On Barry, with malice
17 11 2007Barry Bonds.
Just the very name will evoke strong feelings in any baseball fan.
For the vast majority of the huddled masses, his name is symbolic of all that is wrong with baseball over the last decade or so… and what’s wrong with professional sports in general. For a small number, he’s the scapegoat for the establishment - a black man unfairly persecuted. For an even smaller group, he’s simply a hero… at least if you’re a San Francisco Giants fan.
Me? I guess you’d count me in the first faction. But it’s a very complex situation, and questions abound left, right and center - convoluted as hell.
So Barry Bonds is indicted, facing 4 counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. If convicted of all 5 charges, Bonds could face a maximum of 30 years in prison, and from the perspective of Bonds & his lawyers, this has come in from waaaay outta left field. Unexpected. This, just after Bonds was threatening to boycott the Hall of Fame for accepting the record-breaking ball branded with an asterisk. Barry has other ‘halls’ to worry about now.
Make no mistake - Barry Bonds if found guilty should go to jail. But it’s not as simple as that, without a doubt, it’s all more than a little odd. The grand jury that has indicted Bonds definitely had him in their sights from the get-go. The average time of convening for a grand jury in the US is 1 month. The longest any usually could be expected to go is 3 years. The Balco investigation has lasted in excess of 4 years. An indictment, and possibly a conviction of Bonds has been the target of this grand jury, but let’s not be so naïve to think that this will solve the issues that face the MLB and sports at large in regards to performance enhancing drugs. To this point in time, there is still no test for Human Growth Hormone (HGH), so to think that the mere prosecution of Barry Bonds will achieve something lasting is at best obtuse, possibly negligent.
So… what is the big deal with this? Why is Bonds vilified so?
It’s the way Barry has dealt with everything, within and without the steroids issue… absolutely indignant that anyone would question his integrity in any way shape or form. The disdain that he’s given not only the fans, but team-mates, media and even friends and family over all things. The sense of entitlement with which he viewed his place in baseball history… at least when Mark MacGuire pursued the season record, he had - or adopted - a persona that was eminently media/public-friendly.
Baseball’s in a bit of a quandary now. If Bonds is found guilty, can he still be considered eligible for the Hall of Fame anyway? Or would a verdict of guilty actually remove a lot of the difficulties that Bud Selig has to consider re. Barry Bonds…
I’m sure that whichever way the decision falls, Bud will declare it a victory for baseball - either not guilty/guilty, Selig will tell us that it’s a vindication of the system in place… and if we (the public) buy that, then it’s us - the public - who are negligent.
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He hasn’t been found guilty as yet, so maybe the media shouldn’t condemn him until then.
Furthermore, does it matter? If joe public didn’t hero worship these people who are just sportsmen and women, then none of this would surely make any difference. In fact in a few years time Barry will have been forgotten, whether he is in the Hall of Fame or not. Only some fanatics will be able to recite all the stats.
I think it’s pretty obvious to most folks that Bonds took steroids Anja. The pictures of him even in his early 30s are of a fairly slender guy… athletic. Add to that the weird jump in his statistics in his late 30s - gained even more power at an age most players are in decline…
And forgotten? Nay, 756 was - until this year - perhaps the most well-known number in all US sports…
its amazing to me how many people STILL don’t realize Barry admitted to taking “the cream” and “the clear” 3 or 4 years ago. So yes, Barry Bonds has taken steroids.
The catch is, he said he “unknowingly” took them, thinking they were something else.
So it absolutely kills me, year after year, month after month, week after week, day after day, to see most people saying “well I think he took them” or something similar. We already have the information we need to know. HE USED STEROIDS.
It’s time for everyone to move on, what else is there to do?
Agreed…
I’m not sure if that comment was aimed at my article, or just a general comment.
The issue isn’t whether he took them or not, but whether he knowingly did so. Also, Barry claims to have only taken them sparingly… when it’s rather obvious that he was a long-term user.
Well-written, thoughtful piece. I wonder, is Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame? How is he thought of now? Are the situations analagous?
“It’s the way Barry has dealt with everything, within and without the steroids issue… absolutely indignant that anyone would question his integrity in any way shape or form.”
Not to mention he expects us to believe he isn’t on growth hormone. I mean, come on! No ones head grows bigger after the age of 21. And I am not referring to his ego, I am referring to his actual skull. His claim to have never used steroids or growth hormone are an insult to the intelligence of baseball fans.
