The year 2004 in baseball will be remembered as the year that Barry Bonds (1) stretched the limits of what is possible to accomplish on a ball diamond, probably more so than any player since Babe Ruth in 1920, and (2) admitted to a grand jury that he had (unknowingly) used steroids.
        The St. Louis Cardinals were the dominant team in the league, winning 105 games. They had a real scare in the NLCS, but persevered, only to finally be swept by the Red Sox in the World Series — for Sox fans, sweet revenge for both the 1946 and 1967 classics.

        After a disappointing 2003 season, the St. Lous Cardinals were the dominant force in the National League for much of the 2004 campaign. Thanks to a revamped, healthy pitching staff, a lineup that lead the league in runs scored, and a defence that was among the best in the league, the Cardinals were able to quickly clinch a playoff spot. Three of their stars - Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen - were MVP candidates.
        For the second year in a row, Pujols was the best hitter in baseball not named Bonds. The 24-year-old played much of the second half of the season with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, but it did not stop him from repeating his monster numbers from the previous year, or from batting .414 with six home runs in the postseason.         In his ninth major league season, third baseman Scott Rolen set career highs in the three Triple Crown categories. Rolen had never quite lived up to the "next Mike Schmidt" billing he had received as a rookie in Philadelphia, but had always been among the better players in the league. This year he was as good as Schmidt ever was, except for a calf injury which kept him out of the lineup for three weeks in September.
        Minus the injury, Rolen would have had an interesting MVP argument. As a hitter, he was not in Bonds' class, but was among the best in the league. Defensively, he was already considered the best defensive third baseman in baseball; now, some observers suggested that he was the best third sacker ever. Remarkably, Rolen's defensive statistics suggest that such a claim is not far-fetched.
        Adrian Beltre made his major league debut when he was 19. At age 20, he hit .275 with 15 home runs; at age 21, he hit .290 with 20 home runs. Almost every player who is that good at that young an age becomes a star, but Beltre tested the patience of the Dodgers and their fans. The next three seasons were major disappointments; Beltre's progress also wasn't helped by a botched appendix removal in 2002. Each year, the Dodgers had to remind themselves that he was still one of the youngest players in the league.
        Their patience paid off in a big way in 2004. Already one of the best defensive players in the league, Beltre made up for lost time and took a major step forward with the bat, hitting .334 and leading the league with 48 home runs. And he did it in Dodger Stadium, still an unfriendly place for hitters. It was the kind of season that nine times out of ten wins an MVP Award - unless, of course, Barry Bonds happens to be doing his thing.
        The mighty Cardinals trio was completed by centre fielder Jim Edmonds, who at age 34 had the best season of his career. Astros right-fielder Lance Berkman wowed the hometown fans with his heroics at the All-Star Game Home Run Derby, then led the Astros' remarkable second-half surge that saw them move past eight teams and win the wild-card.
        Talented but injury-riddled J.D. Drew switched teams and had a magnificent season for Atlanta; once again, the Braves confounded the pundits by winning another division title, but disappointed their fans by bowing out in the first round of the playoffs. And very quitely, veteran Mark Loretta had a magnificent season for the Padres; he was the premier middle infielder in the league, and helped the Padres improve by 21 games from the previous season.
        But it all comes back to Bonds. From day one, opposing teams were afraid to throw him anything near the strike zone, and ended up walking him a record 232 times (including a record 120 intentional walks!). When he did get something to hit, he made the most of his opportunities, winning his second batting title and belting 45 home runs. At the end of the year he had become the third player in baseball history to hit 700 home runs in a career - but was disappointed when the Giants missed the playoffs in the last weekend of the season.
        As expected, he handily won his fourth straight MVP Award. No hitter in baseball history was as feared as Bonds in 2004; no player has ever put together four straight seasons of the same quality as Bonds' 2001-04 years. He has completely redefined what is possible to accomplish on a baseball diamond. If he had NOT been using performance-enhancing substances during that span - that, frankly, would be amazing.
        When I was growing up in the mid-80's, baseball had stars - Brett, Mattingly, Schmidt and others - but none of the same stature of a Ruth or Mays. Or hockey's Wayne Gretzky in the 80's, or basketball's Michael Jordan in the 90's. After 15 years in baseball, Bonds finally reached that same stature in the sporting world.
        At this writing (Mar. 2005) it is far too early to guess at how Bonds' legacy will be affected (there are other players involved, but obviously it is Bonds who is the focal point). Some extreme suggestions have included banning steroid users from baseball and the Hall of Fame, and even taking away their awards. It is also entirely possible that once the storm has passed, the scandal will be forgotten and no one will care. People say that they care about steroid use in baseball, but it remains to be seen whether or not they really mean it.
        I'm constantly rewriting these awards pages, and someday I'll rewrite this one, too, with a better idea of what to do with Bonds. For now, I'm just going to reward the man for his historic performance - and wait to see what the consequences are.