The Anniversary of Babe's First Home Run

Today, May 6, marks the one-hundredth anniversary of Babe Ruth's first home run. He would go on to hit more than 700 in his career, a mark that was later supplanted by the great Hank Aaron.

When Ruth socked his first homer, he was a tremendous pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He hit the home run against the team for which he would play, mostly in the outfield, for fifteen years, the New York Yankees.

If Ruth were alive and in playing form today, he would undoubtedly be the game's best. He hit for power and for average and was, according to many, a sleek cat in his early years. And the only PEDs the Babe ever used were hot dogs.

Many feel, and I agree, that Ruth was the greatest player ever. Following him in second, I think, is Willy Mays, whose 84th. birthday happens to fall on May 6.

756*

Kev McNerney of The Musings of Kev, someone who, like me, loves the game of baseball, greeted Barry Bonds' record-smashing 756th. career homerun with something less than enthusiasm. "Meh," says Kevin.

I responded to his interesting post:

While someone of Barry Bonds' baseball lineage might be expected to have a deeper respect for the game than to artificially pump up his body and steal the home run record from Hank Aaron, I blame the powers in Major League Baseball more than I do Bonds.

For too many years, MLB had an ambiguous policy regarding steroid use and then enforced it in a shamefully weak manner. It gave players signed primarily for their capacity to hit baseballs out of ballparks an unspoken incentive to use steroids. It cheapened the game's record books and, in its way, defamed players like Aaron.

Hopefully, the new steroid policy will be as bold and emphatic a line in the sand as MLB's laudable and appropriate policies on gambling.

Hopefully too, no one will take Bonds' "record" too seriously. No matter what Barry Bonds said last night, it is tainted and would be even if his inflated skull--something that can't be achieved through workout and diet regimens--didn't serve as Exhibit A that he used steroids.

For people who love the game, there was little to celebrate last night. But again, I blame MLB more than I do Bonds for the sorrow and shame that came to the National Pastime in San Francisco last evening.