Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Barry, Hank, Cal Jr. & Tony

In the 1930's Babe Ruth retired with 714 homeruns.
In 1976, Hank Aaron retired with 755, Aaron, as far as we know lived clean and played
hard. Ruth, ate hotdogs before the game and was know to drink his share of beer, and a
stogie wasnt too far from his face. Aaron, broke into the majors in 1954. When you could
count the Negro players on one hand. When I was a kid, there was Maris, Mays, Mantle...
Bench, Kaline and Killebrew and Rose, well he was another story ! But these guys played
hard. There have always been power hitters, actually starting with Ruth. Before that you
played to get a hit. The bashers kept coming, Dick Allen, Reggie Jackson, Then around the 90's came steroids... We knew of it in The Olympics with Ben Johnson now Baseball ???
Look at pictures of Barry and Mark Mcguire and Sammy Sosa when they started and they matched the scrawny bully on the beach. Today they are bulked up he-men. Sammy and
Mcguire going toe to toe a couple years back, bashing the 60 homer mark like it wasnt there.
Now its 2007, Canseco writes a book and others write theres about steroid use in baseball.
Say it isnt so !! Barry is approaching 756, and commissioner Selig is mad and Aarons always had an attitude. And they say Barry doesnt deserve his glory. They never questioned Babes manners, and Barrys not guilty yet. Ken Jr. has 500 some. Im sure when he gets close to 750. theyll have another lynch mob ready. But let this new crop of hitters approach 700 on about 20 years and baseballs saved again yeah !!!!! Cal Jr. and Tony Gwinn are the last of the played hard and honest generation. I know thers still Jeter and ARod and a few others but back when barry and I lived baseball, man its hard to describe. The juries still out, so I'll be back with the rest of the story, till then, I hope Barry plays the rest of his games at Friscos park where they love him.
His godfather Willie Mays will be there with his 660 HRS. And me .I guess Im one of the few that says Atta boy Barry... Atta Boy !!!!!!!!!