A Plan for Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds is taking a lot of heat, most of it unjustified. Even if he had retired before his then-glorious-now-notorious 73-home run season, he would have been a first-ballot hall-of-famer. Now he is reviled and hated (not only because of steroid allegations, but mostly because of them). Bonds stands on the precipice of hitting his 756th home run, breaking the record of Henry Aaron, who broke the even more celebrated record of Babe Ruth. What if Bonds hit his 754th homer and quit—announced his retirement out of respect of Aaron and in deference to those who accuse him of wrong. Everyone would know he could have done it. And he would be forever remembered for a dignified gesture, erasing a career of boorish acts. It would be an asterisk in reverse.