OT: Barry Bonds number finally retired in SF

[Bert]

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What are your thoughts on Barry?


For me, as I watched the ceremony, I began to feel like maybe I have been too dismissive of Barry's accomplishments.

I've always said there's no doubt he was a great player, but it's hard to take the HR records seriously given everything that went down in that era. I feel the same about Mcguire and Sosa, it's nothing personal against Barry. Again though, as I watched the ceremony I felt like maybe it's not fair, idk, I haven't made up my mind I guess.


What say you?

 

[GatorAZ]

The GOAT and one of my favorite players all time.

 

[Brian]

POS liar and cheater and I can't stand the sight of him.

 

[BC867]

He was a great player, but we'll never know how much of that was enhanced. He was a cheater and I don't support cheaters.

And he's not part of our community in the Valley of the Sun so I couldn't care less what they do for him in San Francisco.

It is ironic. Babe Ruth came to the park hung over and hit sixty home runs. Imagine what he could have done sober.

Bonds is the opposite. He came to the park on chemicals. How much less would he have accomplished if he played fair?

It must also be taken into account that Major League baseball knew what was going on and looked the other way.

Just as now (with lift, which is legal), anything for the almighty home run. Even .190 batting averages.

 

[Matt L]

Incredibly talented player. His stats through 1999 are Hall of Fame worthy. He's hands down the best player from 1990 through current day.

 

[TJ]

Most feared hitter in MLB history. Roids and all, I’d still vote him into the HoF. The Hall alienating the guys connected to PED use is only doing baseball a disservice. Guys like McGwire, Bonds and Sosa saved baseball from irrelevance

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

The GOAT and one of my favorite players all time.

POS liar and cheater and I can't stand the sight of him.

Maybe the best back-to-back quotes of all time on the board.

 

[Town Drunk]

Most feared hitter in MLB history. Roids and all, I’d still vote him into the HoF. The Hall alienating the guys connected to PED use is only doing baseball a disservice. Guys like McGwire, Bonds and Sosa saved baseball from irrelevance

I agree. How many players were using roids during that era, pitchers included? MLB turned a blind eye. He should be in the hall.

 

[Bert]

Maybe the best back-to-back quotes of all time on the board.

I knew it would be a fun thread!

 

[Willie D]

There are all sorts of douchebags in baseball teams' "rings of honor." Ty Cobb is in at Detroit, even though his own players hated him. Enos Slaughtr is the Cardinals' ring, even though he was such a racist he once spiked Jackie Robinson running out a grounder to first. Barroid Bonds is no different.

I saw Junk Bonds play at Packard Stadium for ASU. Until he went to the S.f. from the Pirates, he was a beanpole. You don't go from that to a size 9 hat just because you're getting older.

--Wore so much body armor he could crowd the plate like and expectant father.
--took up an entire corner of the S.F. clubhouse to accommodate his giant recliner.
--never spoke to teammates

And for all this, how many WS titles did the Giants win with him? Skwadoosh. How many WS did they make? One. How man WS has S.F. won after he left? Three.

He probably could have made the BBHOF from his accomplishments in Pittsburgh alone. He was at 56% last ballot, and he'll have to contend with some high-power first-ballot guys like Edgar Martinez, Roy Halladay, and Andy Pettite, and Bonds is already on his 6th year now.

 

[Dback Jon]

Your point on the body armor was spot on. And MLB changed the rules after that (not enough IMHO).

 

[Willie D]

Isn't it a funny coincidence that so many of the roiders were caught when the IRS raided Jason Grimsly's house here while he was pitching for the DBs? Anyone remember the Albert Belle Incident when Belle's bat was confiscated, and Jason Grimsley crawled through the ductwork and replaced the bat? Except he brought a bat with Paul Sorreto's name on it!

 

[GatorAZ]

I agree. How many players were using roids during that era, pitchers included? MLB turned a blind eye. He should be in the hall.

MLB had testing since 93’ but players knew when the tests were and MLB knew that they knew. Nobody forced these guys to use PED’s but not enforcing the rules is in some ways encouraging it. There have been performance enhancing drugs in baseball for 50+ years. Guys like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron have admitted “trying” greenies but said it was a one time thing. Of course we believe everything every player says before 1990 because we want to think baseball was clean and pure back then.

 

[Bert]

True and in fairness. By all accounts Babe and everyone else in the post war era did enough amphetamine to make Walter White blush,,,, Mickey used atleast 1 corked bat (ofcourse if you ask Yankee fans, everyone in the 80's was coked out of their minds...

I know that's a lot of Whatabboutism,,, and I'm not saying it's right or excuses anything but it seems unfair to demonize him forever when guys have done bad things in the past but were still put in the HOF.

And Gator, you're right the MLB is just as culpable, you think they didn't LOVE it when the entire country was tuning in every day to see Big Mac and Sammy chase that record?

 

[Willie D]

...and I'm not saying it's right or excuses anything...

You just self-contradicted everything you wrote in this thread.

 

[Bert]

You just self-contradicted everything you wrote in this thread.

That's not true. I can believe that he did something wrong, just that it's more complicated than; He's a cheater. Cuz if we're going down that road we'd have to look at all the wrongdoings of all the guys in the HOF shouldn't we?

 

[UncleChris]

POS liar and cheater and I can't stand the sight of him.

Finally.... Something you and I can agree on....

 

[AZ Native]

I watched BB at ASU and also followed some of his Pittsburgh days. He was quite the all around player and had the best hand eye coordination. He was already headed to the Hall of Fame. A great player. But it was obvious to anyone (except a Giant's fan) that he was on roids and was driven to be the best no matter the cost or how much he had to cheat to get there. Sad because I always admired him as a player until he went to the dark side.