Bonds and 714
Bonds and 714
Recently, at Oakland, Barry Bonds hit career home run number 714. The media has been covering the heck out of this story and we’ve all been duped into believing this event was monumental. Since when do we celebrate someone who finally moved into a tie for second place? There will be more celebration when he hits 715 and goes into second place. Sure, it’s a nice personal accomplishment and fun to see—to a point.
Should we start throwing celebrations for second and third place efforts in other categories? I know what you are thinking, “but it’s for home runs”. I would submit to you that having a 56 game hitting streak or hitting .400 or better over the course of a season are monumentally more difficult to achieve. Are we supposed to be in a frenzy because Babe Ruth was the second place player Bonds tied?
The commissioner was right to want to stop play to celebrate someone moving into a tie for second place. The sport should celebrate winners. When and if Bonds breaks the record, then there’s a reason to celebrate. I am sure there’s a guy in row H of section 200 that’s eaten as many hotdogs in one sitting that the Babe ever did. Should we stop the game and celebrate his accomplishment too? It’s exciting to watch great players, but we need to keep accomplishments in perspective. Celebrate when a player ties or breaks the record.
