Barry Bonds...Just A Baseball Story?

[S-Des]

Sometime in the next month or so, Barry Bonds will break the most hallowed record in American (and possibly the world) sports. He will surpass Hank Aaron's incredible feat of 755 home runs for a career. The commissioner of baseball is undecided if he'll bother attending the games so he can congratulate Bonds. Hank Aaron, in a major breach of sports protocol has stated categorically that he will not attend any of the games and barely speaks of Bonds. At the pinnacle of sports achievement, the pursuit of the record has become little more than a debate about what's wrong with sports...and possibly society. Why?

Bonds was a great player his entire career. He was an amazing hitter and looked to be a sure-fire hall of famer when something changed in 1999. After averaging about 30 home runs a year for his career (with a high of 46 and a low of 19 for a full season), suddenly, well into his 30s, Bonds found an amazing new power to his swing. He hit 49, 73, 46, 45, 45 in his next 5 seasons, before injuries sidelined him in 2005. The most amazing stat is that his worst year (2005) he hit 45 home runs in only 373 at bats (walks don't count as at bats). In contrast, in 1989 he hit 19 home runs in 580 at bats. The numbers are startling. What's more shocking are the numbers revealed in a recent book.

You hear all that noise from the Bonds camp and yet most conspicuous is the silence on challenging the facts of the case. Shadows succeeded because it couched nothing and stood unchallenged. My favorite fact: the authors detail in their afterword the freakish growth of Bonds' body parts in his years with the Giants: from size 42 to a size 52 jersey; from size 10 1/2 to size 13 cleats; and from a size 7 1/8 to size 7 1/4 cap, even though he had taken to shaving his head.

"The changes in his foot and head size," they write, "were of special interest: medical experts said overuse of human
growth hormone could cause an adult's extremities to begin growing, aping the symptoms of the glandular disorder acromegaly."


Bonds has admitted to using steroids and human growth hormone, although he claims he didn't know (evidently implying his trainers were drugging him without his knowledge to achieve results). Personally, I'd be a little freaked if my feet started growing after the age of 35, but whatever. The question is, has society reached the point where we don't care if athletes literally poison themselves to achieve results (even honoring them with big contracts and endorsement deals). Bonds has been a media pariah because he's not a good guy, but what if this had happened to someone who was nice to the press and had a good public image?

Steroids has long been a problem in sports (especially track & cycling), so we know this isn't a localized problem. The biggest danger I see is the kids deciding they want to be like Bonds and feeling the only way to get there is the drugs (which are more dangerous when you're still growing). HGH is especially insidious because it's harder to detect and has serious potential long-term consequences. Athletes cheat to try to gain an edge...that's never going to change. However, now one is blatantly using them (or used them) to achieve the greatest record in American sports. It will stand for decades, if not forever, leaving a reminder that cheating and doing life-threatening things to your body can get you everything you want.

Hank Aaron was a genuine hero. Someone every person (regardless of sex or race) could look to in admiration. He achieved through hard work and faced the most dispicable acts our society had to offer and overcame them with grace and dignity. He gave hope to a large number of people and helped change the world around him, not just the sports part. Barry Bonds seems to care about nothing but himself and has shown disregard for everyone from fans to reporters to teamates.

I wonder if this is just the beginning.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I wouldn't be surprised if sosciety had gotten to the point where they didn't care (again, really, people didn't care about the welfare fo athletes in the Roman Arena days). I'm pretty sure I don't care what they pump into themselves.

It probably is a problem for children to be seeing this, and then following suit, but I also think these are children that I wouldn't have liked in the first place, and I wouldn't mind seeing them go overboard on drug abuse. Yes, I'm a cinic and I don't care about most children.

I don't know where I'm going with this reply. I think I'll shut up now before the hole gets deeper

 

[S-Des]

I wouldn't be surprised if sosciety had gotten to the point where they didn't care (again, really, people didn't care about the welfare fo athletes in the Roman Arena days). I'm pretty sure I don't care what they pump into themselves.

It probably is a problem for children to be seeing this, and then following suit, but I also think these are children that I wouldn't have liked in the first place, and I wouldn't mind seeing them go overboard on drug abuse. Yes, I'm a cinic and I don't care about most children.

