Do you agree with this?

[sunsfn]

I thought a poll was in order here.
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Giants: We'll honor Bonds if he passes Babe

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - The San Francisco Giants will celebrate appropriately if Barry Bonds passes Babe Ruth on the career home run list.

Team owner Peter Magowan and executive vice president Larry Baer vowed Tuesday to honor the organization's star player while also reiterating their commitment to cooperate with the commissioner's office on any investigation into Bonds' alleged steroids use.
Magowan and Baer arrived in Arizona one week after the release of excerpts from an upcoming book revealing Bonds' purported longtime schedule for taking performance-enhancing drugs.
"I recognize this is a serious matter," Magowan said, standing in the dugout before the Giants hosted the Texas Rangers. "It is still a legal proceeding, that's all I can say. ... I can't comment on any of this. It's the position we've taken for two years now."
The Giants brass is brainstorming exactly what to do if Bonds ties Ruth for second place on career list with 714 homers, and then how to honor him if he passes the Babe. Bonds begins the season with 708 home runs.
"It's certainly not going to go unnoticed or uncommemorated," Baer said. "He's our player and it would be a tremendous accomplishment. We don't have a hold on what we're going to do. It won't be silence."
This has been a spring of further off-field distractions for Bonds, who was in the lineup as the designated hitter against the Rangers. Bonds played left field for the first time Sunday against San Diego and homered for the first time in only his fourth spring training at-bat.
"Game of Shadows," written by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters, is due out later this month, while another book on Bonds - "Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero" - written by Jeff Pearlman is set for release in late May.
Magowan insists he would sign Bonds again. The 13-time All-Star has been with San Francisco since 1993 after spending his first seven big league seasons in Pittsburgh.
"Winning ballplayer," Magowan said. "He's helped us win."
Baer has been communicating more frequently with commissioner Bud Selig and his staff. Baseball didn't ban steroids until after the 2002 season.
"Obviously this is a story that has a fascination to it," Baer said of everything about Bonds' pursuit. "The commissioner has a review and we're working in lock step with him."
Last August, Magowan said he had mixed feelings about the Giants' decision to give up the right to void 2006, the final year of Bonds' contract - though he originally defended the move. At that point, Bonds hadn't played all year following three operations on his right knee since Jan. 31. He eventually returned for 14 games in September.
The seven-time NL MVP turns 42 in July, so the Giants know his time could come any day if he steps wrong and injures his tender knee.
"I think, from all that I've seen and from that all that I've heard, he's going to do fine," Magowan said. "You never know. He could trudge out to left field at any point and his career could be over. He certainly seems to be able to still hit a baseball. He says he's not in pain. He hasn't done the really tough stuff yet. I'm sure that will happen within the next three weeks."
Bonds said he will need to push his body soon to gauge his true health.
The Giants have already sold about 2.5 million tickets, nearly the same number as last season at this time. Magowan isn't concerned about a fallout from the steroids reports, saying: "I'm pretty confident. I think we know our fans pretty well and the fans like Barry and they show up to see him perform. I suspect they will again."
Bonds' off-the-field issues are something the Giants have been dealing with for several years now. "We've been through this sort of stuff a lot in the past. I admit it was not as much as it is right now," Magowan said. "The more he can play the better. I don't know what that number is. I think it has to be more than 14."

 

[boondockdrunk]

As much as I believe Bonds did juice up, I know that there is no concrete proof that he actually did. I say that the Giants are just doing what any other team would have done if Bonds played for them. If something comes to light and Bonds has tested positive for steroids then I think that is another situation.

 

[FinleyLover]

The organization is really between a rock and a hard place on this one. They naturally have to plan something for their star player, juiced or not. But what will be interesting is if this happens AFTER OR DURING definitive proof has surfaced somehow. Tough call.
As that article looms closer and several books are being published, more and more info is coming out. Folks around him are being cited as "unnamed sources" and spilling some beans.
The Giants as a whole are probably going to have a challenging year with all of this.

 

[HooverDam]

I honestly don't care if he did or didn't take steroids. He is an adult, let him put whatever he wants into his body.

The Giants just cant let him pass Ruth and act like nothing happened, they are doing what anyone would do.

 

[BC867]

Where's the option for . . . BARRY BONDS SHOULD RETIRE NOW!

 

[FinleyLover]

I honestly don't care if he did or didn't take steroids. He is an adult, let him put whatever he wants into his body.

The Giants just cant let him pass Ruth and act like nothing happened, they are doing what anyone would do.

Of course he can. But the question becomes "Is he deserving of a title when he most likely used substances to achieve this, when Ruth acheived this based only on his talent and hard work?" In that case, I would say HELL NO! It just cheapens any prior achievement made by anyone. If the sky is the limit and no substances are deemed inproper, why even keep records?? It makes the whole thing worthless, IMHO.

 

[HooverDam]

Of course he can. But the question becomes "Is he deserving of a title when he most likely used substances to achieve this, when Ruth acheived this based only on his talent and hard work?" In that case, I would say HELL NO! It just cheapens any prior achievement made by anyone. If the sky is the limit and no substances are deemed inproper, why even keep records?? It makes the whole thing worthless, IMHO.

Ruth never played against blacks and latinos, so is his record tainted?

Bonds has also played against a slightly diluted talent pool, in a juiced ball era and in smaller ball parks. All of those things we know are FACTS, they definitely contributed to Bonds (and McGwires, and Sosas and everyones) inflated power numbers.

