Wells Blasts "Juiced" Bonds

[mr.miracle]

Nathan:

Overall, you hit the nail right on the head. Mr. Suave is right Maris was not a nobody, however he also was not Mickey Mantle. Like I had mentioned in an earlier posting, Not everyone likes the media or certainly agrees with them. However, in the past twenty plus years of Bonds career, to a man every single reporter that I have ever heard interviewed on who was or is the most difficult athlete to deal with said Bonds hands down. This is probably 20 or more reporters both from his days in Pittsburgh and now in San Fran. They all said he is a jerk. All those people can't be wrong. Certainly that is one element of dealing with Barry, but if Bonds claims how unfair the media is, who brought that on themselves? Barry did and has nobody to blame but himself.

Brett

[trsent]

Thanks for sharing your story; here's hoping you remain sober for the next 17 years as well.

Unfortunately, I think you've oversimplified this issue. I don't think for a second that there is anything more than an extreme minority who would want to see Barry Bonds fail simply on the basis of race. Heck, the current record is held by a black man and I don't see anyone grumbling about that. And if this was Ken Griffey Jr chasing down history, I think the general public would be much more openly accepting than has been the case with Bonds.

As far as your facetious attaching of an asterisk to every number higher than Babe Ruth's 60, I don't buy the reasoning for each of those either. Certainly MLB was shortsighted for attempting to take a stand on a nobody like Roger Maris passing a hallowed mark. McGwire's use of andro was well-documented during the chase for 62, and the end result is that andro (legal both by MLB standards and by federal substance control standards at the time) was more heavily tested and has since been outlawed. It has nothing to do with what the general public believes andro causes and a lot to do with medical science has shown. And as for Barry Bonds chasing 71, the fact isn't that the general public has issues with steroids but with the fact that steroids have long been conclusively shown to not only be a performance enhancer but also detrimental to health (and that assumes that steroids was the extent of what he took). The fact is that the federal government has strictly regulated the sale and distribution of steroids for a number of years and they are the ones who classify it on a higher level than marijuana and on the same level as cocaine and other drugs.

As far as the general public wanting to see Bonds fail because he isn't a likeable guy, I think we're getting somewhere there. The simple fact is that Bonds has had, at best, a volatile relationship with fans. Fans vote with their wallets and their hearts. Fans have no problem rooting for an Albert Pujols, a Cal Ripken, or that 25th player on the bench who went out of his way to sign a card for their kid. But fans certainly will take issue with the player who blows off interviews, refers to himself in the third person, or tells those asking for an autograph to "get a (fill in the blank) life" while charging over $1000 for a scribble of ink without an acknowledgement.

The simple fact is that Barry Bonds has alienated so many people over the years that there are very few who want to see him succeed. It has nothing to do with race or ethnicity or socioeconomic status. It has to do with the fact that someone who should be the ultimate ambassador for baseball is such a dislikable guy who has brought the wrath of fans down upon him because of his own doing. That's all there is to it.

Great post as it gives valid points without putting down the other side in a spiteful method.

In the meantime, don't forget that when Henry Aaron broke Babe Ruth's mark he received more mail than anyone could imagine. The estimates were that about a third of the mail he received was hate mail because a black man broke the record of The Babe.

Barry Bonds has not gone out of his way like the great Cal Ripken, Jr. did to be a fan favorite, and that is too bad, but his numbers do speak for them self.

By the way, the way Major League Baseball embarrassed Roger Maris' achievement is one of the darkest spots of MLB history because they destroyed the man. I lost my copy, but Rick Telander wrote a great article in Sports Illustrated about 20 years ago titled: "The Record That Almost Broke Him" about Baseball spite towards Roger Maris for just doing his job.

[sylbry]

By the way, the way Major League Baseball embarrassed Roger Maris' achievement is one of the darkest spots of MLB history because they destroyed the man. I lost my copy, but Rick Telander wrote a great article in Sports Illustrated about 20 years ago titled: "The Record That Almost Broke Him" about Baseball spite towards Roger Maris for just doing his job.

The movie 61* gives you a sense on what Maris went through that year.

[suave1477]

Not only does it give you a sense of what he went through I think that has to be one of the best, well put together, well documented movies of that era.

I give 2 thumbs up and a toe to Billy Crystal for that movie it captured the essnce of the Yankees, Mantle, Maris, and New York of that time period. Me being from New York it made me actually take a step back.

Even the cast was incredible look a likes Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane were dead on hits for Maris and Mantle especially the southern twang and charisma he picked up to play the role of Mantle


If you havent seen this movie yet I strongly urge you to go and see it before uttering another word of Maris



AND NO IM NOT THE PRMOTER FOR THE MOVIE LOL LOL

[allstarsplus]

The movie 61* gives you a sense on what Maris went through that year.

Another great movie to watch about HRs and life is the documentary that was done on the life of Hank Greenberg. In 1938, Greenberg hit 58 Home Runs playing for the Detroit Tigers and he set the record for a right handed batter. He fell of course 2 short of Babe Ruth's 60. Greenberg also never achieved the 500 HR plateau as he missed almost 4 full seasons serving in World War II.

You can only imagine what Greenberg must have gone through in 1938. His right-handed HR record was of course broken by McGwire and Sosa in 1998.

[Nathan]

I just need to clarify here; I don't mean that Roger Maris was a complete nobody. He was certainly an above-average player during his career but fell short of the big stars of his era. But very few thought that he would be the one to launch an assault on 60, particularly with big hitters like Mickey Mantle around. Maris, going into 1961, was best known for his all-time high school record of four kickoff returns for a touchdown in a game. But for baseball, Maris not only wasn't a first-ballot HOFer, he still isn't in.

I do like the fact that Joel brought up Hank Aaron receiving hate mail, including that which the FBI considered to be "credible" death threats. And Hank Greenberg in 1938 was no exception, particularly for being a Jewish ballplayer in an era in which anti-Semitism was more widespread and more overt. What makes those two chapters particularly shameful is that neither one of those guys did anything that would make them to be the object of such hatred.

[Yankwood]

Nathan, your point is well taken. I understood what you meant.

[trsent]

I do like the fact that Joel brought up Hank Aaron receiving hate mail, including that which the FBI considered to be "credible" death threats. And Hank Greenberg in 1938 was no exception, particularly for being a Jewish ballplayer in an era in which anti-Semitism was more widespread and more overt. What makes those two chapters particularly shameful is that neither one of those guys did anything that would make them to be the object of such hatred.

Just being born with a different skin color or worshiping a God that others don't believe in has often been an issue that this country should look at itself with shame over.

They didn't know it but when they murdered Martin Luther King they made sure his life and message would be spread forever. Too bad a large portion of the public still doesn't get it.