Jersey Yankee
04-02-06, 05:04 PM
Aaron's Ultimate Challenger May Be a Natural After All (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/sports/baseball/02homers.html)
The home of the Braves (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/baseball/majorleague/atlantabraves/index.html?inline=nyt-org) is at 755 Hank Aaron Drive in Atlanta. That was the address given to Turner Field, which opened in 1997 as the successor to Fulton County Stadium, which had stood next door. It was there, in 1974, that Aaron propelled an Al Downing pitch over the left-center field fence and into history.
Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record then, and for the next quarter-century nobody challenged it. Then, according to "Game of Shadows," the explosive new book by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters, Barry Bonds started using steroids. Now, Aaron's record may fall.
Bonds enters this season as the game's most intriguing, and most vilified, character. He is 41, with 708 home runs and a right knee that required three operations last year. There is no doubting his ability to crank homers — he hit 4 in his first 16 at-bats this spring — and if he stays healthy, Aaron's record of 755 is in reach.
But considering the curious way Bonds has improved his home-run hitting late in his career, baseball may be better off if he merely rents the record. Years from now, the owner may be the Yankees' (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/baseball/majorleague/newyorkyankees/index.html?inline=nyt-org) Alex Rodriguez, who has never been linked to performance-enhancing drugs and has a renowned work ethic.
"I've never seen anybody as physically prepared as A-Rod is every day," the Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson said. "What he does to get ready, to me, is unbelievable. The way he works out. But when you get to 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, it's a little different."
Of course, Jackson was told, those are the years when Bonds actually improved. Jackson, who hit 563 homers and never topped 30 in a season after turning 37, was silent for a moment.
"They don't make those vitamins anymore," he said.
Jackson said he believed Bonds might pass Ruth, who had 714 homers, and leave Aaron's mark untouched. But Jackson acknowledged that he does not know Bonds well, and Bonds could be driven to break Aaron's mark, despite periodic hints about retirement.
The home of the Braves (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/baseball/majorleague/atlantabraves/index.html?inline=nyt-org) is at 755 Hank Aaron Drive in Atlanta. That was the address given to Turner Field, which opened in 1997 as the successor to Fulton County Stadium, which had stood next door. It was there, in 1974, that Aaron propelled an Al Downing pitch over the left-center field fence and into history.
Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record then, and for the next quarter-century nobody challenged it. Then, according to "Game of Shadows," the explosive new book by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters, Barry Bonds started using steroids. Now, Aaron's record may fall.
Bonds enters this season as the game's most intriguing, and most vilified, character. He is 41, with 708 home runs and a right knee that required three operations last year. There is no doubting his ability to crank homers — he hit 4 in his first 16 at-bats this spring — and if he stays healthy, Aaron's record of 755 is in reach.
But considering the curious way Bonds has improved his home-run hitting late in his career, baseball may be better off if he merely rents the record. Years from now, the owner may be the Yankees' (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/baseball/majorleague/newyorkyankees/index.html?inline=nyt-org) Alex Rodriguez, who has never been linked to performance-enhancing drugs and has a renowned work ethic.
"I've never seen anybody as physically prepared as A-Rod is every day," the Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson said. "What he does to get ready, to me, is unbelievable. The way he works out. But when you get to 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, it's a little different."
Of course, Jackson was told, those are the years when Bonds actually improved. Jackson, who hit 563 homers and never topped 30 in a season after turning 37, was silent for a moment.
"They don't make those vitamins anymore," he said.
Jackson said he believed Bonds might pass Ruth, who had 714 homers, and leave Aaron's mark untouched. But Jackson acknowledged that he does not know Bonds well, and Bonds could be driven to break Aaron's mark, despite periodic hints about retirement.