Now that Charles Lane is dead. Bud Selig can play all his prototypical roles -- he has that pinch-faced look of a nasty small-town Republican (although, truth to tell, Selig primarily donates to Democtratic candidates).
Hank Aaron was very classy to acknowledge Barry's achievement, and doing so in a way that avoided bringing up the issue of steroids on what should just have beemn a celebratory night -- I take back my earlier negative thoughts about him (Some asshole in the post-game press conference brought up Barry's friend who is in jail for failing to give grand jury testimony and Barry just calmly told him that kind of question has no place this night. Similarly, the two New York tabloids, the News and the Post went to town -- jealousno doubt that it wasn't a Yankee or Met who set the record -- one screaming Hall of Shame on the front page, the other 756 with an asterisk. As if the pencil-necked geeks editors could have gotten even a line drive single once if they had taken performance enhancers.)
And you can be sure that even though as the Home Run King, Barry's unanimous vote into the Hall of Fame should be a no-vbrainer. plenty of sportswriters -- who are among the most irritating creatures on earth -- won't vote for him, at least not the first year.
Todd, Mark McGwire was eliigible this past year, and despite his received only 128 votes, or 23.5 percent (far short of the 75 perccent needed -- 409 votes.) This despite 583 careers homers, breaking Roger Maris's record for single season homers and basically -- along with Sammy Sosa -- getting America interested in baseball again after all the ill-will because of the strike.
Sports writers are so damn holier than thou . . .
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
Commish Bud Selig, who was not at the game, gave the most lukewarm recognition of Bonds' achievement as he could have. And all he did when Bonds hit 755 in San Diego was to stand up with his hands in his pocket.
I liked what Aaron said and the people who criticize him for not being there are wrong. I cannot blame him for not showing up at the recent Giant games. Imagine the questions Aaron would have had to endure as he went to the park game after game. He is already on record as to his opinion of Bonds and the steroid controversy. I am sure he does not want to have to deal with those questions over and over. He taped a very nice message of congratulations to Barry, certainly a lot more heartfelt than Selig's.
There are a lot of Hall Of Fame calibre players who are suspected of using steroids. I think McGwire is already eligible. It will be very interesting year after year as these players become eligible. Bonds should be a no-brainer but you know writers who "love the game" are not going to let him in for probably several years.
The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving. It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living. Oliver Wendell Holmes
I was lucky enough to tune in just as Bond was coming to bat. It was a no-doubt-er -- I said "That's it!" the second it left his bat.
I'm glad it happened in San Francisco, where they weren't so caught up in the miasma. Very surprised Aaron made his appearance, given his studied silence throughout.
You're right, Damien, that most of the current/recent players interviewed seem to appreciate the feat far more than the press. You have to wonder if there's a bit of "they're not the players they were in my day" nostalgia infecting all this for the scribes.
As for the Gaylord Perry thing: You'd have to think he could only make such a comment tongue-in-cheek, but he didn't tip to that, and the ESPN folk certainly took him seriously.
I've been watching sports on TV for nearly half-a-century (I remember irritating my Dad when he was watching a baseball game when I was about 4 or 5) and I've never seen anything as beautiful as tonight, Loved the love for Barry, loved Hank Aaron's message, loved Barry's tribute to Giants fans, the Nationals and his family, especially his Dad. (I remember my friend Trick in 1969 hoping for a career in baseball and saying he wanted to be the next Bobby Bonds.)
I also love the fact that the people who love Barry are the most liberal people in America.
As for the nonsense about Bonds being the worst person on earth since Hitler and Walter O'Malley, there was some wonderful footage of Barry, before the game tonight, going up to pitcher John Lannan who tied Barry up last night, bravely challenging him and not allowing a hit. Barry hugged him and congratulated the rookie (I believe it was onlt his 3rd start) and Lannan asked for an autographed ball. And tonight, pitcher Mike Bacsik who allowed the homer tipped his cap to Barry. This class act is indicative of how Barry's fellow players appreciate his accomplishment in a way that the ners who call up sports radio stations never can.
Jon Miller's call of the homer on KNBR was a thing of beauty. And how sweet that the Giants radio play-by-play guy contributes money to liberal political candidates.
Godspeed, Barry. We Giants fans love you and are proud of you,
God, I love the Giants!!!
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
I was watching the ESPN game Saturday night (I had a slow weekend; actually saw all three milestones live). My impression was, even in San Diego, the cheers easily outweighed the boos. Of course, setting the opposite tone was close-Aaron-friend Commisioner Selig, who could barely be bothered to stand. Bud, it really doesn't mean anything for you to show up if you're going to look like you're undergoing root canal.
