A weekend of feats

First, Derek Jeter reached 2000 hits. That's impressive, especially considering how overrated he is. Oh wait. Jeter's personal victory was somewhat clouded by the fact that the Yankees lost that particular game to the Royals, who were just as surprised as everyone else to have won a game for a change. Through the years, I've tried to stay objective about Jeter, even though that's really hard. The New York media is notorious for just blatantly lying about Jeter, all the time. But Mr. Clutch or not, he is still a very likely Hall of Fame candidate, and this is just another anticipated accomplishment in a consistently above average career.

Next, Barry Bonds surpassed Babe Ruth with his 715th homer. Of course, nobody is surprised. But like most fans who fancy the romantic aspects of baseball, I have consistently criticized Bonds, and those like him. His well-documented attitude toward the game is completely repulsive to my sentimental sensibilities. However, I've come to terms with this as just another chapter in baseball history. A very good thing to keep in mind when it comes to such situations is that baseball is not fair, simply because life in America is not fair. And as long as we are realistic about the social and historical context, we can understand and appropriately value the statistics for each player, for each season, for each generation. After all, Babe Ruth played during a period in history when some of the best players were banned from participating in professional baseball. And as long as we are cognizant of that fact, an asterisk next to his record will not be necessary.