Who cares about Bonds?

By Mark Heiman
I’ve had the question posed to me a few times lately. Even once on vacation when a guy found out I wrote sports for a living.
“What do you think of Barry Bonds going for the record.”
Well after this week, my first answer is that he’s cutting into my precious sleep time, because The Courier sports department is waiting as late as possible for each of the Giants’ games until he breaks the record.
But the truth is I don’t know what to think.
One side of me says that it is a great accomplishment. Hitting a round ball with a round bat is very difficult. To hit it that far over 750 times is a helluva accomplishment.
Then again, how many of those home runs were all thanks to his bulking up with steroids, HGH, etc.
But the dark reality is that Bonds is a cheat.
Granted cheating is a part of baseball — spitballs, loading bats, phantom double plays. But those don’t lead to records being set. Getting that big, that fast now that’s what leads to records being set.
Maybe he shouldn’t be able to lay claim to the record.
Share your thoughts with me. Should their be one of those stupid asterisks next to his name or should he be the home run king? Let us know.

As a bit of an aside, make sure to check out the print or web edition of the paper. I wrote a story on the Feathers bobblehead, which depicts Arlington’s David Featheringill. I had blogged about the bobblehead being created and thought it would be a neat story, considering how unique it is.
Also, make sure to get buzzed early next week with Dave Hanneman. Hanneman will be traveling to Latrobe, Pa., to try and catch up witih Ben Roethlisberger at the Steeler’s training camp. Hanneman will blog from Latrobe Tuesday.
Speaking of football, don’t look now but two-a-days get going Thursday, while the rest of the fall sports begin their coaching a week from Monday. In just two weeks, the golf and girls tennis seasons begin in earnest.
Where oh where did my summer go?

Comments

[Josh]

I'll go with innocent until proven guilty.

[Mark]

Ken was right. I shouldn't have called him a cheat, since he hasn't been proven guilty. But how did he get so big? JDee is right on when saying that Gwynn and Ripken were full of class. I wish Gwynn would have played with a team where I would have gotten to see him more. Loved to watch him hit. But I really don't think either one of them can be classified as a hero. I don't feel athletes are heroes. That term is used a big loosely.

[JDee]

It's kind of ironic at this time when Bonds is closing in on the home run record, two of the classiest ballplayers of our generation, Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn were enshrined into baseball's hall of fame today. There are real heros out there.

[Ken]

Quote He's simply a rotten person who does not care about anything except himself."

We could make a long list of sports "heros" that we could apply your quote too. Some of which will still make hall of fame, or already have.

[JDee]

You have to tip your hat to the accomplishment. Comparing an actress with cosmetic surgery to Bonds is silly. Don't compare movie success to athletic success two totally different things. There are only a very few people in the history of baseball that can accomplish what Bonds has done, actresses are a dime a dozen.
That aside, I'm not following the Bonds chase at all. In fact, the Giants have been on TV the past two nights and I've not watched an at bat. He's simply a rotten person who does not care about anything except himself. It's sad because he could be one of the most celebrated athletes of our era, yet many people just wants him to break the record as soon as possible and go away to live his miserable life, never to be heard from again.

[Ken]

Who can say he cheated? All hearsay. He has passed every drug test given. Did I say he didnt cheat? No, but until PROVEN guilty....
He is a moron, a big mouth and prick, but sports are filled with many of those types of people, present day and past players.

[Mike]

Barry Bonds "cheated" in the same way an actress cheats when she has cosmetic surgery, breast implants, etc. Should they not be allowed in the movies or have to forfeit a share of their eranings?

Anyone remember when Mark McGuire was about to break the single season home run record? No one was asking questions like this, there were no Senate hearings where Mark McGuire, his doctors, friends and family were made to testify under oath, no one said a word. I wonder why that is...