I don't know where I'm going with this reply. I think I'll shut up now before the hole gets deeper

*snicker* I do get what you're saying (sort of). There are a lot of selfish, spoiled athletes who do stupid things that makes us not care about them or their health. Still, it's sad that this is what we've come to. I'll be interested if Bel cares about this (since that's his neck of the woods). I guess I was wondering if there's a corellation between the last couple of "me" generations and what's going on with sports (certainly Bonds is not on an island of his own...we had Sammy Sosa in Chicago and Mark Maguire was right down the road in St. Louis). What's really funny is the rash of setup pitchers and closers who suddenly lost a few mph off their fastball when testing got more stringent. It's not just the hitters using this crap to be better than they really are.

 

[R. Richard]

Steroids has long been a problem in sports (especially track & cycling), so we know this isn't a localized problem. The biggest danger I see is the kids deciding they want to be like Bonds and feeling the only way to get there is the drugs (which are more dangerous when you're still growing). HGH is especially insidious because it's harder to detect and has serious potential long-term consequences. Athletes cheat to try to gain an edge...that's never going to change. However, now one is blatantly using them (or used them) to achieve the greatest record in American sports. It will stand for decades, if not forever, leaving a reminder that cheating and doing life-threatening things to your body can get you everything you want.

I wonder if this is just the beginning.

S-Des, I have news for you. Steroids are perhaps even more dangerous after you stop growing. I have used steroids to recover from an injury. I used the physician prescribed dosage. Even with the relatively mild dosage, I could measure improvement in my athletic endeavors. What the problem is, is not that physician prescribed amounts are dangerous, but that over-dosages are VERY dangerous. "If one pill/injection gives me this much improvement, what would two pills/injections give me? Three?" The problem of over-dosage is not so bad among kids, because not too many of them can afford the price of over-dosage. A pro athlete can afford the price of over dosage. [They had a secret poll among Olympic athletes and asked, "If you could take a drug that would enable you to win Olympic gold, but would kill you within five years, would you take the drug?" Over half of the athletes said they would take the drug.]

What you see today in not the begining. Performance enhancing drugs have been a major part of sports at least since the 1950s. The use of amphetamines [greenies] has been a part of at least football and baseball since the 1950s. [Wazzat? No, they do not use sane dosages.]

 

[S-Des]

S-Des, I have news for you. Steroids are perhaps even more dangerous after you stop growing. I have used steroids to recover from an injury. I used the physician prescribed dosage. Even with the relatively mild dosage, I could measure improvement in my athletic endeavors. What the problem is, is not that physician prescribed amounts are dangerous, but that over-dosages are VERY dangerous. "If one pill/injection gives me this much improvement, what would two pills/injections give me? Three?" The problem of over-dosage is not so bad among kids, because not too many of them can afford the price of over-dosage. A pro athlete can afford the price of over dosage. [They had a secret poll among Olympic athletes and asked, "If you could take a drug that would enable you to win Olympic gold, but would kill you within five years, would you take the drug?" Over half of the athletes said they would take the drug.]

What you see today in not the begining. Performance enhancing drugs have been a major part of sports at least since the 1950s. The use of amphetamines [greenies] has been a part of at least football and baseball since the 1950s. [Wazzat? No, they do not use sane dosages.]

I did a speech in college where I researched this and the doctors at the time said the effects were more harmful while you were still growing. Even if that's not accurate, if as an adult you choose to do something stupid and harm youself, at least you're making an informed decision. When kids do it, they often have no concept of the consequences, so it bothers me more that they're potentially ruining their lives. ODing isn't what worries me as much as long-term exposure. That's what killed Alzado.

Looking for an edge has always been part of sports (including Ty Cobb sharpening his spikes so people wouldn't want to get in front of him). There is just something so insidious about steroids and HGH and their effects (and side-effects). Perhaps it's just an inevitable change in society that will get worse as scientists create more effective drugs. Maybe it's just me being nostalgic. *shrug*

 

[R. Richard]

I did a speech in college where I researched this and the doctors at the time said the effects were more harmful while you were still growing. Even if that's not accurate, if as an adult you choose to do something stupid and harm youself, at least you're making an informed decision. When kids do it, they often have no concept of the consequences, so it bothers me more that they're potentially ruining their lives. ODing isn't what worries me as much as long-term exposure. That's what killed Alzado.

