As many know, baseball star Barry Bonds was indicted this week for perjury and obstruction of justice in a federal court case surrounding the distribution and use of steroids and other "performance enhancing drugs." The reason he has been indicted is that prosecutors and a grand jury seem to believe that when Bonds said he did not knowingly use steroids he was lying through his teeth. See ESPN's Gene Wojeciechowski (known as Gene W to his friends, one hopes) on the case.
This indictment creates as many problems for baseball as it solves. Gene W points out that this indictment makes MLB commissioner Bud Selig's day as it absolves him from having to do anything about Bonds. Bonds will likely just go away on his own. On the other hand, Bonds still has a history which baseball, as the most historically minded of professional sports, must deal with.
Bonds holds two of baseball's most coveted records: most home runs in a season and most home runs in a career. If the evidence becomes indisputable that Bonds used steroids to set these records, can baseball still recognize them as records? This creates particular problems with the single season record, for if Bonds' record is struck, the next highest total is by Mark McGuire, who is also rumored to have been a steroid user. And after that it is Sammy Sosa. Same thing. Is it time to reinstate Babe Ruth and Roger Maris (asterisks and all) as baseball's single season home run champs? One thing we can be sure of, the Babe and Roger (picture on left) never took steroids.
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