DES MOINES – As far as Iowa Cubs shortstop Ronny Cedeno is concerned, Barry Bonds is every bit deserving of breaking Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record.

“He’s got a good swing; he hits the ball hard; he’s disciplined at home plate. He doesn’t swing at too many balls,” Cedeno said. “He’s the best player in baseball.”

Cedeno, who started the season with Chicago before being sent to Triple-A Iowa, personally knows and trains with Bonds in Arizona during the off-season. He said he doesn’t believe Bonds to be a steroid user but, rather, just a great hitter.

“Some people say he used steroids, but, for me, you have to be able to hit the ball first,” Cedeno said. “He’s a strong guy. He got muscles and got strong and hit a lot of homers, and to me he’s a natural guy.”

Iowa Cubs outfielder Matt Murton, who also started the season in Chicago, has played against Bonds in the majors. Murton said he thought Bonds to be one of the best players in the game and thought steroid speculation against him was unfair, given the lack of evidence.

“I think that it’s completely unfair to be speculative. Obviously, there’s nothing to prove that he has taken steroids,” Murton said. “He’s done things in this game that a lot of guys just dream of doing, and I think that until you can prove that he’s done that stuff, to me he’s never touched it, and you’ve got to respect what he’s done for the game.”

If there is proof in the future that Bonds was on performance-enhancing drugs, Murton said the record should still be kept intact.

“We can’t be naive. There’re a lot of things that have happened in a lot of generations of baseball, and there’s a lot of stuff that hasn’t been reported,” Murton said. “Who is it for us to say what had happened in the game prior to Barry Bonds?”

Furthermore, Murton said, he is still the best player in the era, regardless of whether it took drugs to make him that way.

“One thing that you have to remember is that if Barry Bonds ever was proven that he had taken it, he wouldn’t have been the only one,” Murton said. “It’s not only position players that have taken it, pitchers have probably taken it. If so, [the drugs were] used in an era where that was being used, and he’s the highest level in that era.”

Murton completed his first full Major League season in 2006, and said since he has played baseball professionally beginning in 2003, he hasn’t seen any sign of steroid use in the game.

He did point out many players will use protein shakes and other methods available to the general public to try to bulk themselves up.

Fan reaction toward Bonds has been rough, as he is booed at most stadiums outside of the Bay Area. Cedeno said the reaction is not right, and questioned whether race was an issue in fans’ reactions.

“I don’t like it when he hits a homer and everyone boos him and does something like throwing an injection needle towards him at the ballpark,” Cedeno said.

“Why do people get mad? Because he’s black? Hank Aaron was black too; he was a good hitter too.”

Murton didn’t think race was an issue, but he thought the negative reactions were due to “unfortunate speculation that has been put alongside of his name.”

However, Murton hopes when Bonds does break the record fans will forget about their ill will and enjoy the moment.

“I hope that it would be a reaction that they would step back and be in awe of the history they are seeing,” Murton said.

“It’s a guy who’s doing things we may never see again, and you just have to embrace the moment and enjoy what you’re seeing.”

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