Never has second best been such a spectacle

It is mind-boggling that so much interest is being spent on the notion Major League Baseball has displayed a detached interest in Barry Bonds’ pursuit of its home run record, perhaps its most glamorous record.
Good for MLB.
Of course, Babe Ruth’s is not just another baseball name. It is probably the best known name since the sport’s inception. His exploits legendary, on and off the field, for that matter.
However, Ruth sits second to Hank Aaron in the home run hammering department, which makes one wonder: if Bonds get this much attention for being second best, what happens should he last long enough to chase down Aaron’s total of 755 home runs.
With the steroid scandal aspect surrounding Bonds readily available as a handy, all-purpose out, even Bud Selig gets it that moving to No. 2 on any list is far less worthy of celebration than No. 1. One can’t help but feel commissioner Selig, who remains pretty much been head-in-the-sand over the steroids issue, hopes Bonds’ assault on the all-time record held by Hank Aaron stalls somewhere shy of the 755 homers counted by Hank Aaron.
Bonds entered tonight’s play with 713 home runs, one shy of the record Ruth established so long ago, fueled only by beer and hot dogs, according to legend. Not really sure to what, if anything unworthy, Hammerin’ Hank’s slugging proficiency is attributed.
You have to feel badly for surviving members of Ruth’s family who have been invited to track Bonds’ pursuit of their ancestor’s achievements. Requests by the San Francisco Giants, with input surely from the folks in charge of Bonds’ self-promoting reality show, to witness the occasion have been graciously rejected.
Good for the Ruth girls.
Somehow, it’s difficult to see one of the Babe’s granddaughters receiving a hug from Bonds on the occasion of his 715th homer as being terribly genuine. They really have no reason to attend.
Rarely has so much attention been directed toward being second best. Thankfully, the Bambino’s kin seem to understand that concept.
It will be interesting to watch, once Bonds passes Ruth, to see how close he gets to Aaron.
Certainly, age and injury and the manner in which teams pitch to Bonds will at least delay the process. Maybe together those issues will keep the more credible Aaron at the top of the pile.
It would be interesting to see what kind response is forthcoming from Aaron should that time come.