If he did steroids (which isn't known for 100% sure), it may have helped his numbers, but it may not have. Being super strong isn't the key to hitting HRs. Look at Griffey Jr, he isn't beefed up before all the injuries he was jacking tons of balls out of the yard. Its about bat speed and hand eye coordination and things like that. Hitting a ball far is the result of taking a pitches momentum and turning it the other way, thus, its easier to crush a fast-ball a long way.

Anyway, I don't care if Bonds did or didn't use steroids is my point.

 

[FinleyLover]

What does race have to do with it? Look at the Latino teams and South Korea in the WBC, they are tearing it up. The US team looks relatively weak in comparison.

Of course he has talent, no one is denying that. But when you take substances that will afford enough extra power in your swing for those balls that would have landed on the warning track to go over the fence for homers,(and you will be given the honor of holding the title for said homers) then that is what this whole controversy is about.

IMO, if it's okay (or at least not illegal) for anyone to juice because they are adults and it's their own business, then any records set mean absolutely nothing. Why even bother?

Not trying to be argumenatitive here, just playing devils advocate to your statements.

 

[HooverDam]

What does race have to do with it?

My point about race was that Ruth didn't play the best competition. Who knows if black players were in the MLB how many times one of them would've struck Ruth out. Who knows if some latino player would've been hitting even more HRs than Ruth.

Im not saying these things would've been sure to happen, just that Ruth didn't play everyone like Bonds has. Certain great players were kept out of the game during Ruths era.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

My point about race was that Ruth didn't play the best competition. Who knows if black players were in the MLB how many times one of them would've struck Ruth out. Who knows if some latino player would've been hitting even more HRs than Ruth.

Im not saying these things would've been sure to happen, just that Ruth didn't play everyone like Bonds has. Certain great players were kept out of the game during Ruths era.

This is pure specualtion. I can just as easily point out that most Cubans have been unable to play for during Bonds' era, so when they do ease the embargo and Cuba's players are allowed to play in the big leagues should Barry's records be tainted?

Bonds' record should be celebrated by those who choose to celebrate it. I won't because Barry is an a-hole and a cheater who took advanatage of archaic written rules (while knowingly breaken unwritten rules) to break records that have meant something to a lot of people for a lot of years. If Barry's loyal band of myopians in the Bay Area and wherever else want to celebrate a joke of a record, then they can do so but that doesn't mean the rest of us won't snicker at them behind their backs. Barry, Raffy, McGwire, and Sosa are all embarassments to the game and anyone who celebrates their accomplishments is well...just as embarassing.

 

[HooverDam]

This is pure specualtion. I can just as easily point out that most Cubans have been unable to play for during Bonds' era, so when they do ease the embargo and Cuba's players are allowed to play in the big leagues should Barry's records be tainted?

Not playing against one tiny nations players is MUCH MUCH different than not playing against all the other minorities. If some of the Negro league greats were able to play against Ruth it probably would've hurt his numbers.

My point was that every generation has blemishes, you can put an asterisks on any record. For instance I doubt outfielders in by gone eras were as athletic as they are today. Thus, todays hitters have more HRs stolen with circus like wall climbing grabs.

There are always different variables that make comparing what someone did in 2006 different than what someone did in 1926. Its silly to say hitting X amount of HRs in the 20s is the same as doing it now, things have changed.

 

[BC867]

Ruth never played against blacks and latinos, so is his record tainted?

It's ironic that the Babe hit multiple times more homeruns than anyone else in the Majors, when he started breaking records . . . living on beer and a few hours sleep.

His partying and carousing were known far and wide. Imagine how many more he might have hit if he didn't come to the park hung over.

Then again, he had one of the all-time greats, Lou Gehrig, hitting behind him . . . just as Roger Maris had Mickey Mantle hitting behind him during his record-breaking year.

So many variables, pro and con.

I still think that, for starting steroids because he was jealous of the numbers put up by McGuire and Sosa, Bonds should retire now. And all three of them should be bypassed for the Hall of Fame for years, after they each become eligible. Why? Because the writers can. And should.

 

[FinleyLover]

Don't worry, the probably will.

 

[Homer Simpson]

Not playing against one tiny nations players is MUCH MUCH different than not playing against all the other minorities. If some of the Negro league greats were able to play against Ruth it probably would've hurt his numbers.

My point was that every generation has blemishes, you can put an asterisks on any record. For instance I doubt outfielders in by gone eras were as athletic as they are today. Thus, todays hitters have more HRs stolen with circus like wall climbing grabs.

There are always different variables that make comparing what someone did in 2006 different than what someone did in 1926. Its silly to say hitting X amount of HRs in the 20s is the same as doing it now, things have changed.

Don't forget that Ruth also had a stadium built for him to make it easier to hit home runs. Well, he didn't commmision the building of it, but it was built for him.

Also, Ruth was drinking during the 1920's. Go read the Constitution and see how legal drinking was during the 1920's. How can you say that Bonds did something wrong by taking an illegal drug, but Ruth did nothing wrong by also injesting an illegal drug?

I'm too tired to debate this now, but Hoover Dam does have a point. It's useless to debate players of different eras. How many more home runs could Babe Ruth have hit if he played 162 games a year? Or had the same type of legal medicine that is available today? Or had video equipment to track his at bats? Times change, and records will change to reflect that.

Why does everybody get so worked up about this record, but not the others. I mean, Roger Clemens has been one of the best pitchers in baseball for more than two decades, winningthe pitcher of the year award a record seven times in that span. Yet he is not even close to the all time record for wins, a record that only one other player has come within 80% of reaching. Do we scoff at that record of 511 victories, saying it was only acheived because this pitcher pitched in a different era? No. We name that pitcher of the year award after him.