Barry Bonds

It was a game that was meaningless in the standings, but it was a game that established a record that will never, ever be broken.

Russ Springer was on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Barry Bonds was the batter.

Barry Bonds could quite go down as the most dangerous hitter Major League Baseball has ever seen. Steroids or no steroids, Bonds eye at the plate was matched by a select few.

Bonds is a guy who was walked intentionally with the bases loaded just so he wouldn't hit a homerun. So, the question is what 10 pitchers gave Bonds the most problems with the minimum being at least 25 at-bats for Bonds?

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By now, it is pretty much agreed upon that Randy Johnson is one of the top five pitchers in the last 20 years and one of the greatest lefties of all time. He is an individual that I loved watching take the mound and intimidate hitters like hardly any other pitcher during what has become known as the Steroid Era. 

Home run records holder and alleged steroid user Barry Bonds, earned a major win Friday when a federal appeals court ruled prosecutors could not use drug tests and doping calendars in the former All-Star's ongoing perjury case. 

Bonds' case went to the ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a lower court ruled the government could not directly tie blood and urine samples to the retired slugger. 

People like to take the high ground whenever it is convenient for them. If you've never been put into an opportunity that could cause you to make a questionable moral decision, than it's easy to condemn it.

But let's face it, when it comes down to it, if you say that to save your job, you wouldn't have at the very least tried PHDs, then I'm calling you a liar.

The San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies face off this weekend in a match-up featuring a bewildering assortment of player related in some way to other players, including Will Venable, Tony Gwynn Jr., Jayson Werth, Scott and Jerry Hairston, and Padres coach Glenn Hoffman.

Nevertheless, with Ken Griffey Jr., announcing his retirement on Wednesday, the era of Major League sons truly comes to a close.

I think we all know that Babe Ruth was probably the greatest offensive player in the history of baseball. Ted Williams was probably second, and Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds, and Lou Gehrig round out my own personal top five. The numbers these guys put up during their careers were astounding, but are sometimes difficult to fully appreciate out of context.

What's not difficult to appreciate is a truly great season. Last year, Albert Pujols led baseball with 47 homers. Joe Mauer led baseball with a .365 average, and Ryan Howard led baseball with 145 RBI.

I just realized this fact after I saw Emmanuel Burriss get transferred to the 60-day Disabled List on May 22 to make room for Santiago Casilla:

The Giants haven't had one African-American player take the field for them this year.

It seems that nary a week goes by without another player being indicted on charges of using PEDs. While the juicers', and their suppliers, house of cards fell in the MLB, PED investigations and suspensions have now proliferated to the NFL, professional cycling, and other sports.

One thing is clear. These substances, the people who use them, and the people who distribute them, are not going away.

Every conviction is only a drop in the vast ocean that the purists believe professional sports are sinking in.

Barry Bonds has set some remarkable records. What is notable is not the fact that he set them, but that he broke the old marks by such a wide margin.

Babe Ruth was the most feared batter in baseball history until Bonds, late in his career, discovered how he could become even more frightening to pitchers than the Ruth.

Pitchers wanted to face Barry Bonds as much as a pudgy kid wants to face a naked salad.