George on Bonds

A few people have asked my opinion concerning Barry Bonds and all the turmoil and accusations surrounding him.....I look at Bonds in various aspects.....

Pittsburgh days
I’ve written this before that once Bonds retires, the Pittsburgh Pirates should retire his number 25.....while playing for the Pirates, Bonds won two MVP awards and help lead Pittsburgh to three straight division titles.....since he left, Pittsburgh baseball has been nothing but a vast wasteland of promises....sure, Pirate fans will remember that feeble throw in the bottom of the ninth in the NLCS against Atlanta when he could not throw out Sid Bream at the plate....but the fact is that he did win the Gold Glove his last three years in Pittsburgh....

I think it is safe to say that Bonds did not use perforance enhancing substances during his days in Pittsburgh....in his last three years there, he averaged 31 homers and only 75 strikeouts per year.....but the most amazing feat is that he averaged 47 stolen bases per year....

My take is that Bonds deserves to have his number retired by the Pirates and acknowledged for his All-Star effort.....the Pirate fans need to get over their bitterness toward Bonds....he helped make the Pittsburgh a winner while he wore the Pirate uniform.....

San Francisco days (pre-2000)
In his first seven years by the Bay, Bonds won one MVP (1993), five Gold Gloves and averaged 39 homers per season....slowly the Gold Gloves and stolen base production started to fade away, which is expected because of age....at the end of the 1999 season, Bonds stood at 445 homers, 2,010 hits, 460 stolen bases, and a lifetime average of .288....clearly those are Hall of Fame numbers.....

San Francisco days (2000-04)
According to reports, Bonds allegedly began taking performance enhancing substances during this stretch.....things began to change in 2000 when Bonds popped a career high 49 homers.....things changed even more in 2001 when he smashed 73 homers and began an unprecedented streak of four straight MVP awards....during that five year stretch he was a dominant offensive force at the plate....he hit 258 homers and never finished with a batting average under .300.....in 2000 he hit .306 and he peaked at .370 in 2002....amazingly, during that five year stretch he hit into only 26 doubleplays.....

During those five years, he began a relentless assault on every homerun record, whether it be for a single season or lifetime....it also brought about a storm cloud of controversy that has continued to build each year....which brings us to . . .

Bonds 2006
Last Sunday Bonds passed Babe Ruth for second all-time on the homerun list....no matter what happens the rest of his career, his name is cemented in baseball history both positively and negatively.....accusations continue to fly and it doesn’t seem like there is a day when you can turn on "Sports Center" without hearing something about Bonds....

A few years back Bonds commented that the media is making a fuss because he is African-American....well just this week Bonds admitted that maybe that was not the case and he, himself, was the reason for all the brouhaha....

To me it seems like Bonds is nothing but an angry player....a few weeks back Sports Illustrated reported that Bonds was recently taken out of a game for defensive purposes....well, as it goes, the Giants came back and won the game in the ninth inning when Omar Vizquel got a base hit to bring in the winning run....as all the Giant players emptied out of the dugout to celebrate, Bonds was no where to be found.....he was not even in the locker room.....has it gotten that bad for Bonds that he could not even be happy that his team won the game?....it seems like it is not about the team anymore....its all about him.....

The Bud Factor
I have heard friends say that Bonds should not take the brunt of this controversy because numerous other players were doing the same thing and that commissioner Bud Selig never did a thing to investigate the sudden spike in homeruns....

Selig did turn a blind eye to this spike in numbers because people "digged the long ball".....I agree that Selig should share some of the blame, but that does not exonerate Bonds.....just because other players were allegedly using "enhancing drugs" that did not give him the freedom to follow along....I think it is safe to say that players like Manny Ramirez, Ken Griffey Jr, and Alex Rodriguez were not "juicing up".....but they continued to have stellar seasons and avoid all this scandal......

It comes down to this –
Q. Should an asterisk be placed next to Bonds records?
A. No....at this time there is no solid proof that Bonds did take steroids/performance enhancing substances...and even if there is proof someday, an asterisk should not be placed because the fact remains that Bonds did have to actually hit the ball over the fence....if baseball is going to start placing asterisks next to a player's name, then they need to start right now by placing an asterisk next to Jason Giambi’s name on the list of MVPs......Giambi admitted during grand jury testimony that he "juiced"....

Q. Should Bonds be in the Hall of Fame?
A. Yes.....as I proved earlier, Bonds had Hall of Fame credentials prior to his alleged use of performance enhancing substances....however, I would not make him a first nor second ballot Hall of Famer....

Q. Did Bonds knowingly take performance enhancing substances?
A. Bonds denied ever knowingly take steroids or any other enhancers.....personally, I don’t believe him.....what I have read about Bonds, he is a workout phenom....and I just do not believe that he would unknowingly take anything.....flaxseed oil???.....well, who knows, the 70 something year-old Bible toting nut Pat Robertson claims that he just bench pressed 1 ton after drinking flaxseed oil.....and if anyone believes that, then they will also believe that Bonds did not know that he was taking the "clear and cream" instead of flaxseed oil....

Q. Bonds vs. the Babe?
A. Bonds passed Babe Ruth last Sunday on the all-time homerun list.....but to me that does not mean anything.....Babe Ruth was flat out the best baseball player ever.....and until the day when a player can not only hit, but also pitch the way Babe did, there is nothing to question about who was the best ever.....plain and simple – Babe Ruth was a freak of nature.....he was the best ever, period!....

Q. What about Bonds being a jerk?
A. Everyone knows how Bonds is.....he has always been a jerk.....however, that never bothered me because "what you saw is what you got".....there are tons of jerks throughout sports.....at least Bonds did not put on a fake smile like Mark McGwire and try to be someone else....just because someone is a jerk, it does not take away from his accomplishments especially prior to 2000.....

Q. What should Bonds do now?
A. Bonds needs to lighten up and enjoy his last year or two left in the game....what is done, is done and he cannot go back and change anything.....but he needs to stop brooding and being pissed off at everyone....he needs to enjoy the game....if he cannot enjoy the game anymore, then it is time for him to retire....

I am tired of hearing Bonds name....baseball is more than Barry Bonds....there are many great players, both veterans and youngsters who are playing this game....personally, I wish Bonds would just go away because in my mind Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth are still numbers 1 and 2 in homeruns....but that is just my opinion....