Monday, July 23, 2007

Does Bonds Deserve Bud (and vice versa)

Well, maybe Barry Bonds deserves a Bud if he breaks Hank Aaron's record of 755 career home runs soon, but that's a Bud as in the beer, not Bud as in Commissioner Bud Selig. After all, then Commissioner Bowie Kuhn was not on hand when Aaron hit number 715 in 1974, to break Babe Ruth's career mark. Was it a slight in 1974. I think not. Will it be a slight this year if Bud isn't on hand for the record tying and record breaking bombs. Again, I think not! Potentially to many games involved and to many cities to see.

By all accounts, Selig was on hand in his hometown of Milwaukee and I might add here, the hometown of the commissioners' office, over the weekend past, as the Bond's led Giants took on the hometown Brewers with Barry just 2 homers away from tying the record. He didn't hit a homer though. So, what if it takes 10 games for Bonds to hit a pair of homers to tie. Should Selig attend all 10 games. An emphatic NO! And likewise, after Bonds ties the record, if it takes another, say 6 games to break the record, should Selig be at all 6. Again, an emphatic NO! I would hope the Lord High Commissioner of Baseball has better things to do than to traipse around following Bonds from city to city. After all, there is the business of baseball to be taken care of and that business is more than Bonds chasing a 33 year old career home run record. So bravo Bud on your decision to stay away from the Bonds Circus for potentially game after game and city after city. This Buds for you!

Also on the subject of baseball, it was nice to see the Tigers honor baseball hall of famer Norman "Turkey" Stearnes on Friday with a plaque being attached to the walls of Comerica Park commemorating his career exploits with the old baseball Negro Leagues and more specifically with the Detroit Stars. Tiger owner Mike Ilitch, President Dave Dombrowski, manager Jim Leyland and other Tiger players and dignitaries were on hand, along with members of the Stearnes family and other celebrants. Yet, "Turkey" was voted into Cooperstown in 2000, but is still on the outside looking in, in the city he eventually called home, Detroit. The plaque honoring Stearnes is on the outside of the stadium walls at Brush and Adams not inside the stadium walls, sadly, though I'm sure not intentionally, it seems symbolic of the fact that Stearnes and others from the old Negro Leagues were on the outside, looking in, when it came to having a chance to play major league baseball!

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