Defenders of baseball’s PED pariahs would have to love the irony that unfolded Tuesday night.
On the 40th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, the former Braves slugger was honored in Atlanta.
Barry Bonds’ 762 homers are the most in baseball history, but many believe his record is tainted by suspected performance-enhancing drug usage. Commissioner Bud Selig, on hand at Turner Field for Tuesday’s festivities, did nothing to defuse the notion that Aaron — who is second all-time with 755 home runs — is the true “Home Run King.”
“I’m always in a sensitive spot there, but I’ve said that myself and I will leave it at that,” Selig said when asked about Aaron being the real “Home Run King.”
But while Selig was condemning Bonds, players who actually have been suspended for PED use were having spectacular days at ballparks across the country.
Start right in Atlanta with Bartolo Colon, who fired seven shutout innings in the Mets’ 4-0 victory over the Braves. In August 2012, the right-hander was suspended 50 games after testing positive for testosterone.
Earlier, the Brewers’ Ryan Braun — who drew a 65-game suspension last season for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal — swatted three homers and drove in seven runs during a 10-4 win in Philadelphia. The left fielder was roundly booed and hit by “cheater” chants by Phillies fans.
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Also Tuesday night, the Blue Jays’ Melky Cabrera — who, like Colon, was suspended for 50 games in August 2012 for testing positive for testosterone — homered for the fourth straight game in a 5-2 win over the Astros.
Now, is that a real Home Run Streak?