This Day In Sports History: October 5th, 2001 – Barry Bonds Sets Record
On October 5th, 2001, Barry Bonds hit his 71st and 72nd home runs to break the single-season record held by Mark McGwire. The San Francisco Giants would lose the game 11-12 to the Los Angels Dodgers, but nobody would remember the final score of that game. Everyone will remember the history made in San Francisco that night.
Bonds is one of the most controversial players in Major League Baseball history, his legacy is forever overshadowed by steroids, but his record will most likely never been broken. McGwire only held the record for three years after beating out Sammy Sosa in 1998 by hitting 70.
Put Him In Cooperstown
I don’t want to derail this post with a long-winded rant about the Baseball Writers Association of American, the stuck-up group of journalists who decides who is inducted into the baseball hall of fame. But, the single greatest homerun hitter of all time is not going to be immortalized in Cooperstown because of the era he played in.
I understand that using steroids or any performance-enhancing drugs is considered cheating, but it is not like Bonds is the only guy who used the needle. That entire ten to fifteen-year timeframe, the entire league was on some sort of performance enhancer to get the edge. Pitchers, batters, hell probably even coaches were all using a little something to get an edge, so it all evens out in the long run.
The bottom line is this, Barry Bonds is one of the best hitters of all time. He set a record that will most likely never be broken, so the man should be immortalized with the other great players in the sport’s history.
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