Bonds: Passing Aaron not likely

[Soxbadger]

1) Bonds never refused to play for Boston. He said that he would not play in Boston, because Boston is to racist. Once again it is an invention that he said anything about "white" people. Boston is not 100% white, therefore it is impossible to draw that conclusion he was speaking only about white people. Instead he spoke of Bostonian's in general. Not to mention I think you would find many people say something to the extent that Boston is one of the more racist cities in the US.

 

2) Bonds being a good team mate has no relevance to whether or not he is a racist. Many players including Sir Michael Jorand have been called selfish and bad teammates. I believe there are books that outline how terribly Jordan treated some of his teammates.

 

As for treating the media nice, the media has done nothing in my opinion to deserve being treated fair or with any sort of respect. They constantly are trying to create problems for atheletes, teams, managers, and create chaos. They purposefully distort interviews to create conflict, and then they put those players under an even more intense microscope knowing fully well that they created the entire problem.

 

You need to look no farther than AJ Pierz of how the media can basically drag a players career through the mud. He has one incident in SF, and he becomes the poster boy for a bad teammate. Never mind the fact with the Twins he was one of the main reasons for their chemistry. It was only because in Chicago he got a second shot (at a very reduced price) that he has been able to some what over come what the media did to him.

[WCSox]

1) Bonds never refused to play for Boston. He said that he would not play in Boston, because Boston is to racist. Once again it is an invention that he said anything about "white" people. Boston is not 100% white, therefore it is impossible to draw that conclusion he was speaking only about white people. Instead he spoke of Bostonian's in general. Not to mention I think you would find many people say something to the extent that Boston is one of the more racist cities in the US.

 

If you don't believe that Barry was specifically referring to the Caucasians in Boston being racist towards African-Americans, you're either lying or you need to have your head examined. The implication is crystal-clear. And Barry's grouping of all of the whites in the Boston metro area into that category is hateful and irresponsible.

 

2) Bonds being a good team mate has no relevance to whether or not he is a racist.

 

I never said it did. Barry's selfishness is another issue that again calls his character into question.

 

And at least MJ had the decency to call Steve Kerr and apologize after initiating the fisticuffs in practice. It's my understanding that Jeff Kent never got an apology from Barry after their scuffle in the dugout a few years ago.

 

You need to look no farther than AJ Pierz of how the media can basically drag a players career through the mud. He has one incident in SF, and he becomes the poster boy for a bad teammate. Never mind the fact with the Twins he was one of the main reasons for their chemistry. It was only because in Chicago he got a second shot (at a very reduced price) that he has been able to some what over come what the media did to him.

 

AJ has also said that he "did a lot of growing up" last year. His own Sox teammates have said that they never liked playing against him when he was on the Twins because of his mouth and the crap he'd pull on the field (stepping on a player's bat while he was leaving the batter's box, for example). I like AJ a lot, but I'm not going to pretend that he's the most mature person in the world or beyond reproach just because he plays for the Sox.

 

I seem to remember a lot of Sox fans claiming that all of the bad press about Frank in Chicago from the late '90s onward was the work of Reinsdorf & Co., who wanted to keep his market value as low as possible. Others claimed it was the work of the dubious Cubs fan, Jay Mariotti. It was all a vast conspiracy to keep Frank down!!! And after Frank's contract was bought out last winter, he took not one, but TWO unsolicited parting shots at the organization. Turns out that Frank's massive ego wasn't the fabrication of JR or an over-zealous media after all.

Edited April 26, 2006 by WCSox

[fathom]

You need to look no farther than AJ Pierz of how the media can basically drag a players career through the mud. He has one incident in SF, and he becomes the poster boy for a bad teammate. Never mind the fact with the Twins he was one of the main reasons for their chemistry. It was only because in Chicago he got a second shot (at a very reduced price) that he has been able to some what over come what the media did to him.

 

AJP had one incident? Um, NO. AJP brought upon the prick label because that's how he acted on and off the field.

[WCSox]

AJP had one incident?  Um, NO.  AJP brought upon the prick label because that's how he acted on and off the field.

 

It would've taken a hell of a lot more than one comment from Brett Tomko for AJ's reputation to be soiled so badly that he'd have to beg KW to take a chance on him at a low price.

[bjm676]

After reading the title of the post I just thought, "good"

 

But to add fuel to the fire, here's a column from awhile from Richard Roeper. He sums up the charm of Barry Bonds perfectly.

 

Hero tales: The good, the bad and the Barry

 

March 30, 2006

 

Jerking it out of the park

 

...Which brings us to Barry Bonds, who apparently deserves to have his own wing in the Jerks' Hall of Fame. We've known for years about Bonds' surly nature -- but the new book about Bonds, Game of Shadows, is filled with so many stories of rotten behavior, it will take your breath away.

 

Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams have subtitled their book, "Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports," and nearly all of the pre-publication hype centered on evidence Bonds was a fervent steroids user.

 

But if you removed every single reference to performance-enhancing substances, every mention of shadowy strength trainers and mysterious substances and players who suddenly get stronger than Paul Bunyan deep into their careers, Game of Shadows would still be a fascinating read.

 

There's almost no end to the depressing anecdotes about a man who seems to have spent most of his life alienating friends, colleagues, family and fans.

 

The Hall of Lame

 

Just a few examples of citizen Bonds in action:

 

*When the Giants signed Bonds to what was then the richest contract in baseball history, they also hired his father as hitting coach. The authors write: "Barry told friends, 'He wouldn't have his job if it wasn't for me.' "

 

*As the elder Bonds battled cancer, Barry complained to friends about his dad "sitting on his ass."

