Hank Aaron

Baltimore is a rather Catholic town; if you ever lived here you know that. I was born and raised an Irish Catholic in Baltimore; if you frequent this blog you may have known that. Baseball is the ultimate sport for bizarre connections to history. No sport does random statistics better than baseball. This morning's blog merges all of those concepts together rather seamlessly (or clumsily, that's your call). I must admit its ridiculousness made me laugh and shake my head a little bit. Baseball historian/statistician Bill Arnold passed this tidbit my way. And I had to share it with you. It combines Catholicism and baseball.

Braves: With 103 runs scored, a major-league high, Chipper Jones is the first Brave since Hank Aaron to score 100 runs in three straight seasons. Aaron did it from 1955 to 1957.Rockies: Larry Walker missed his fourth straight game because of a sprained right middle finger. He had hit safely in 21 of his last 24 games. Curtis Goodwin is 0-for-16 as a pinch hitter and has struck out eight times in his past 12 pinch-hit at-bats. Vinny Castilla has the longest current games played streak in the NL at 215.Pub Date: 8/23/98

If Barry Bonds doesn't break Hank Aaron's record this season, should he come back next year? Barry Bonds should be man enough to admit using drugs to get where he is. Retire and leave the record to Hank Aaron, who did it without help. David Reeves Forest Hill With the taint of steroids in his history, Barry Bonds breaking any record is almost laughable at this point. I don't think he should even come back this year. Nancy Cantville Eldersburg He will always have the BALCO thing beside the record.

LOS ANGELES -- Robert Iger, ABC's entertainment president, can't take a vacation from his job.He said that he was on a bus in Hawaii when a woman spotted ABC tag on the bag holding his snorkeling gear and immediately launched into a tirade about the cancellation of "thirtysomething.""She wanted to know who she could write to and who the idiot was who had made this decision,:" Iger said. "I think she was from Washington and had a whole group together that were incensed.""I told her 'lady this is your lucky day.'"Iger said that when she learned that she was talking to the man who cancelled "thirtysomething," she backed down a bit and the two had a nice discussion about the show.

It took him three nights and 11 plate appearances in a home run park, but San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds delivered last night in Philadelphia with his 713th career homer. Facing Phillies right-hander Jon Lieber with two outs in the sixth inning, Bonds crushed a 2-1 fastball that bounced off the McDonald's sign on the third-deck facade above right field at Citizens Bank Park. It traveled roughly 450 feet. With the shot, Bonds moved one away from tying Hall of Famer Babe Ruth for second place all-time.

Quote: "I was running with my head down. I didn't even see it go out and I almost tripped over first base." - Keith McDonald, who became the third Cardinal to homer in his first major-league at-bat It's a fact: The national anthem in St. Louis was a saxophone solo by Rams all-pro defensive end Kevin Carter. Who's hot: The Phillies' Scott Rolen has a 12-game hitting streak, raising his average from .257 to .292. Who's not: The Reds' Ken Griffey is in a 2-for-23 slump. On deck: Hank Aaron, the major-league career home run leader with 755, will throw out the first pitch before the All-Star Game.

Who would you like to see hold the home run record? Since it is inevitable that Barry Bonds will break Hammerin' Hank's record and absolutley no one outside of the Bonds family is happy about it, would you like to see A-Rod, even though he is a Yankee, break the record? I hate seeing a Yankee holding a record, but I hate it even more to see a cheater with it. Bonds. Until I see proof that he cheated, not hearsay and stolen testimony from a convicted criminal, then I say he didn't cheat.

WASHINGTON -- I have spent the past month or so confused about what I thought was an indisputable baseball truth: Who is the major league home run king? I was under the delusion that it was the player with the most career home runs, Hank Aaron. I've recently been apprised of my mistake, though. It's Babe Ruth, the guy whose "record" Barry Bonds has been "chasing." I had expected a deluge of feature stories, profiles and recollections about the home run king -- and diatribes against the injustice of Bonds' tainted pursuit.

A scout's take On Alfonso Soriano, Washington Nationals 30-year-old left fielder Swing -- I see Hank Aaron the way he swings the bat. Soriano's not a classic power hitter. But you look at Hank Aaron on film and he was a wrist hitter who just whips the bat. Soriano's a wrist hitter, too. That's the closest parallel I can give you. Mind, body-- He really has fun playing the game. He enjoys playing baseball. And he's got the type of body that will stay in shape. He'll never get too big, and he's athletic enough to be OK in the outfield.

TAMPA, Fla. - NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue has made it clear in the past that he believes only players and coaches should be allowed in the football Hall of Fame, but he conceded yesterday that there should be a place in Canton for Ravens owner Art Modell. "Art Modell is now beginning his fifth decade as an owner," Tagliabue said. "He did a tremendous job with the Browns. Only because of some very extraordinary and dramatic plays was he denied the chance to participate in the Super Bowl as the owner of the Browns.