Bonds won't enter Hall

[daa84]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3090631

 

Barry says he won't be a part of the HOF if the asterisked ball goes in. I say put the ball in, keep Barry out.

NEW YORK -- Barry Bonds would boycott Cooperstown if the Hall of Fame displays his record-breaking home run ball with an asterisk.

 

Barry Bonds

 

Bonds

 

That includes skipping his potential induction ceremony.

 

"I won't go. I won't be part of it," Bonds said in an interview with MSNBC that aired Thursday night. "You can call me, but I won't be there."

 

The ball Bonds hit for home run No. 756 this season will be branded with an asterisk and sent to the Hall. Fashion designer Marc Ecko bought the ball in an online auction and set up a Web site for fans to vote on its fate. In late September, he announced fans voted to send the ball to Cooperstown with an asterisk.

 

Of course, the asterisk suggests Bonds' record is tainted by alleged steroid use. The slugger has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs. Fans brought signs with asterisks to ballparks this season as he neared Hank Aaron's career home run mark.

 

Bonds has called Ecko "an idiot."

 

"I don't think you can put an asterisk in the game of baseball, and I don't think that the Hall of Fame can accept an asterisk," Bonds said. "You cannot give people the freedom, the right to alter history. You can't do it. There's no such thing as an asterisk in baseball."

 

Hall of Fame vice president Jeff Idelson declined to comment Thursday night.

 

Hall president Dale Petroskey has said accepting the ball doesn't mean the museum endorses the viewpoint that Bonds used illegal substances. He said the museum would be "delighted" to have the ball.

 

"It's a historic piece of baseball history," Petroskey said in September.

 

So, if the Hall goes through with the asterisk display?

 

"I will never be in the Hall of Fame. Never," Bonds said. "Barry Bonds will not be there.

 

"That's my emotions now. That's how I feel now. When I decide to retire five years from now, we'll see where they are at that moment," he added. "We'll see where they are at that time, and maybe I'll reconsider. But it's their position and where their position will be will be the determination of what my decision will be at that time."

 

Giants general manager Brian Sabean reiterated Thursday that the team won't bring back Bonds next season. The seven-time NL MVP, who has spent 15 of his 22 major league seasons in San Francisco, was asked whether he will retire as a Giant.

 

"Yeah, it's my house. No matter what that's my house, no one's going to take that away, no one ever," Bonds answered. "No one's going to take the love of that city of me away, ever."

 

Bonds, who has 762 homers, broke Aaron's record with a shot into the right-center seats off Washington Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik at San Francisco on Aug. 7.

 

Matt Murphy, a 21-year-old student and construction supervisor from New York, emerged from a scuffle holding the ball. He said he decided to sell it because he couldn't afford to pay the taxes required to keep it.

 

Bonds told MSNBC he hoped to reach 764 homers because he was born in July 1964. He said he's been working out and still is considering whether to play next season.

 

"I may hit two home runs so I can go home. I just think that I have a lot of game left. I think that I can help a team with a championship," Bonds said. "I'm a hell of a part-time player, too."

 

Bonds said he won't talk to George Mitchell's staff looking into steroids use in baseball while he is under investigation in the BALCO case. A grand jury has been investigating whether Bonds committed perjury when he testified he never knowingly took performance-enhancing drugs.

 

"I know it ends in January, so a couple more months. But I haven't been keeping up with it. Not at all," Bonds said. "I have nothing to hide. I have said that before and I will say it now and I will look you in the face. I have nothing to hide, nothing. So look all you want to."

[jackie hayes]

"You cannot give people the freedom, the right to alter history. You can't do it."

 

So the natural conclusion is that we should whitewash the whole controversy and pretend it never existed. Who wants to alter history, now?

 

Obviously they should take the ball. If Barry or Roger don't want to show for their inductions, there won't be many tears shed.

[HuskyCaucasian]

"You cannot give people the freedom, the right to alter history. You can't do it."

Isn't Barry who has altered history? Not only by using steroids and forever changing the record book, but also by then DENYING he used steroids despite mounds and mounds of evidence he did indeed do what he is accused of doing.

[YASNY]

Barry won't be there? s***. I'm heartbroken.

[jackie hayes]

Isn't Barry who has altered history? Not only by using steroids and forever changing the record book, but also by then DENYING he used steroids despite mounds and mounds of evidence he did indeed do what he is accused of doing.

I'd say that's part of the history of the game, for...uh, for worse. But to ignore the scandal would be altering history, and that's what he's asking for now.

[Nokona]

I seem to have forgotten when he got caught using steroids...

[YASNY]

I seem to have forgotten when he got caught using steroids...

