I thought he wasn’t apart of the union. Now I don’t know all specifics on this side of the ball, but doesn’t that allow a team to do something such as require more tests?

I personally don’t like the man, but I’ve never undermined his achievements. Ever.

(Yes, I can say personally because I’ve had the opportunity to see him at 2 different events and witnessed his toxic personality first hand. You get a lot from a first impression, and Mr. Bonds doesn’t seem like the type of guy I would even want to get to know.)

How many on this blog are for Big Mac seeing the inside of the HOF- why the double standard?

I don’t have a double standard on this point, they should both be in the Hall. Pete Rose shouldn’t.

If you’re comparing them as men, there’s a huge difference between them. McGwire is a consummate professional, a great teammate, and was a great ambassador for the game as player. His 70 homer chase in 1998 really brought the game back to the national forefront and he treated the chase with humility, class, dignity, and with a tremendous respect to those that came before him. Bonds is none of those things. He’s not gracious, he’s not humble, he doesn’t respect the elder statesman in the game who have enabled him to make millions playing it. He’s crass and unapologetic for his actions. Much of the scorn that he’s gotten is deserved because he’s brought most of it on himself.

While Bonds has never tested positive for steroids, neither has McGwire. The evidence against Bonds is much more damaging than the evidence against McGwire as well. People try to use Mac’s testimony at the Senate hearing as damning evidence, but I personally feel that he was simply trying to be an ambassador and steward of the game and to get to the real issue that should have carried that day: How do we keep our young children from making potentially hazardous heath decisions?

Before 2001, Bonds had never hit more that 50 homers in a season and had surpassed 40 homers just 3 times. He then proceeded to hit more homers in the next 4 years (including 27 more than he’d ever hit) then he had the previous 7 years while advancing in age and having his body blow up like a balloon.

In contrast, McGwire hit 49 homers as a rookie in 1986, in a massive pitchers park, in the middle of a dead ball era. He proceeded to slug over 30 homers four of the next five years until injuries took a toll on him. As soon as he got healthy, he slugged better that .650 for 5 straight seasons and was better than .700 in 3 of them. Mac’s body shape never really changed all that much from 1986, although he did get a little bigger and stronger, and he was always a slugging home run hitter. Bonds never was until 2001, about 12 months after he supposedly started taking steroids and had bulked up nearly 30-40 pounds more than his previous playing weight.

Barry Bonds was a sure fire Hall of Fame player with more money than he knew what to do with prior to his alleged steroid use. He had no reason to use PED’s except to break records. I think this is why players like Hank Aaron despise him: He cheated for his own vanity, and any writer comparing what Barry has gone though to what Hank went through is doing a great disservice to Hank, who did things the right way his entire career. My opinion of Bonds is very similar to that of Bob Costas: What he did was selfish and it discredits the accomplishments of those that came before him.