Random Thoughts on Barry Bonds
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by user Andersed
Let me be clear: I don't really have an opinion on the whole Barry Bonds saga. It's too complicated and media-muddled for me to form any clear thought that isn't incredibly over-simplified or self-contradicting. Whenever I find myself leaning one way, something pushes me in the other direction.
Basically, this is a collection of my Barry Bonds thoughts, sympathetic and pissed.
Babe Ruth never played against black players (in the majors). Hank Aaron did. Neither played when baseball was as international as it is now.
It seems like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa used steroids too. If that's true, it ruins their run for the record, which captivated America much more than Bonds' 73 or probably any other individual pursuit in recent history.
Barry Bonds is a really, really mean guy who used his mistress, at the very least, according to Game of Shadows.
Speaking of that book, why did Jose Canseco's tell-all cause more of a splash? Game of Shadows was corroborated by over 200 sources, written by reporters, and wasn't intended to resurrect either author's fame. I suppose we're still captivated by the idea of an insider ratting out his buddies. That's why everyone still worries about Lance Armstrong doping from 1996. And the fact that it would illegitimize one of the greatest sports stories of all time.
Didn't (and don't) pitchers use steroids, too? (I've been saying this since way before Jason Grimsley. Of the players suspended last year, many were relief pitchers.)
Barry Bonds deals with the media in a much more humorous way than I ever could. "Forever, Gomez." The "family" interview last year. His own personal website. I would get pissed and kill Pedro Gomez.
Steroids don't help you hit the ball.
Baseball is still the most beautiful sport in the world.
There are more ways to score runs than by homeruns. What about steroid-using basestealers?
I predicted before the season that 25 homers by Bonds would surprise me. Steroids and baseball, unfortunately, aren't his number one concern right now. If it seems so obvious that he used steroids, why won't he just admit it?
Why does the witch hunt persist? Do journalists really strive for the public good, or do they just want to make Barry look bad and write a story that sells? By now I think the public good is served. Steroids are being cleaned out of baseball, as are amphetamines (isn't that a naive statement?). Barry hasn't gotten any smaller, and he sure can't be using steroids now.
Really, I'm ready for the Bonds story to be over. Like most fans, I just want answers. I don't want to kill the guy. I feel sorry for him in a way, even though I'm sure he's somewhat to blame for this mess. But so are the rest of us who prize homers over everything. So are announcers who rave about power hitters and ignore Michael Young (until he comes up big on the big stage). So is the slow legal system. It goes on. Just end it and give us the truth.
Date
Tue 07/11/06, 9:35 pm EST
