't stand him. Fcuk him. We learned as kids that two wrongs don't make a right. That's why Junior Griffey should be more appreciated.
I am a Hank Aaron fan. His numbers are incredible. He had a little bit of an advantage playing in Atlanta (if my recollection serves, it was the highest elevation of any ballpark until they built Coors Field for the Rockies, and a small park at that, I think it was nicknamed the "launchpad").
Hank was consistent, year in and year out. He could hit for power, hit for average, and was strong in the field and on the base paths. He was a great all-around player. Was he better than Ruth? Ruth's numbers were so good compared to the competition that "dwarfed" wasn't a good enough descriptor. "Ruthian" entered the lexicon to describe someone whose accomplishments utterly shatter all the competition. Plus Ruth could pitch and do it well. It's tough to compare different eras but Aaron was the best of his era and if not the greatest of all time, then certainly on the very short list. Rest in peace, Hank Aaron.
Alex.
