Are records meant to be broken?

Without question, the biggest story of the 2007 Major League season is going to be Barry Bonds' quest for 756. Currently sitting precariously between The Colossus of Clout and Hammerin' Hank atop the career homers list, Bonds only needs 22 dingers this season to surpass Henry Aaron as the new Home Run Champion of all time.

But how many of us are really cheering for him to break the most hallowed record in all of sports? Is Bonds, who is currently on trial for steroid use, is notorious for being a jerk to all around him( player, fan, and coach alike), and is being paid $15.8 million this season, really the man we want to break our beloved Aaron's 33 year old record? I, for one, will be rooting openly against him.

I do wonder, though, if it's Bonds that I will be cheering against or am I simply opposed to the principle itself. In the recent history of Major League Baseball, there had been only ONE person to hit more Home Runs than the Babe, only ONE person hit in 56 straight games, only ONE person has hit over .400 in the last 65 years. I bet in looking at this list, every one of you readers can name all three record holders without even blinking. These are some of the greatest players to ever pick up a shaved piece of ash, but why does my 10 year old brother know all three of these men and even what team they played for?

It's because of their records, and that's what I'm afraid to lose.

After the Big Mac/Sosa race in 1998, how many times have you heard Roger Maris' name? Can you even tell me how many home runs he hit in '61 anymore? Maris' name and glory has passed on along with his record. 61 Home Runs in a season is suddenly almost obsolete for a bonified clean up hitter in the Majors. Fathers are having to teach their sons that the men they see on TV hit so many home runs because they used drugs that made them play better. "BUT YOU SHOULDN'T USE THEM!" they say. I was lucky enough to have my father teach me about Roger Maris, a slugger with passion and integrity coursing through his veins, not ephedrine.

So going into the start of this new season, think about what we as a nation of baseball fans lose each time the record book is rewritten but, more importantly, think about what kind of person is rewriting it.

See you on the field,
NAG