Well, it's over! For me, the Bonds Watch has culminated with him becoming Number Two on the all-time home run list behind Hank Aaron. ESPN.com reports that at 2:14pm on May 28, 2006, Barry Bonds connected on a 90 mph fastball from Byung-Hyun Kim of the Colorado Rockies to send #715 (a 445-foot rocket) into the stands.plez sez: All together now, "Barry! Barry! Barry!"
Don't worry, Bonds doesn't have enough juice left in those legs to carry him past Hank Aaron (a personal favorite of mine) on the home run list. I'm just glad he got the "Babe Ruth Monkey" off his back, since that 714 number is sooooo damn old and Babe Ruth dominated an inferior game complete with inferior pitching, smaller ballparks, and by many accounts, not even the best pitching available during that time (remember, Blacks were relegated to the Negro Baseball League until 1945).
Oh yeah, the steroids thing looms large over this accomplishment. Two things to keep in mind; (1) Barry Bonds has NEVER tested positive for using the stuff and steroids were only banned by baseball a few years ago, and (2) I'm not a medical doctor, but steroids may help you hit the ball farther, but they do nothing to improve hand-eye coordination or help one in getting the bat around to hit the ball.
Barry Bonds is a pariah with the media and this is the ONLY reason he is being pilloried with this trumped up steroids non-issue! If this was Mark McGuire (a media darling), every media outlet would've been broadcasting that historic home run. I hope Barry Bonds' knees hold up so that he can play another 2 years just to rub the sports writers' noses in his prowess as the Greatest Baseball Player Ever!
I happen to be in the camp of those who think that Bonds indeed did use something to enhance his performance, but I'm not about to begrudge him the record either way. I'm glad he got by Ruth.
ReplyDeleteYou made some solid points about McGwire, and that was something I had been thinking about recently. I agree that most of the negative reaction from fans and media alike is because Bonds comes off as a complete jackass at times, and that the 'roid accusations are just compounded onto that fact. After all, these same sportswriters who hate on Bonds also gave the man eight NL MVP's in his career. That said, however, if this were Big Mac, everyone would've lined up around the block to kiss his ass. Frankly, I don't see Bonds any different than Big Mac, Giambi, et al, in the regard that all of them might have (or in the case of Giambi, did) 'roided up.
Furthermore, I don't think we'll ever have any solid evidence regarding to whether or not Bonds actually did. All we have on him, in the end, is that he's an asshole. That's not necessarily a criminal act, punishable by law--we elect assholes, even to the highest office of the land.
Oh, and remember--Bonds wasn't the one who wen't before Congress and either out-and-out lied (like Palmiero), or just dodged and evaded questions (like Mac and Sosa).
I am glad he finally reached this milestone. Too bad he won't get the real accolades he deserves.
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