Letters to the Editor
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Bonds' record.
For a few days now I've just happened to turn on the sports and there were the Giants playing on tv. While not watching all of it, I have managed to see 2 of Barry's last 3 home runs live. And I did cheer when he tied ol' Henry's great record.
Meanwhile I heard pretty much nonstop negative commentary about Barry Bonds, great player that he is. Very little has been said about drug use by other players or in other sports.
King Kaufman is correct in his analysis that Barry has been picked on by the media relentlessly while they very reluctantly have given him his due. Also Kaufman is quite correct in tipping his hat to the fact that others have used various stimulants to enhance performance.
Athletes have continued to improve their performance and capabilities in all athletic endeavors. Do you doubt that drugs along with weight training have been a huge part of this? It is particularly evident in football certainly at the college and pro levels where the athletes are just bigger and stronger than they used to be as a consequence of the above.
Is Barry Bonds so unique as to be castigated for his achievement while most others are ignored? Maybe we should also criticize his Unamerican attitude in that he has chosen to be loyal to his hometown team, the Giants, rather than going for the big bucks and signing with the Yankees as has so often been the case. Also the talk about Alex Rodriguez (a Yankee) having hit his 500th at an earlier age than did Barry. It is biased and unfair treatment.
Alex, I do salute your achievement, and I will when you surpass Barry.
If you ever do.
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Barry & Ty
You know, the wiki feels compelled to say this about Ty Cobb, after all these years, in the intro to his biography:
"Cobb's legacy as an athlete has sometimes been overshadowed by his surly temperament, allegedly severe racism, and aggressive reputation, which was described by the Detroit Free Press as 'daring to the point of dementia.'"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ty_Cobb
Nobody liked the guy, but they gave him his due.
When I think about the steroid era, I think of Mark McGuire. Bonds and McGuire are the same age, 43. Forty-three and still in the Majors! McGuire has been out of baseball for six years. And you look statistically at Bonds' career, you have one freak year on 73HRs and another on 5HRs. The rest is a steady progression of increasing productivity until these last couple of seasons in his forties when he's merely average.
People, you don't have to like the guy, but give him his due. Baseball's disrespect for Barry Bonds is a black eye on the sport.
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How to remove a *
I recently read in Harper's that Bonds' shoe size has increased 24% since 1994. I'm sure that's normal.
If Barry Bonds really wants to get rid of the * once and for all, he should just admit to taking steroids, and HGH, and whatever else. As long as a substance wasn't banned by MLB at the time a player took it then it's all fair. Just stop lying - THAT is why so many people are sick of you, Mr Bonds.
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Barry Bonds
"Let it Go" Don't (try) to take away this MAN"s Great accomplishments with negatives. We wanted it, He did it. "LET IT GO" Go BARRY! #1 CONGRADULATIONS
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Bury Bonds
I am amazed at those who continue to state that Bond’s achievements should not be tainted by his illegally produced body. Perhaps an analogy will describe my feelings about the home run usurper.
Consider the story of PGA Tour golfer, “Big Cat” Forrest. During his college years he was one of the group of best college golfers, having won an NCAA championship and eight other tournaments.
After moving on to the PGA Tour, his first three years with the Tour were successful in that he managed to retain his playing card every year. However, he had only three top ten finishes during that time. He felt his talent was being cheated and he deserved to do better. He felt he should be recognized as one of the best, if not the best golfer on tour, though his record did not support that.
Before the start of his fourth year, he was approached by a golf ball technician who offered him the use of a golf ball that would increase the length of his shots by 20%. Also, the ball would carry in a straighter line than any other ball on the market. But the best thing about the ball was that the composition of the ball that made it travel so long and true would loose those properties after being exposed to the air for five hours, and return to having the normal properties of a PGA Tour ball. To use the ball, all he had to do was split his winnings with the ball’s inventor.
Big Cat’s fourth year on tour was a record year. He won three major championships. His prize winnings were more than twice that of the runner up’s. He won praise from many fans. But there were rumors in the air about how a golfer could improve so much from one year to the next, and how Big Cat’s golf ball seemed to carry so long and true, even though his swing did not seem changed from the previous year. It seemed so unnatural.
You and I could not have done what Big Cat did for it takes great skill to hit and control a golf ball. It also takes great fortitude to deal with golfing pressures, though some would say those pressures are diminished by knowing one has an unfair advantage.
Many people lauded Big Cat’s great achievements. But not those in the know. They basked in the attention, the glory, and the money. That suited them just fine.
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Ditto on the Lying
I have to say I agree with an earlier anonymous poster. What bothers me about Bonds's achievement is not so much that he was juiced part of the time (though part of me still fetishizes the all natural athlete) but that he represents a culture of lying that I just can't admire. Mark McGuire, Floyd Landis, you take your pick of this year's Tour de France, and of course Barry--why can't anyone ever tell the truth about what they've done, after they've been caught? Especially, as anonymous points out, when the deeds in question aren't necessarily illegal, as is the case with mid-1990s steroid use in the MLB?
I hate the all too common attitude that says, "if you're caught, the best thing to do is lie, and that's okay."
As a result, the only athlete I truly admire at the moment is that Tour de France cyclist who, having been caught doping, immediately 'fessed up and went home. Now that's an achievement!