I am sure that medically the statement is true. However, I suspect that you were never a gym rat. I was [and still am.] In the gym none of the hard core gym rats trust doctors. "Hell, ol' Freddy usin' stuff and he gettin' big! Aint hurt him none at all neither." As you point out, the really bad effects don't appear for at least a few years. In the meantime, the gym rats buy crap from anybody who claims to have 'the latest and greatest!' Medical supervision is non-existent and dosages tend to run on the insane side.

You think, "Well, what happens when ol' Freddy hobbles back to the gym on crutches?" Well, you see, ol' Freddy just used the wrong stuff. Now, this here imported dyn-o-mite I got gonna' get you freaky big with no harm and, best of all, the contest people can't find no traces. In a whisper, [Hell, ol' Jay done uses the stuff. Damn Mr. Olympia!]

 

[Boota]

Bonds may come to hold the record, but there will always be an asterisk beside his name, even if it's only in the minds of the fans. Hitting a baseball is fucking hard. Especially off the caliber of pitchers in the pros. But the extra steroid muscle is what put the ball over the fence, not his hand eye coordination and the form of his swing. Bonds doesn't deserve to shake Hank Aaron's hand.

 

[S-Des]

Bonds may come to hold the record, but there will always be an asterisk beside his name, even if it's only in the minds of the fans. Hitting a baseball is fucking hard. Especially off the caliber of pitchers in the pros. But the extra steroid muscle is what put the ball over the fence, not his hand eye coordination and the form of his swing. Bonds doesn't deserve to shake Hank Aaron's hand.

I agree. I'm glad Aaron isn't dignifying him by showing up. BTW, don't believe people who tell you that steroids is about gaining muscle...that's not what it does for baseball players. It helps you improve quick twitch muscle fiber (which is why sprinters use it), making your hands move faster through the zone. It also helps you recover faster so you aren't sore (helping you practice more and so you're not as beat up on game day). People always defend him by saying "steroids don't help you hit a ball." That's not true. It helps you in dozens of ways. It won't make you great by itself, but it will make someone who's already great into a monster.

 

[Trombonus]

Honestly, Bonds doesn't bother me. The person that bothers me the most is Rafael Palmeiro. Here is a man who looked everyone in the face, pointed emphatically and lied through his teeth. He's not playing in the league anymore, and you know what, good riddance. Now he wants to make a comeback? I've got news for you pal, there isn't a team out there that will take you back now.

Do I think Bonds used steroids? Yeah, I do. Do I care? No not really. There are so many things I could talk about here, but basically it's all speculation. Like him or not, he's still one of the best players in baseball.

 

[Emperor_Nero]

Like him or not, he's still one of the best players in baseball.

But as he closes in on one of the most significant all-time career records in the game, the question is, if it weren't for what he put into his body, would he be one of the best players in the game or one of the best retired players?
I think that is the biggest taint that the steroids and HGH talk brings to the table. No matter what you're putting in your system, it takes a lot of inheirant skill to hit a baseball at this level ... but in a record that shows not only skill, but long-term skill, have the drugs extended his career to make this possible?

 

[S-Des]

Honestly, Bonds doesn't bother me. The person that bothers me the most is Rafael Palmeiro. Here is a man who looked everyone in the face, pointed emphatically and lied through his teeth. He's not playing in the league anymore, and you know what, good riddance. Now he wants to make a comeback? I've got news for you pal, there isn't a team out there that will take you back now.

Do I think Bonds used steroids? Yeah, I do. Do I care? No not really. There are so many things I could talk about here, but basically it's all speculation. Like him or not, he's still one of the best players in baseball.

He is. Honestly, if he had retired last year, I would have been cool with him (although I still think he's a jerk). I still like Sammy and Mark, I'm just cinical about them. But he needed to have that record. It will be a permanent reminder that the record is irrelevant. Like Boota said, there will be an asterisk next to it for as long as he holds it. And a great man like Aaron is now 2nd. It just bothers me. However, there are a lot of awful people in sports history (Cobb was a bigot, a drunk, and a violent person known to be very abusive). So I guess I can see why people wouldn't be that bothered by Bonds.

 

[R. Richard]

I agree. I'm glad Aaron isn't dignifying him by showing up. BTW, don't believe people who tell you that steroids is about gaining muscle...that's not what it does for baseball players. It helps you improve quick twitch muscle fiber (which is why sprinters use it), making your hands move faster through the zone. It also helps you recover faster so you aren't sore (helping you practice more and so you're not as beat up on game day). People always defend him by saying "steroids don't help you hit a ball." That's not true. It helps you in dozens of ways. It won't make you great by itself, but it will make someone who's already great into a monster.

