Babe Ruth And 3 To The Third

3-3-3. A magic number.

Barry Bonds, whom I do not like for a myriad of reasons – plate crowding, lack of team ethic, body armor, possible steroid usage – is 3 away from Ruth with his third home run of the season. Admittedly, Ruth was no saint either. He was a cigar-chomping, drunken misogynist. Nevertheless, he had personality and personality goes a long way.

Hank Aaron passed Babe over a quarter of a century ago and did it with style and in the face of adversity. I don’t see anyone sending Bonds death threats and I cannot say how he would react to the sort of violent resistance that Aaron withstood. Maris got his share of hate mail when he passed the Babe’s single season record and persevered with quiet grace. Such grace nevertheless was not enough and Maris’ record was defaced with an asterisk.

Now, Bonds, in his quest for the greatest record in sports – the all-time home run record – sits in the 3 spot. He is number 3 on the all-time home run list, three runs behind Ruth, who wore #3.

That Bonds will surpass No. 3 – that’s a given. That Bonds will pass Aaron – that’s likely. That Bonds used steroids – that’s a possibility. Three things that I don’t like.

Joe – this post is for you. I wish you were here.