Why Barry Bonds is Worth Cheering For...

[hitmansb]

I keep hearing that Bonds cheated. Let the record show that he never broke the rules of baseball. You can attack his morals, but he never 'cheated' in the true sense of the word.

[babyblues]

I keep hearing that Bonds cheated. Let the record show that he never broke the rules of baseball. You can attack his morals, but he never 'cheated' in the true sense of the word.

Yeah, I made the same point earlier, but it didn't seem to sink in.

[go Yankees]

I keep hearing that Bonds cheated. Let the record show that he never broke the rules of baseball. You can attack his morals, but he never 'cheated' in the true sense of the word.

no, I agree, it's (in the very strict, legal sense) a touch accusation to stick to Bonds, especially when a) steroids weren't banned by MLB, and b) other players with records standing used aids that now cannot be used.

what the accusers of cheating have going for them is that steroids were still banned in the United States, so he was still breaking federal laws in pursuit of his HR totals. Furthermore, if the timeline in Game of Shadows is followed, he still used gear after it was banned, but doses and compounds that would not be detected by MLB's tests

[hitmansb]

no, I agree, it's (in the very strict, legal sense) a touch accusation to stick to Bonds, especially when a) steroids weren't banned by MLB, and b) other players with records standing used aids that now cannot be used.

what the accusers of cheating have going for them is that steroids were still banned in the United States, so he was still breaking federal laws in pursuit of his HR totals. Furthermore, if the timeline in Game of Shadows is followed, he still used gear after it was banned, but doses and compounds that would not be detected by MLB's tests

Well, if breaking federal laws are enough to get a ballplayer's records tagged with an asterisk, then there wouldn't be many records left unaffected in ANY era. Babe Ruth was known for banging prostitutes...that was illegal. A lot of ballplayers have smoked weed...that's illegal. Amphetamines...also illegal. Where does it end??? Breaking the laws of the land should have nothing to do with sports.

[go Yankees]

Well, if breaking federal laws are enough to get a ballplayer's records tagged with an asterisk, then there wouldn't be many records left unaffected in ANY era. Babe Ruth was known for banging prostitutes...that was illegal. A lot of ballplayers have smoked weed...that's illegal. Amphetamines...also illegal. Where does it end??? Breaking the laws of the land should have nothing to do with sports.

fair enough...it's the performance-enhancing aspect of it that we don't have an easy time with, especially in sports. For the pre-testing years, the MLB also gets a lot of the heat (or they should, at least) for not having a testing program. But did Bonds use past the time they were banned by MLB? I certainly believe so.

Apparently, the question of this thread has been answered in an interesting way ("Why Bonds is worth cheering for") He hit his 714th career homerun, and what were the clips shown during SportsCenter's intro? What were their first stories of the night? The Yankees' comeback against the Mets, the Preakness Stakes and the Cubs-White Sox Game, where Barrett punched Pierzynski. In fact, I saw more clips of Barrett's punch last night than I did Bonds' 714th shot.

As one of the announcers on FOX said, "I never thought seeing homerun number 714 would be as anticlimactic as it is"

[Lmg2701]

And let me add something else I've been thinking about to the list.


For all of you that say Barry is getting ridiculed because he is black.......Shut the f'k up.


BECAUSE.........




He's a cheating piece of shit arrogant asshole with a terrible attitude. I don't get how people say "he's never cheated" Are you kidding me? He admitted to taking the "cream and the clear" which were anabolics. So you mean to tell a professional baseball player, who claims to be intelligent, is just going to go ahead and put something in his body with no idea of what it is. AND THEN to see the results of putting on lots of muscle and not think "Oh wait, I bet this is steroids." So that concludes he either cheated or he's a dumb son of a bitch. I don't think anyone can be that stupid which leaves only "he cheated" to be the answer.




AND MY MAIN POINT





If it was Ken Griffey Jr (who is black the last time I checked) who was about to break this record I guarantee he would have the support of the entire country behind him.


Why?

Because he's always been great to fans and has always walked with class. He also has never been associated with the steroid scandal in baseball.


So there you have it. If it was Griffey it would be great, but it's Bonds so who cares.....He brought it on himself.

[go Yankees]

For all of you that say Barry is getting ridiculed because he is black.......Shut the f'k up.

couldn't agree more...the thing with Bonds, according to the book, is that he has this racialized world view because his dad and his godfather -- Mays -- came up playing in the minors in the Jim Crow South, back when racism was reeeeeeally bad there. So those experiences stick with him, and he's quick to look at everything as "they hate me because I'm black," even though his best friend as a kid, his 1st wife, and his ex-gf Kimberly Bell were ALL WHITE. He then dated and married a black woman because he was "tired of the media giving him shit."