Steroids+exercise build muscle. If you power weight lift at slow speeds, you built slow twitch muscle fiber. If you do exercises at speed, you build quick twitch muscle fiber [plyometirics live!] As you point out, the extra muscle enables a player to swing the bat faster. Since the player can swing the bat faster, he can wait a few hundredths of a second longer to begin his swing. That few hundredth of a second is critical in hitting a baseball [one of the most difficult single feats in sports.] If you were a .250 hitter before steroids, you might become a .300 hitter after steroids. A .250 hitter is always on the edge of being sent down to the minors. A .300 hitter is called 'The man!' Also, a guy on steroids can jerk the ball out of the park where a legal competitor hits a long fly ball.

It isn't steroids that makes an average player good and a good player great, its steroids plus work. As you point out, if you have talent, the steroids let you multiply that talent. However, the work is a critical component along with the steroids. Also, it is not just work, it is smart work. Being able to bench press 500 pounds does not help a baseball player. Being able to do a couple of dozen clap hands pushups does help a baseball player.

Also, a baseball player can use steroids to help his sprinting. Cutting a few hundredths of a second off of his time to first base equals a few 'leg hits' equals a higher batting average.

However, in each case, it is not just steroids, it is steroids plus smart work.

 

[Trombonus]

But as he closes in on one of the most significant all-time career records in the game, the question is, if it weren't for what he put into his body, would he be one of the best players in the game or one of the best retired players?
I think that is the biggest taint that the steroids and HGH talk brings to the table. No matter what you're putting in your system, it takes a lot of inheirant skill to hit a baseball at this level ... but in a record that shows not only skill, but long-term skill, have the drugs extended his career to make this possible?

In all honesty I would think it would shorten his career wouldn't it?

He has almost 1000 more walks for his career than strike outs. Yeah he gets a lot of intentional walks, but so do a lot of other players. Bonds has an amazing eye. If you've ever watched him play he is so patient as he waits for a pitch to hit. He's not afraid to wait for it. The last season he had more strike outs than walks was in 1988 when he was a Pittsburgh Pirate. Mark Mcguire had more Strike Outs than walks for his career. Sosa has more than twice as many Strike outs in his career than walks. Palmeiro had about the same. That's a pretty telling stat to me.

 

[Emperor_Nero]

In all honesty I would think it would shorten his career wouldn't it?

He has almost 1000 more walks for his career than strike outs. Yeah he gets a lot of intentional walks, but so do a lot of other players. Bonds has an amazing eye. If you've ever watched him play he is so patient as he waits for a pitch to hit. He's not afraid to wait for it. The last season he had more strike outs than walks was in 1988 when he was a Pittsburgh Pirate. Mark Mcguire had more Strike Outs than walks for his career. Sosa has more than twice as many Strike outs in his career than walks. Palmeiro had about the same. That's a pretty telling stat to me.

Comparing Bonds to McGuire, Palmeiro and Sosa is like comparing apples to oranges. Yes they probably all used the stuff, but McGuire, Palmeiro and Sosa were all inheirently power hitters and like most players that take that big home run swing all the time, they will strike out a lot. Bonds was always a better hitter than that, taking home runs when they came, but not swining for them all the time.

And as for shortening his career, if you look at his numbers to figure out when he started on the stuff, he didn't start using until late in his career. Yes it bulked him up, but it also helped him at least maintain (if not increase) his bat speed. Players don't retire just because they get old, but because they start to slow down. When ordinary players would have started to slow down and start on the road to retirement, Bonds' started to speed up and see his numbers increase across the board.

I don't question that Bonds was good and even without any assistance would have been in the 600 club. But I firmly believe it's the drugs that have put him in the 700 club and on the brink of immenently breaking Aaron's record.

 

[Belegon]

Warning! I am passionate about this subject.

Barry Bonds is a disgrace. He is a miserable excuse for a human being. He always was. He is a selfish, misogynistic, racist, antagonistic, arrogant prima donna.

