8/08/2007
Is Barry Bonds Deserving of Home Run Crown?
It's official, the glorious reign of Hank Aaron as baseball's all time home run king is officially over as of 11:50 PM eastern time last evening. The new king all time home run champion is Barry Bonds and ordinarily, I would be pleased to see such a hallowed record be broken, but today i sit here in utter disbelief and anger. For Barry Bonds has made his accent towards the record under a cloud of suspicion, in an era in which athletes are using steroids every day to better their athlete prowess. I find it difficult to believe that there are still athletes that express a will to assume the risks involved in taking steroids. Haven't they heard about what happened to Lyle Alzado? In the short term Alzado got the most out of his steroid use by helping lead the LA Raiders to a Super Bowl Championship in 1984. However, in the long run Alzado found that his muscle kept shrinking until they were the size of tiny raisins which resulted in Lyle suffering a massive heart attack and dropping dead a few years after his playing days were over. In the years following Alzado's untimely death, we have been treated to such sights as Mark McGwire adamantly denying any sort of illegal enhancement use during the congressional hearings a couple of years ago. What about Rafael Palmeiro's tearful confession that he had never used steroids at that same hearing? The only trouble was that Palmiero later admitted steroid use and has suffered a great deal of embarrassment as a result. Which brings me to my next point, it is easy for us to say that Barry Bonds is deserving because we saw him do it. However, I must look beyond what happened on the field and provide you with a list of three reasons why Barry Bonds legacy as baseball's all tine dinger champion must be questioned.
1. He broke the all time single season home run record in 2001 while hitting the majority of his homers in a pitcher friendly ballpark. I've seen a lot of athletes in my day that were great players in their prime, but faded as they got older simply because their speed and instinct were diminished. Bond's broke this record at age 37, and the majority of athletes that i have seen usually lose a step or two in their games when they reach that age. Jerry Rice was no where near the wide receiver he was in his younger days at that age, and Larry Bird's knees were shot by then, forcing him to retire. I know exercise regimens have improved greatly since then, but for Bond's to break that record without the aid of some sort of enhancement is difficult for me to believe given his age and that fact that he hit the majority of his homers in a ballpark built for pitching and defense.
2. He's a jerk to the media: I admit the media can go over the line in the ongoing effoet to get the best story possible, even if it means stretching the truth, but Bonds is of a different breed. He always assigns blame to the media when things are going bad. Perhaps the most sickening disply of his hatred towards the media is the time when he held his young son up to the microphone at a press conference and stated that the media was ruining his son's life. In doing that, Bonds not only showcased a cruel side to him, but dragged his poor and innocent young son into his world. There's always a scapegoat with Barry Bonds. He'll never admit that he's the problem.
3. He's not a team player: Bonds is 43 years old, has bad knees, and sits out a vast majority of the time. His only motivation to keep playing was his pursuit of the record. He did not come back to play this year to help the Giants, he came back to pad his stats. That to me is the sign of a selfish, arrogant baseball player. You never hear Bonds talk about hitting a home run to better his team. It's all about him, and that's why he's hated by several baseball fans.
As a gesture of goodwill towards my fellow man, I congratulate Mr. Bonds on the breaking of this storied mark. However, i will always have my doubts concerning its legitimacy. Whether anything happens to Bonds in the future remains to be seen, but for the record, Bonds is not deserving of this record until he comes clean.
1. He broke the all time single season home run record in 2001 while hitting the majority of his homers in a pitcher friendly ballpark. I've seen a lot of athletes in my day that were great players in their prime, but faded as they got older simply because their speed and instinct were diminished. Bond's broke this record at age 37, and the majority of athletes that i have seen usually lose a step or two in their games when they reach that age. Jerry Rice was no where near the wide receiver he was in his younger days at that age, and Larry Bird's knees were shot by then, forcing him to retire. I know exercise regimens have improved greatly since then, but for Bond's to break that record without the aid of some sort of enhancement is difficult for me to believe given his age and that fact that he hit the majority of his homers in a ballpark built for pitching and defense.
2. He's a jerk to the media: I admit the media can go over the line in the ongoing effoet to get the best story possible, even if it means stretching the truth, but Bonds is of a different breed. He always assigns blame to the media when things are going bad. Perhaps the most sickening disply of his hatred towards the media is the time when he held his young son up to the microphone at a press conference and stated that the media was ruining his son's life. In doing that, Bonds not only showcased a cruel side to him, but dragged his poor and innocent young son into his world. There's always a scapegoat with Barry Bonds. He'll never admit that he's the problem.
3. He's not a team player: Bonds is 43 years old, has bad knees, and sits out a vast majority of the time. His only motivation to keep playing was his pursuit of the record. He did not come back to play this year to help the Giants, he came back to pad his stats. That to me is the sign of a selfish, arrogant baseball player. You never hear Bonds talk about hitting a home run to better his team. It's all about him, and that's why he's hated by several baseball fans.
As a gesture of goodwill towards my fellow man, I congratulate Mr. Bonds on the breaking of this storied mark. However, i will always have my doubts concerning its legitimacy. Whether anything happens to Bonds in the future remains to be seen, but for the record, Bonds is not deserving of this record until he comes clean.
