Put away the asterisks. Bring out the eraser.

Baseball star Barry Bonds' already questionable reputation teeters on the edge of ruin during his federal trial for perjury. Prosecutors allege he lied under oath six years ago when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs.

If the allegations of steroid use are accurate, he has no right to be associated with baseball's most revered record. Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig should wipe it away and reinstate Hank Aaron as the all-time home run king.

In their minds, many fans have already stamped Bonds' record of 762 career homers with an asterisk. No one can quantify how many of those he might have hit without a chemical boost, but he's only seven ahead of Aaron's career total. It's certainly feasible to say steroids put Bonds over the top.

No haze of suspicion shrouded Aaron's career, as thousands of Wisconsinites remember firsthand. The longtime Milwaukee Braves and Brewers star was simply a hard-working, consistent hitter who maximized his natural athletic skills.

Bonds' attorneys gave him a ray of hope last week, convincing a judge to exclude some evidence, including drug-laced urine samples that prosecutors say were from Bonds. Yet, even if they don't lead to a criminal conviction, taped conversations from his personal trainer are damning to his legacy.

In the recordings, Greg Anderson reportedly brags about giving Bonds injections that can't be traced. Legal or not, that's not the kind of thing that should be placed on a pedestal for budding athletes to imitate.

Bonds' playing days are likely finished anyway, so the only form of punishment the league can impose now is to strip him of his individual marks. That's essentially what the media have done to Mark McGwire, another legendary home run swatter whose refusal to answer congressional questions dwarfs what would otherwise be a Hall of Fame career.

Kevin Maris, the son of Roger Maris - whose single-season home-run record was broken by McGwire and then Bonds - said it best a couple of years ago: "Now the records aren't attainable if you are legit."

The sport's leaders need to change that culture. No matter what team-oriented cliches today's players spout, they're also driven to establish their individual places in history.

Aaron deserves to return to the head of the home run pack, at Bonds' expense. And he should stay there even if Alex Rodriguez someday surpasses his total, as expected. The New York Yankees star has admitted three years' worth of performance-enhancing drug use.

Hopefully, these are the last nails in the coffin of this tarnished era. Who better to pound them in than a man nicknamed the Hammer?