@Marcy - Think there’s one big difference between Barry Bonds & Pete Rose… despite all his flaws, Pete Rose is fairly well-liked. You’d be hard-pressed to find even a Giants fan who actually likes Bonds as a human being. Rose is all too human, Bonds sees himself beyond the rest of us. And no, Pete’s not in the Hall of Fame, and never will be. Funny… we’re likely to have the all-time hits leader, and the all-time HRs leader - neither in the HoF.
@totaltransformation - indeed… and his foot size increased in his 30s. Miracle? Or chemical? Bonds’ trial is over - in the court of public opinion. He’ll be hard-pressed to get an unbiased assessment.
Barry Bonds has not been convicted of anything. He has not been accused of betting on games or throwing games. Barry Bonds has not been accused of assaulting anyone. Barry Bonds has been accused of not being a nice guy by the media, but is that a crime?
Barry Bonds has been accused of not telling the truth to a grand jury investigating BALCO. Barry Bonds does not own BALCO and does not distribute steroids on behalf of BALCO.
Why was the grand jury investigating Barry Bonds? Weren’t they supposed to be investigating BALCO? How did that “investigation” of BALCO turn into a witch hunt directed against MLB players? Clearly, BALCO wasn’t the real target in the campaign against Barry Bonds.
What “immediate danger” to Major League Baseball does Barry Bonds pose, that requires Barry Bonds’ suspension prior to a decision in Bonds’ upcoming trial?
In fact, wouldn’t the presence of Barry Bonds on a Major League Baseball team roster - the Baltimore Orioles, for instance - be an immediate big boost to that team’s attendance as well as a big boost to their chances of winning?
In effect, MLB teams are willing to lose money rather than hire Barry Bonds. Isn’t that the definition of a “blacklist”? The actors, singers, directors etc. who were “blacklisted” during the McCarthy era witch hunt were money makers for the entertainment industry, yet no owner would hire them! Isn’t that exactly what is happening with Barry Bonds?
Weren’t many of these talented performers indicted and some convicted for refusing to cooperate with grand juries and dragged before government staged hearings in front of hundreds of cameras and reporters?
Years later many of those “blacklisted” were apologized to, but did that apology make up for the destruction of their livelihoods and their personal lives during the McCarthy “blacklisting”? Of course not!
I have a special disgust for the owners of the San Francisco Giants. They made millions off of Barry Bonds. They were able to build a money making stadium based, to a great extent, on Barry Bonds. Where is their gratitude? Nowhere!
He was their star player who was loved by the fans in the Bay area, yet the SF Giants team owners shamefully released Barry Bonds after the 2007 season so as to do their part in the “blacklisting”! They deserve a Hall of Shame of their own!
Years from now, when Major League Baseball is forced to apologize to Barry Bonds for their actions, that apology will never make up for the crime that Major League Baseball is inflicting today on Barry Bonds and on the many fans who admire the athletic greatness that Barry Bonds has been as a player.
I also admire him for his unbending, “in your face” attitude during constant attacks from the big business media, especially the sports talk radio and cable channels that have to fill 24-hour-a-day air time by creating controversy and scandal where there would have been little or none before those media outlets were created.
I appeal to the fans of Major League Baseball to bombard their team owners with letters and emails and petitions demanding that their team hire Barry Bonds.
Imagine, for instance, Barry Bonds added to the roster of the woeful offense of the Baltimore Orioles.
Imagine the magical confrontations in the American League East with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez at Fenway Park and Camden Yards and with Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter at Yankee Stadium and Camden Yards.
Wouldn’t that do wonders for attendance for a Baltimore Orioles franchise that has been down in the dumps for so long?
An historic wrong is being committed by the owners. Do we want to have a posthumous apology to Barry Bonds, as was done for Jim Thorpe, or do we correct this wrong NOW? Barry Bonds is this era’s Babe Ruth.
He’s the biggest star in our national pastime.
I appeal to the fans to help us right this wrong. I want to see Barry Bonds playing baseball in 2008!
To all concerned fans: Perhaps you could use the above as a petition circulated at stadiums or handed out at stadium gates. I know that millions of you will still be in attendance at MLB games.
While there, couldn’t you also do your part in fighting against the shameful “blacklisting” of Barry Bonds, the greatest hitter in Major League Baseball history?
Yawn.
Done with the soapbox?
Where were you when this was first put up… nevermind, rhetorical question.
Lemme understand this: you admire Bonds for being a person with qualities we’d never want in our own children?
Sorry, Bonds has brought this all upon himself, and I for one hope he gets what’s coming to him.
But nothing less should be done to Clemens…