Department of Irony:

Hank Aaron: former Milwaukee Brave, Atlanta Brave, and Milwaukee Brewer; Hall of Famer; holder of the Major League record for career home runs with 755; one of the greatest players of alltime; and according to Politico.com...

-has supported black voter registration drives in the Deep South
-participated in the successful gubernatorial election of Roy Barnes and Zell Miller in Georgia;
-has been involved in the successful campaigns of his brother-in-law for the Georgia legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives;
-appeared shortly before the 2000 Presidential election with Bill Clinton ("the first black President") before 25,000 people at an event at a high school football stadium;
-attended a Georgia fundraiser earlier this year for Senator Clinton's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination (and has contributed to her Senate and presidential campaigns);
-and, although not noted by Politico, publicly criticized at the National Press Club the reluctance of the Major Leagues to promote minorities into management.

Barry Bonds: as of this writing, with 754 career home runs, about to break Aaron's record; once a Pittsburgh Pirate, for many years now a San Francisco Giant; one of the greatest players ever; reputed, though not proven, prolific user of steroids (has not flatly denied use, but claimed he was unaware they were steroids he had been prescribed); and according to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome "is not politicllly involved at all in town. Even before the whole steroid thing happened, he was never really courted politically."

In an ESPN/ABC news poll conducted in April of 2007, baseball fans were asked whether they were rooting for Bonds to break Aarons' record or for him to fall short. The results:
overall: 37% in favor, 52% against, 11% no opinion
blacks: 74% in favor, 18% against, 9% no opinion
whites: 28% in favor, 60% against, 12% no opinion

Go figure.