The same conclusions that can be drawn with Barry Bonds can be applied to Eric Gagne. The right-hander's feats, too, were extraordinary. In the era of power bats, he became a power arm. Baseball people from around the league believed for years that he wasn't doing it alone. They respected his gamesmanship and couldn't put a price tag on his desire to shove the baseball down the opponent's throat. But they also recognized that Gagne, too, might have been a product of his era. If you are convinced that there must be an asterisk on the Bonds home run record, then you must also accept that you'd have to put one next to Gagne's 84 consecutive saves. But Gagne is a good guy, so his record gets no asterisk. He's a loveable French-Canadian, Ian Laperriere without the crooked nose. This forces the conclusion that records of this era must stand alone, because there is no method of measurement. The fans aren't leaving the game because of this, but hindsight is coming quickly.