 

That was when he said he 'thought' he was using flax seed oil.

[Texsox]

Barry won't be there? s***. I'm heartbroken.

[NorthSideSox72]

I seem to have forgotten when he got caught using steroids...

Kind of like when he forgot what the cream and the clear were?

 

[hammerhead johnson]

I seem to have forgotten when he got caught using steroids...

 

You suck!

[Soxbadger]

Hopefully he opens his own hall of fame that respects people's accomplishments on the field and doesnt get swayed by rumor and hearsay.

 

Bonds has never been caught cheating, he has never been found guilty, and yet he is made an example of?

 

What about all the pitchers in the HOF who threw spit balls, why are they not branded the same way?

 

What about players who corked their bat and were caught on the playing field.

 

Why is Bonds the example?

 

Its a joke, and Bonds is right.

 

[jackie hayes]

The HOF didn't brand the ball. It's a statement by the owner of the ball, who's in no way connected to MLB. The HOF isn't taking any position on the statement, they just always want balls from record-breaking plays. They should take the ball just like they'd take any piece of history. If Bonds doesn't like it, he can go suck an egg. The HOF doesn't exist to whitewash his image.

[Soxbadger]

So lets use our imaginations for a second. A-rod breaks the record, I catch the ball, I take the ball and write:

 

"You can suck my balls Boras"

 

They would show it? Because they just want memorabilia right? They wouldnt try and cover it up, or hide the tarnish, they would just put it out there for the world to see?

 

Otherwise they are making a statement, and they should do whatever it takes to restore the ball to its natural condition before it was defiled.

Edited November 2, 2007 by Soxbadger

[whitesoxfan99]

Hopefully he opens his own hall of fame that respects people's accomplishments on the field and doesnt get swayed by rumor and hearsay.

 

Bonds has never been caught cheating, he has never been found guilty, and yet he is made an example of?

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1937594

[jackie hayes]

So lets use our imaginations for a second. A-rod breaks the record, I catch the ball, I take the ball and write:

 

"You can suck my balls Boras"

 

They would show it? Because they just want memorabilia right? They wouldnt try and cover it up, or hide the tarnish, they would just put it out there for the world to see?

 

Otherwise they are making a statement, and they should do whatever it takes to restore the ball to its natural condition before it was defiled.

You change the circumstances by using foul language. They'd probably take the ball but try to hide the part with the writing for display. Obviously, they don't want to offend parents bringing their kids through.

 

A better comparison -- You write "Boras", with a slash or an X over it. Yes, they'd take the ball. I don't doubt it for a second.

 

How they'd display it, I dunno. Nor do I know how they'll display this one. Bonds didn't say anything about how the ball's displayed, he just said they shouldn't accept it. So that's really neither here nor there.

[Milkman delivers]

Hopefully he opens his own hall of fame that respects people's accomplishments on the field and doesnt get swayed by rumor and hearsay.

 

Bonds has never been caught cheating, he has never been found guilty, and yet he is made an example of?

 

What about all the pitchers in the HOF who threw spit balls, why are they not branded the same way?

 

What about players who corked their bat and were caught on the playing field.

 

Why is Bonds the example?

 

Its a joke, and Bonds is right.

 

This isn't a democracy. This is baseball.

[HuskyCaucasian]

I seem to have forgotten when he got caught using steroids...

Read "Game of Shadows". It's eye opening.

[Steve9347]

Read "Game of Shadows". It's eye opening.

That requires said person to actually have a thought and be able to get through a book that doesn't have colorful pictures in it.

[Soxbadger]

Right, "Game of Shadows", the book that contains illegally obtained federal grand jury evidence.

 

Those authors are such a beacon of following the law, that they, unlike Bonds, actually broke federal law. Those authors should be ashamed at what they have done to the judiciary process because they have made Bonds unconvictable.

 

But yes, lets all give a loud cheer for the authors who blatantly violated the fact that grand jury testimony is supposed to be sealed and not released to the public. Lets all commemorate their blatant disregard for the law of the United States, because they wanted to make some money.

 

Because its okay for them to break the law, screw the federal govt's ability to prosecute Bonds, just because they wanted to make a quick buck.

 

But its not okay for Bonds to have allegedly used "the cream" and "the clear" because while those were against no federal law, its clear that we would rather completely destroy the judiciary process, than let some one like Bonds perhaps gain an edge in a game.

 

Because the game of baseball's integerity is more important than the US court systems itegrity.

 

Book of Shadows is a joke, and their authors should be in prison.

 

And it really is a sad day for the American legal system, when more people consider it okay to violate one of the most important tenants of the criminal proceeding (grand jury evidence is sealed).

