This past Sunday, one of the greatest numbers in sports was surpassed for the second time in history as Barry Bonds hit a majestic drive to centerfield off of Byung-Hyun Kim at the beautiful part AT&T Park. After what was feeling like months since #713 in Philadelphia and much longer than the actual week since #714 in nearby Oakland, Bonds finally overcame Babe Ruth, but did anyone notice? With steroid speculation creating a hazy cloud over everything Bonds touches and does this season, the historic blast was met with both reservations over its validity and anger toward the innocence Bonds and his fellow cheaters have taken away from baseball fans. Still, personal feelings must be put aside and true fans should marvel at the man that is the son of a former Major Leaguer, godson of the greatest living player in Willie Mays, and now, second on the most hallowed list in sports. In case 715 career home runs isn?t enough to warrant your appreciation, maybe the jaw-dropping numbers and awards that have made his career complete will. He is a six-time most valuable player award winner, an eight-time gold glove winner, the only member of the 500-500 club, and is one of only 3 players ever to have a 40 homer-40 stolen base season. Other stats to keep in mind in judging the greatest of Barry Bonds is his lifetime batting average of .299, which for a power hitter, is fairly high, as well as a career OPS of over 1.000. Still, this isn?t enough for people who say that his numbers are built on the grounds of cheating, but can they answer the question of where is everyone else? McGwire cheated, Sosa cheated, and Palmeiro even failed a drug test. Still, none of those names even made it to 600 career home runs, and lacked the overall skill set of Bonds like speed and defensive prowess. Steroids don?t help you differentiate between a 79 mph change-up at the knees from a 95 mph fastball at the letters. They don?t help your hand-eye coordination in the most difficult skill in sports, hitting a baseball. They help you work out longer and come back from injuries, which probably led to some of Bonds? home runs, but how many we will never know. This is why Bonds? numbers shouldn?t have an asterisk or be looked at with contempt because it was his great hitting ability that should be remembered, not how many home runs we suspect were done by cheating. He has redefined the game by opponents? going the route of intentional walks in the most unusual circumstances and imploring shifts to the likes we have never seen. A lot has happened that every fan wishes never did, but we can?t go back and change it. Baseball should have celebrated this mark because baseball is a game built on stats , but instead Bud Selig and his team decided it wasn?t worth the time or trouble. They will soon regret this decision, much like the one to turn a blind eye on steroids in the first place.