Scoot over, Babe. The man with an asterisk is waiting in the passing lane.
Baseball slugger Barry Bonds hit his 714th home run Saturday, tying the legendary Babe Ruth and reserving a place for himself in baseball lore. But his amazing deed was done under a shadow, and only time will tell how it’s remembered. We think Bonds can improve his image with the kind of graciousness he showed to Ruth on Saturday.
When Henry Aaron, baseball’s all-time home run king with 755 homers, passed Ruth during the 1974 season, he did so under the ugly specter of racism. He endured death threats and angry taunts from nasty fans.
Allegations of steroid abuse have made Bonds a target for baseball purists who celebrate a level playing field. The San Francisco slugger has been greeted in rival ballparks with signs such as, “Ruth did it on hot dogs and beer. Aaron did it with class. How did YOU do it?” Some simply hold up placards with a bold asterisk.
Bonds has admitted to rubbing into his skin a clear substance and a cream, given to him by his trainer, who has since been indicted in a steroid-distribution ring. He claims he didn’t think they were steroids. Just a cream for his aches, pains and arthritis.
His great feats are deserving of an asterisk in the record books if the allegations are true. Bonds’ dour persona has made it hard for even the most passionate lovers of the game to believe him, but we think he helped himself Saturday, speaking of Ruth as a man who transcended the sport, a gracious attitude that was a long time coming.
“This is a great accomplishment because of Babe Ruth and what he brought to the game of baseball and his legacy,” Bonds said. ” … It’s an honor to be in the same class.” That’s far removed from what he said a few years ago when he began closing in on the record: “In the baseball world, everything is Babe Ruth, right? I got his slugging percentage and I’ll take his home runs and that’s it, don’t talk about him no more.”
Bonds’ turnabout probably seems insincere to some, but we like to think the difficult home-run chase brought him a measure of humility as he faced the pressure that Ruth overcame in an earlier era.
Colfax triumph
We applaud the 5,081 runners who participated in Sunday’s inaugural Colorado Colfax Marathon, and the 1,600 volunteers who made it possible. Colfax is one of Colorado’s lifelines, coursing from the foothills of Golden to the open plains east of Aurora, and we’re pleased to see the race has brought some valuable attention to the task of sprucing up our Main Street.
The right call
Jockey Edgar Prado calls himself more of a horse lover than a horse jockey. That was evident Saturday when his quick thinking saved the life of Barbaro, the favorite to win the Preakness Stakes. He heard a pop as Barbaro shattered a rear hind leg. The horse kept running, but Prado pulled him to a stop, preventing the whole leg from shattering and, as veterinarians later said, saving his life.
Life-and-death decisions on the sporting fields are few, but that was one. Barbaro, a great athlete, will live on, thanks to Prado.