He really is in his own little world, America LOVED Sammy Sosa during the chase, Ken Griffey Jr could have run for president with Tony Gwynn on his ticket...and no one seems to have a problem with Tiger Woods...

Lmg, you're right on the money, Bonds brought it on himself, from his days not running out to his position in HS, from his expulsion-reduced-to-suspension at Arizona State, from his fights with Leyland in Pittsburgh...he's a lying sack of you-know-what and he's ruined it for everyone else too. Poor Albert Pujols can't put up MVP numbers anymore without people thinking he juiced too

To all of you who turned to the crows and said "cheer on Bonds," the crowd answered -- his HR was the #3 baseball story on SportsCenter that day, behind the Mets-Yankees and the Cubs-White Sox fight

[coffee-guy]

Ken Rosenthal / FOXSports.com
Posted: 26 minutes ago



It's finally over — Barry Bonds has passed Babe Ruth. Now comes the big question, the better question, the question that gives commissioner Bud Selig insomnia.

Can Bonds catch Hank Aaron?
Forty homers, that's all Bonds needs to reach Aaron's career total of 755. Forty homers, not all that many, considering that Bonds hit a record 73 in 2001.

Except for one thing.

Barring an unexpected power surge, Bonds isn't going to hit those 40 homers this season — it took him 165 plate appearances to hit the seven required for 715.

Bonds, then, will need to return next season, the season in which he turns 43. And therein lies the problem.

Bonds could break down physically. He could be indicted for perjury. He could face discipline from Major League Baseball, which is investigating past steroid use in the sport.

There's also another possibility, one that would be altogether fitting if Bonds indeed inflated his home-run totals by using performance-enhancing drugs.

Teams could shun Bonds.

Happened to Rafael Palmeiro. Happened to Sammy Sosa. Who's to say it won't happen to Bonds, even if he's approaching Aaron's mark?

True, Palmeiro tested positive for steroids, while Bonds has not. True, Sosa lost it offensively, while Bonds has not.

For heaven's sake, Bonds leads the majors in on-base percentage. Some team would want him, right?

Well, if Bonds' physical issues force him to become a designated hitter, that would eliminate the 16 National League clubs.

And it's certainly possible that no AL team would rush to embrace Barry Baggage, especially if he wants a free-agent contract at his present salary of $18 million.

The A's? They couldn't afford Bonds. And while general manager Billy Beane rarely ducks players with off-field issues, Bonds is Milton Bradley times 10.

The Yankees? Beautiful. Owner George Steinbrenner could sign Bonds to go with Jason Giambi, exercise Gary Sheffield's $13 million option and form the BALCO All-Stars.

The Mariners? A Seattle columnist recently endorsed the idea of signing Bonds, but the team's conservative ownership would sooner rebuild the Kingdome.

The Angels? They couldn't stand Jose Guillen. They're going to want Bonds?

People forget, Bonds wasn't a hot commodity the last time he was a free agent, even though he was coming off his record 73-homer season.

He accepted arbitration from the Giants rather than stay on the open market, then negotiated a four-year, $72 million contract with an option for 2006 to remain in San Francisco.

The Giants remain Bonds' best option for 2007, but given his deteriorating physical condition, it's difficult to imagine him playing another season in left. Then again, give Bonds credit — he has appeared in 42 of the Giants' first 50 games. It's still quite possible he will break down, especially if he continues at this rate. But if he's again capable of occupying left next season, the best guess is that the Giants would bring him back. San Francisco is the only city in which he is cheered. His value to the Giants is greater than it is to any other club.

Of course, that is the best-case scenario, and even with its minimal requirements, it's probably far-fetched. Heck, even Giants owner Peter Magowan acknowledges that Bonds might need to be a DH next season, which, at long last, could make him some other club's problem.

Much as it might annoy Bonds, this isn't tennis or golf; he can't form his own team and slap "Bonds" on the front of his jersey. He can make his own rules, follow his own program, hire his own doctors, trainers and pharmacists. But in the end, he needs to play for a major-league club.

His defenders say there's no proof that he used steroids; therefore, there's no issue. Well, there's no law that requires a major-league team to employ Bonds in 2007.

No team. No issue. No Bonds.

[go Yankees]

amen...you might not have heard Joe Morgan, John Kruk, Steve Phillips and Harold Reynolds say it, but they all mentioned the "controversy" surrounding Bonds, and how it taints the air of him breaking Ruth's record

he'll command way too much money and bring far too much baggage to be worthwhile for anyone to take on. The NY media will kick his ass, too -- look at Randy Johnson every time he gives up 5 runs