On Tuesday May 8th, in the fourth inning of a 4-0 game between the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants, Barry Lamar Bonds hit a one-out offering from Tom Glavine over the fence. The homer gave Bonds 745 career home runs.

Barry Bonds currently sits just ten home runs shy of tying Hank Aaron for the all-time home run lead. Bonds has played in 30 of the Giants’ 33 games this year, meaning that at his current pace he will be in sole possession of the record in about a month and a half.

Bonds, though, won’t keep up this pace. Most of baseball does not want to see him break Aaron’s record and he will begin to be walked more.

On top of that, Bonds is having a monster season. Bonds’s chase of the record is not like that of Craig Biggio’s quest for 3000 hits, as he is killing the Astros’ offense.

Barry leads the National League in homers and is tops in the majors in OPS. Even if Bonds was not hated, who would want to pitch to this guy anyways?

But it is true that Bonds is hated by a lot of people in baseball. Even ignoring the questions of steroids that surround Bonds, he does not have a warm and cuddly image.  In interviews with the press, or his occasional refusal to give an interview, Bonds comes across as arrogant, selfish and as a bit of a prima donna.

But number 756 will come at some point. That is all but guaranteed. The pitcher who gives Bonds that homer will go down in the history books, but who will throw that fateful pitch?

Curt Schilling has gone on record saying he will not give Bonds anything close to hittable if Bonds is at 754 when the Giants travel to Fenway Park. While no other pitchers have yet come out to say that, I’m certain that a good deal of other pitchers feel the same way.

Why would any pitcher want to be linked to Bonds in such a way? Going down as the man who gave up Bonds’ record-breaking or -tying homerun, no matter what else you may accomplish in the majors, is not something most pitchers want to do.

But someone will be that pitcher. It will probably come in San Francisco, and it will probably land in McCovey’s Cove. The reason it will probably occur in San Francisco is pitchers will get booed if they do not pitch to Bonds, and that might rattle one pitcher just enough to challenge him.

Also, San Francisco fans are sure to be the only fans that show overwhelming support for Bonds. If Bonds breaks the record on the road, fairly or not, he will receive a chorus of boos and people might throw syringes at him as well.

In reality, this cannot end well for anyone, but two men in particular are being put in a really tight spot by this: Commissioner Bud Selig and Hank Aaron.

Selig has to make the decision in the next month or two whether he will be on hand when Bonds ties and/or breaks the record. On the one hand, Selig was the commissioner during the Steroid Era of baseball and a photograph of him shaking Bonds’ hand after the historic homer will make sure he is remembered for this.

On the other hand, Bonds has never tested positive for the drug and this is one of the most hallowed records in baseball. By not being on hand, Selig is slapping both Bonds and baseball in the face. After all, he is still the commissioner.

Aaron is in an even worse spot. If he goes, it appears that he is supporting an alleged (and widely believed to be) cheater. If he does not attend, he will come across as bitter and jealous.

Neither man has good options, but Selig could take some of the pressure off by committing to celebrating Bonds during All-Star weekend this year, assuming Bonds can get the needed homers.

All-Star weekend is two months away, which should put Bonds close to the record around then. If he can break it in time, what better place to celebrate Bonds then at the All-Star game in San Francisco?

And Bonds does deserve to be celebrated. Our law system is based on the notion that you are innocent until proven guilty, and Bonds has never once failed a drug test.

Bonds may be hated, but he will break the record, and he deserves our respect for that. You can still hate him, but you sure should respect him. The man is an offensive juggernaut and he has put up with a lot during his career to break this record.

And besides, he will only be the record holder for a few years anyways. You heard it here first folks: Albert Pujols will pass Alex Rodriguez in 2019 to become the all time home run leader.