 

And Im sure all of you criminal lawyers in this thread know that Grand Jury testimony is of course taken without any ability to cross examine a witness, and that is why it is not considered real evidence at a trial. But yes, we should convict Barry on grand jury evidence.

 

Because once again, hearsay is admittable at the grand jury level because the whole point is for an indictment, not a conviction. All they are trying to prove is probable cause, not whether or not the person actually committed the crime. Not to mention barry had no 5th amendment rights during the grand jury trial, hence why he was forced to answer the questions.

 

But who cares about the legal system, lets just destroy that, because maybe a guy used some cream on his body for a game. Lets all appluad the authors who violated our system, who destroyed a federal investigation, because they made money off of it.

 

It wasnt about the truth, it wasnt about honor, it wasnt about fairness, it wasnt about anything but money. And for that the authors deserve a far worse fate, than a man who may have cheated in a game, that is full of cheaters.

[jackie hayes]

Right, "Game of Shadows", the book that contains illegally obtained federal grand jury evidence.

 

Those authors are such a beacon of following the law, that they, unlike Bonds, actually broke federal law. Those authors should be ashamed at what they have done to the judiciary process because they have made Bonds unconvictable.

 

But yes, lets all give a loud cheer for the authors who blatantly violated the fact that grand jury testimony is supposed to be sealed and not released to the public. Lets all commemorate their blatant disregard for the law of the United States, because they wanted to make some money.

 

Because its okay for them to break the law, screw the federal govt's ability to prosecute Bonds, just because they wanted to make a quick buck.

 

But its not okay for Bonds to have allegedly used "the cream" and "the clear" because while those were against no federal law, its clear that we would rather completely destroy the judiciary process, than let some one like Bonds perhaps gain an edge in a game.

 

Because the game of baseball's integerity is more important than the US court systems itegrity.

 

Book of Shadows is a joke, and their authors should be in prison.

 

And it really is a sad day for the American legal system, when more people consider it okay to violate one of the most important tenants of the criminal proceeding (grand jury evidence is sealed).

 

And Im sure all of you criminal lawyers in this thread know that Grand Jury testimony is of course taken without any ability to cross examine a witness, and that is why it is not considered real evidence at a trial. But yes, we should convict Barry on grand jury evidence.

 

Because once again, hearsay is admittable at the grand jury level because the whole point is for an indictment, not a conviction. All they are trying to prove is probable cause, not whether or not the person actually committed the crime. Not to mention barry had no 5th amendment rights during the grand jury trial, hence why he was forced to answer the questions.

 

But who cares about the legal system, lets just destroy that, because maybe a guy used some cream on his body for a game. Lets all appluad the authors who violated our system, who destroyed a federal investigation, because they made money off of it.

 

It wasnt about the truth, it wasnt about honor, it wasnt about fairness, it wasnt about anything but money. And for that the authors deserve a far worse fate, than a man who may have cheated in a game, that is full of cheaters.

The leaker broke the law, not the journalists. (And he was convicted for it.) Journalists have immunity.

 

A new steroid is included as a controlled substance under the original 1990 law -- it does NOT need to be individually named in the law. Therefore, the distribution and possession of the cream and the clear is illegal.

 

So you're a lawyer, huh?

[Linnwood]

"I won't go. I won't be part of it," Bonds said in an interview with MSNBC that aired Thursday night. "You can call me, but I won't be there."

As Sandy Alderson once said: "This is either a threat to be ignored or an offer to be accepted."

 

I seem to have forgotten when he got caught using steroids...

The people who live in denial about this amaze me. Bonds testified to a grand jury that he used the "clear & cream." Gary Sheffield told Bob Costas on Costas Now that he and Bonds used the clear & the cream, but didn't consider them steroids because "steroids is something you shoot in your butt." I guess Sheffield must think crack isn't a narcotic if you smoke it.

Edited November 4, 2007 by Linnwood

[Texsox]

Since the proof was obtained illegally, that means he didn't do it? I believe that means a court could not convict him using that information, it does not magically mean he did not do it.

[santo=dorf]

Since the proof was obtained illegally, that means he didn't do it? I believe that means a court could not convict him using that information, it does not magically mean he did not do it.

...and that's where Soxbadger needs to stop thinking like a lawyer and more of a baseball fan/HOF voter.

[Rex Kickass]

Couldn't they just display the ball with the asterisk facing the back?

[RME JICO]

Couldn't they just display the ball with the asterisk facing the back?

I thought the same thing, but I think they are going to brand both sides so there is no way to hide it.

 

If it is such a big deal, why don't they just display two helmets, one from when he was on the Pirates, and one from when he got the record, so everyone can actually see how much his head has grown during that time (natural growth of course).