[My Favorite Headache]

But what about the juiced up pitchers who threw to him over the last 15 years? Should they all have their records tossed as well? Roids have been around a long time in the game and the people who took them would create a list as long as immigration threads here on FR.

[tanknetter]

But what about the juiced up pitchers who threw to him over the last 15 years? Should they all have their records tossed as well? Roids have been around a long time in the game and the people who took them would create a list as long as immigration threads here on FR.

That's not a bad point ... at least in the macro sense. One thing that struck me, having watched Ken Burn's Baseball recently, is how the game and the methods used to run up stats and achieve records have changed and evolved over the years. Things like the use of the designated hitter, a longer playing season with more games, and even "respectable" chemical enhancement brought about through better understanding of human physiology and nutrition.

Should it matter, for instance, that Hank Aaron was probably in better physical shape than Ruth thanks to several decades of nutritional advancement?

This isn't to dismiss Bonds, specifically ... because his use of enhancements went over the line imo. I really liked the "Babe Ruth did it on hot dogs & beer" banner, but in reading it I also couldn't help thinking that Ruth also did it thanks to playing a good chunk of his career in a ballpark that had been deliberately tailored (with a short right field wall) to his individual hitting needs.

[Crispus Attucks Patriot]

Yes they should. Besides, no pitcher today will ever be as good as Koufax or Bob Gibson was.

I assure you, they never took roids.

The "They've been around a long time" ploy is irrelevant. So has the Cosa Nostra, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to lock as many wiseguys away for life no parole as we can get our hands on.