Look, I know that Barry Bonds is going to go down as a great hitter. No matter how many ‘roids the guy took that still could not account for his plate approach and hitter’s eye. But when the hometown press starts making comparisons to Teddy Ballgame with the Giants playing in Boston, I do have to say that it’s a bit absurd.

We are talking about Ted Williams here - quite arguably the best pure hitter in baseball… ever. We are talking about a career .299 hitter being likened to a guy with a lifetime average of .344. We are also talking about making comparisons between a man who took time out of his career to fly in both WWII and the Korean War for the Marines. Oh yea, and that shift that they use when Bonds comes up, was originally called the “Williams Shift” for a reason… a damn good one.

But Williams’ first five seasons came before baseball’s color line was broken, and he didn’t face specialized relievers.

I know it was different eras, with different rules, but I could also throw in the little nugget that there were also much fewer teams back then… and one could argue Bonds plays against thinned out talent. The article does make the correct conclusion, that Teddy Ballgame comes out on top, but to me comparing Bonds to Williams is a disservice to Williams simply because Teddy’s stats and character have held the test of time to show him as not just one of baseball’s all-time greats, but as an American idol (can’t really use that word anymore… thanks Fox)… well, American hero at the very least.

And a hero is most definitely not the way Barry Bonds will, or really should be remembered.