Barry Bonds roundup.

Commentary on Barry Bonds‘ chase of the all-time home run record. Some of the articles were written before Bonds hit his 756th career home run on Tuesday.

jweiler, The Starting Five, “Neyer/Stark/Caple Exchange“

“To assert that race doesn?t matter – that if Bonds were a white jerk, etc., he?d be treated the same way – is to speculate in a way that is impossible for us to do intelligently. Let?s flip this for a moment – what if the press corps covering baseball, instead of being – what is it? – 96% white, were 96% Black? Would our perception of Bonds be exactly the same, if that were true? Caple agreed with Neyer?s point and mentioned Tony Gwynn. But, Gwynn is very safe, the kind of African American that white media love to love, because he?s so easy, cooperative and non-confrontational. But, what if a mostly Black press corps were pestering white players about stuff the media cared about? For example, imagine persistent questioning for years directed at Cal Ripken with such questions as: don?t you think you had it kind of easy growing up, being given such privileged access to the game by your father? Or, don?t you think you?re being selfish by staying in the lineup for personal records, and not the good of the team? Would Cal have been so gracious all those years? And, if he grew weary, wary and mistrustful,and snapped at times, and told the media he didn?t want to talk to them, would we still think of him as a ?great guy?? Now, the fair answer to all those questions is ?I have no idea.? Maybe he would have.”

Jack the Blogger, The Western Word, “Barry Bonds is MLB’s All-Time Home Run King – Get over it“

“Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong, never failed a drug test. A book was written about him saying he used performance enhancing drugs based on stories from people who worked for him. There were a few newspaper stories. Lance Armstrong was presumed innocent by the media, unlike Barry Bonds. Armstrong now lives with the title of the greatest professional road racing cyclist ever. There is no asterisk on his record as the seven-time winner of the Tour de France. You can come to your own conclusions as to why these two great athletes were treated differently.”

Casey McNulty, At the Bat, “Barry Bonds (asterisk)“

“On a more serious note, I wonder how Barry?s career will play out from here. How will he be remembered? As ?Barry Bonds, home run king? or ?Barry Bonds*? (*The guy who took performance-enhancing drugs and therefore was able to hit a lot more home runs than anyone else)? If he?s remembered as the ?home run king? and this whole steroid thing goes under-investigated, what message does that send to Americans, and baseball fans all over the world? Cheating makes you famous. Cheating helps you into the history books. (I suppose America?s past time can sometimes reek of the American Way.) If his legacy is undermined by the steroid investigation, will fans throw the racism card? Will people be less concerned about the possibility of steroid use now that Barry is on top?“

YF, Yanksfan vs. Soxfan, “Pass the Crown: Bonds Hits 756“

“It gave me a sinking feeling in the stomach as soon as he hit it. Bonds threw up his arms immediately, then pumped his hands toward the sky, presumably a tribute to his father. Giants fans cheered. The guy who caught the thing looked like he’d been pummelled (sic), and was escorted out of the park surrounded by a bunch of cops. Commissioner Bud Selig was absent, but Willie Mays was there, and Hank Aaron appeared in a classy if somewhat distant message on the video board. It’s over now. No asterisk necessary; we’re all going to remember the circumstances thay got us here. Eventually he’ll be caught. But for the moment, he’s your champ.”

Slinger, Team Slinger, “My take on Barry Bonds.“

“A few years ago, when all of this steroid talk came up, it was proven by a group of scientists, that if a player is taking steroids, it could possibly result in faster bat speed, thus making a ball travel farther. But the last time I checked, the skill of hitting a 95mph fastball is concentrated on hand-eye coordination. Steroids do not improve your eye sight.

I believe the media has ruined Bond?s image, as they have a tendency to ruin many things. There is no rule that says a pro athlete has to be nice to the media, or even agree to interviews. Just because Terrell Owens invites the media to watch him do sit-ups in his driveway, doesn?t mean every athlete has to do it. I think the media has put so much pressure on Bonds and labeled him as a ?bad seed? for MLB, that now the public views him the same way.”

BGK, The Anti-Nutting, “Bonds used steroids…errr, i mean… Bonds breaks record!“

“Barry Bonds supporters always cry that Barry is being unfairly portrayed as the only person who ever did steroids. He isn’t, he just happens to be the only one who did steroids who is about to break one of the greatest records of all time. The thing about Bonds getting so much attention is because there has been about a 7 year leadup to this point. About 6 or 7 years ago people started thinking it was possible for him to break this record and we have been following it the WHOLE TIME. And the steroid controversy happened in the middle of his quest. Not to mention the undeniable evidence supporting all claims that he used steroids. Including, but not limited to…HIS ADMISSION OF USING STEROIDS!

Honestly, If Zach Duke comes back from rehab with an added 5mph to his fastball and he strikes out 21 in his first game back, then the next day he tells a grand Jury he used steroids, will it get the same publicity? No, because it didn’t happen over the course of 6 years with a cloud of steroids over his head the whole time, but will it be just as wrong? Yes!“

Chuck0, Another Blog is Possible, “Congrats, Barry Bonds!“

“There will be plenty of people who will disparage this achievement because of the allegations about drug use hanging over Barry Bonds. I didn?t like Bonds very much in the early years of his career, but I think the people who are upset at him now are just hypocrites. Bonds set the record over the course of career that was pretty spectacular. If he was helped by the ?Steroid Era? of baseball in recent years, lots of players were helped. They were aided by a baseball monopoly that looked the other way while it made billions off of corporate welfare for new stadiums, as well as from TV contracts, product placements and everything else that has tarnished baseball in the past 15 years.

It?s taken me a long time to enjoy baseball after the strike year of 1994 and the subsequent cheapening of baseball with steroids and small baseball parks. I?m one of those purists who was turned off by the artificial inflating of home runs at the expense of pitching. Home run baseball just isn?t that interesting. But it?s unfair for people to single out Barry Bonds for the egregious sins of the baseball owners.”

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