Wezen-Ball reminds us of Snoopy's pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record. Charles Schultz did a nice job of skewering those who hated Aaron as he approached 714 home runs.

It's amazing how much negative publicity pursuing the home run record engenders. Even people who were not overtly racist in their reaction to Aaron passing Ruth talked about how Ruth was the better hitter, how he accomplished his feat in fewer at bats and hit for a higher average. Over the years, of course, Aaron became the venerated figure, so whoever approached Henry's record was going to come in for some scrutiny. If it takes 30 years to pass Bonds, I wonder if that person will be welcomed, or if the next generation of sports writers will be as protective of Barry as their ancestors were of Ruth and Aaron.