 

*Bonds' college coach told Sports Illustrated, "I never saw a teammate care about him."

 

*In an interview with the New York Times Magazine, Bonds said, "My grandmother wants me to get her some wheelchair that drives like a car. Why do I need to get her some wheelchair when she's gonna die anyway?"

 

*Bonds' favorite line to writers, photographers and autograph-seekers: "Stay out of my face."

 

*Other Barry-isms: calling people "punk b****es," and repeating insults and then saying, "Did I f------ stutter?" That's the line he used on his longtime mistress when he dumped her over the phone, and she asked him to clarify his comments: "Did I f------ stutter?"

 

Pure charm.

 

*In a Playboy interview, Bonds compared his wife to toilet paper, explaining that he told her, "Toilet paper just sits there and waits . . . just like you."

 

*When Bonds joined the Giants, he walked into a pitchers' meeting and started singling out hurlers he had taken deep, saying, "I got you, I got you," to each one. Way to make new friends!

 

*A reporter asked Bonds a question about home runs after Bonds said he was done talking about home runs. Bonds said, "Did you go to deaf school?"

 

*In the spring of 2003, when a bunch of kids approached Bonds for autographs, he growled, "What the f--- are you doing here? You're supposed to be in school."

 

It's a wonder the guy could hit any home runs at all with a chip that size on his shoulder.

 

Even if you think Barry Bonds is the most persecuted superstar of his generation; even if you think he just naturally got bigger and stronger in his mid-30s; even if you believe every single one of his home runs is legit and he should walk into the Hall of Fame with a 100 percent vote on the first ballot -- even if you believe all that -- I wonder:

 

Why would you ever want to meet this guy?

[jackie hayes]

Of course he cares. Anyone who plays wants to hold records and they are damn liars if they state differently.

Look at how I stated that without using a racist comment. 

This I don't get. Ruth's mark is not a record. If he wants a record he has to shoot for Aaron, which is exactly what he said he doesn't care about.

 

Sorry, but Ruth is the best that ever played the game in MLB, and it's not even close. The only way Bonds gets into the discussion was with his steroid-addled years, and just like I discount Mac and Sosa for those, I discount Bonds. And I feel damn comfy saying that even that doesn't bring him all the way. He should make the Hall, certainly. And he's one of the best players of all time. But not nearly the best.

[Soxbadger]

That is why eventhough it is not an "official" record, beating Ruth's personal record is so important to baseball players. Ruth is the standard that everyone is compared to, therefore to be able to say you beat Ruth in any category is an accomplishment in itself.

 

The same would occur if anyone started to approach Gehrig's games played streak. Eventhough Ripken broke it, Gehrig will always be the man symbolized as the iron man, Some people/players are so great that they will always be what people compare themselves to, no matter what else may occur.

Edited April 26, 2006 by Soxbadger

[jackie hayes]

That is why eventhough it is not an "official" record, beating Ruth's personal record is so important to baseball players. Ruth is the standard that everyone is compared to, therefore to be able to say you beat Ruth in any category is an accomplishment in itself.

 

The same would occur if anyone started to approach Gehrig's games played streak. Eventhough Ripken broke it, Gehrig will always be the man symbolized as the iron man, Some people/players are so great that they will always be what people compare themselves to, no matter what else may occur.

For someone who demands Bonds' exact words, this is an odd argument -- it's certainly not the way Bonds described it.

 

And he should want to pass Aaron too, right? If he wants records, and wants to be remembered among the greatest, why doesn't he care about matching HH?

[WCSox]

The same would occur if anyone started to approach Gehrig's games played streak. Eventhough Ripken broke it, Gehrig will always be the man symbolized as the iron man,

 

Of course, Gherig set that record while battling through a debilitating disease that forced him out of the game and eventually killed him. Ripken never faced that level of adversity.

[WHarris1]

Bonds...YARD

w0000000000000t

[Nokona]

That is why eventhough it is not an "official" record, beating Ruth's personal record is so important to baseball players. Ruth is the standard that everyone is compared to, therefore to be able to say you beat Ruth in any category is an accomplishment in itself.

 

Exactly. You ask people who know nothing about baseball who Babe Ruth is they answer "The Great Bambino" "Yankees" etc.

 

You ask that same person who Hank Aaron is and it's highly likely they look at you like your crazy.

 

To me, breaking Ruth's record is just as big as breaking Hank's.

 

Also, that quote that Barry supposedly said about his father is ridiculous. If you watched him play the last 2 months that his father was dying, every day you say it was wearing on him. I don't believe he could say something like that. I just don't see it at all.

[YASNY]

To put things into a bit of perspective, in this Ruth vs. Bonds debate, in 1927 which was the year Ruth hit 60 dingers, he outhomered every opposing TEAM in the American League. In 2001 when Bonds hit 73, the team with least amount of homeruns in the NL was Montreal with 131. That should shed some light the differences in eras as far as homerun hitting goes and what a dominant player Ruth was. In my opinion, Ruth stands head and shoulders above any player in the MLB history. No question.

[Nokona]

HEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.

 

2 Run Shot with 2 Outs to tie off Wagner. LCF.

[WHarris1]

w00000000t

[bjm676]

HEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.

 

2 Run Shot with 2 Outs to tie off Wagner.  LCF.

[T R U]

yessssssssssssss

 

Keep it up Barry you ARE the man

 

[Phuck the Cubs]

HEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.

 

2 Run Shot with 2 Outs to tie off Wagner.  LCF.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

     

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Balta1701]

yessssssssssssss

 

Keep it up Barry you ARE the man

 

     

Not with what the steroids and masking agents did to his balls he isn't.