Barry was all of this before he started cheating. Once he began to take HGH and steroids, the one thing that actually was pure about this tainted personality became a mockery. You see, Barry Bonds was already going to the Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds was a complete player. He has Gold Gloves that he won fairly. He is the only ballplayer with 500 stolen bases and 500 home runs. And he had learned to take all the negative things said about him and use them to motivate himself to greater achievements.

The evidence is already being thrown around here. Barry took "the clear" & "the cream". He admitted it to the Grand Jury. His defense is that he didn't know what he was taking. Bullshit. Barry is VERY intelligent. He also has a huge ego. NOBODY is going to put anything in Barry's body unless he knows what it is. He certainly isn't going to allow the guys from BALCO to administer drops of the Clear under his tongue without knowing.

I've watched him for years, Des. I was in the ballpark the night he threw a punch at Jeff Kent on the bench. On Opening Day, I've watched him begin walking out of the dugout to the third base line two players before his name is introduced, disrespecting his own teamates and the fans so he doesn't have to break into a light jog. I've watched (and listened when my seats were good enough) as he's whined and moaned about the strike zone, despite the zone shrinking to the size of a gnat's ass with The Juice Box at the plate.

Barry grew up in a white middle class neighborhood, thanks to his Dad's lucrative career, but if you listen to him talk race you'd think he was from Cabrini Green. Given every benefit of the upper middle class, the only african-american on his high school team, he acts like he grew up a sharecropper. He plays the race card at every opportunity, a huge disservice to those who actually faced real discrimination due to the color of their skin. When those guys were struggling to get by, Barry was at ASU dating cheerleaders.

The only friend he has left from high school is in jail right now for refusing to testify against him. Greg Anderson. Barry hasn't even acknowledged that Greg is doing this for him, thanked him or visited him. Nice. Great friend, that guy.

I've read Game of Shadows. I believe every word. The Juice Box is everything that is wrong with the game.

And the "I'm better than Babe Ruth" talk is silly. Until you pick up the ball and win 18 games as a dominant pitcher, SHUT UP! Babe Ruth is the greatest player in the history of baseball. Your godfather is the only man that ever came close, Barry. You aren't close to the player Willie Mays was, and Willie would have had that record if not for the Polo Grounds and Candlestick.

The only consolation I feel is that he won't have it long. Alex Rodriguez will overtake Barry.

 

[JamesSD]

Bonds is a cheater. Even if he nominally passes Aaron's record, in my mind he will epitomize the "asterisk" era of steroids.

Giambi recently admitted to having used steroids in the past (everyone gasp together in shock!). Canseco used them. It's clear MacGuire and Sosa used them. I think part of baseball's unwillingness to go after Bonds is they'd have to really clean house, and flush a lot of popular players.

The good news for baseball is that with any luck, A-Rod will eventually surpass Bonds. At only 30 years old he has 482 Homers. Of course, a serious injury or significant decline in power could hurt him, but he still has a good chunk of his career ahead of him to challenge Bonds.

 

[Edward Teach]

I didn't like Bonds before I read Bel's post. Now that I have learned more, I like the sumbitch even less.

Thanks, Bel.

 

[S-Des]

Barry Bonds is a disgrace. He is a miserable excuse for a human being. He always was. He is a selfish, misogynistic, racist, antagonistic, arrogant prima donna.

Wow, you really need to say what you feel. Actually, that surprises me because I had heard he was really popular in that general area. I've heard all the things you mentioned and believe them as well, although I try to keep somewhat of an open mind since he's never played close to here (it's so dangerous to believe what you hear on sports radio or read in the paper).

I do hope for A-Rod. Like Griffey, he's a class guy with a natural talent for the long ball. Also Pujols seems like a shoe-in to challenge someday and there isn't even a murmur about him and supplements, despite his size and strength. If Barry's reign as home run king is short, then he'll be quickly forgotten. If he didn't have such a monumental ego, he'd retire and leave Aaron with the record, thereby generating an enormous amount of goodwill from his critics.

Funny story, I was watching ESPN and came across the home run derby from 98 or 99. The announcer was talking about what a great player Bonds was as he was getting ready to come to the plate. The announcer said that he firmly believed Bonds would break 500 home runs before his career ended.

 

[Boota]

I agree with Bel. Babe Ruth is still the greatest all around player ever. And the only drugs he put into his body could not have possibly helped him. Let's see Barry Bonds perform while still drunk or massively hung over. LOL.