My take on the whole Bonds thing: sure, there's ample reason to think his body was chemically altered (like the fact he's 2-3 times the size of his rookie season, and that his late-career numbers were a quantum leap above even his excellent 90s stats). But there are other factors (like many smaller ballparks), and they've affected everyone. From George Foster in '77 to Cecil Fielder in '90, no one managed 50 home runs in a season. Suddenly, non-entities like Brady Anderson started reaching the plateau, and McGwire/Sosa wiped out Maris' long-time record with ease. Yet the hubbub about cheating didn't really start until Bonds was the guy setting the records. (There was one reporter who tried to make something of the Andro-whatever in McGwire's locker late in '98, but he was instantly shouted down for being a buzz-kill)
As I see it, there are a couple of possible reasons why there was silence during '98 and screeching today. First, for a long while, people just didn't realize something was amiss. I find this laughable on its face. Second possibility: It took this long to get decent info. Again, I think it amounted to denial during the Great Home Run Chase That Rescued Baseball After the Strike; and even to this day, there's far less opprobrium for Sosa, a medium-level player who's scaled 600 home runs with little booing, than there has been for Bonds. The third possibility: Bonds, a far greater base-line player than any of the other steroid poster boys (this would include Palmeiro and Giambi), made it too obvious by becoming not just better, but perhaps the greatest player in major league history. This I think is the likeliest of this batch, but not quite as likely as the last possibility:
Bonds is a DEEPLY disliked human being, and it so killed sports-writers to see a guy who'd treated them so badly over the years ascend to such heights that they were determined to diminish him in a way they never had McGwire or Sosa. All things considered, I think that's the reason why we've seen such a negative campaign waged in the past few years.
Especially since, as Damien says, there've been all sorts of allegations of bending the rules over the years, and they've generally been treated as subjects of humor: Whitey nicking balls on his belt buckle; Joe Niekro's emery board; Graig Nettles' bat cracking apart and seeing super-balls pop out -- it was always a source of much mirth. But now it's serious: Gaylord Perry announces he can't respect Bonds because he's a cheater -- which has to be a new gold standard for chutzpah.
Baseball's just going to have to live with this -- at least for the next few years, until ARod climbs over Barry (with, seemingly, no chemical help). And there's a true miracle: Bonds is so disliked, he'll make the mercurial Rodriguez a sentimental favorite to take the crown.
It's bound to happen as legendary records are broken by newer athletes who often play more seasons than their record-setting counterparts, thus somewhat diminishing the results. They really need a better system, but we all know that's never going to happen.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
Bonds tied Hank Aaron when he hit home run number 755 in the second inning of the Giants game in San Diego. Bonds will lead off the fourth inning for the Giants. The game is on ESPN.
According to the announcers, there are no plans to interrupt the game if Bonds breaks the record, nor were there any plans to interrupt the game if he had broken the record while they were playing in Los Angeles earlier in the week. Whenever a big baseball record is broken, they always interrupt the game for a brief ceremony. Almost always, the guy whose record was broken, or members of his family if he is deceased, will be at the game to offer congratulations. I remember Roger Maris' family participating in a ceremony when Mark McGwire broke the single season home run record, and there was plenty of speculation about whether McGwire used steroids.
The San Diego crowds gave Bonds loud boos as he rounded the bases but he has been hearing that everywhere but San Francisco for a few years now.
What a weird moment in sports history.
The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving. It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living. Oliver Wendell Holmes
My feeling is that although steroid use was banned in baseball in 1991, MLB had a winking attitude towards it and it was so widespread that Barry Bonds shouldn't be singled out for it. To me, it's like the prevalence of amphetamines in the '50s, '60s, '70s -- yeah, like that self-righteous boor Hank Aaron never took speed: it's an unfortunate fact of life for anyone who wants to hold onto idyllic 'Field of Dreams' fantasies about the sport, but a fact of life anyway and a part of the game. God only knows what drugs Mickey Mantle had injected into him to help him play on that knee (and he probably needed an equal amount of medicine for those hangovers).
Plus as you imply, Todd, any number of other terrific players could take steroids and not approach Barry's feats. And if any of us on this board used then, I doubt that a single one of us could hit even one home run against major league pitching. (Certainly that midget Bob Costas -- another self-righteous jerk -- couldn't.)
ANd to me. the botto line, to paraphrase Richard Nixon's self-referrential quote: "When a Giant does it, it means it's not illegal."
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
ESPN is scheduled to broadcast the game between the Florida Marlins and San Francisco Giants tonight beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. As you probably know, Barry Bonds hit career home run number 754 last night, putting him within one of Hank Aaron's career number and two of the all-time record. Hope you will get a chance to watch.
If Barry did use steroids he deserves the bad publicity he is getting. Professional and college sports are right to ban those dangerous substances. He will have to live with the fact that people are not going to be as excited about this record going down as they have been about others.
But I cannot help but thinking that a lot of power hitters in the major leagues have used steroids and other banned substances over the last twenty years and none of them have done what Barry has done in his career. He has an incredible amount of natural ability. People forget he was a leadoff man early in his career. His job was to make contact with the ball and get on base. He developed himself from a top notch contact hitter into a top notch power hitter. He probably had "help" that violated MLB rules. But, again, lots of guys probably did as well during those years and none of them hit over 750 home runs in their careers (or hit 73 home runs in a single season).
The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving. It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living. Oliver Wendell Holmes
(Some asshole in the post-game press conference brought up Barry's friend who is in jail for failing to give grand jury testimony and Barry just calmly told him that kind of question has no place this night. Similarly, the two New York tabloids, the News and the Post went to town -- jealousno doubt that it wasn't a Yankee or Met who set the record -- one screaming Hall of Shame on the front page, the other 756 with an asterisk. As if the pencil-necked geeks editors could have gotten even a line drive single once if they had taken performance enhancers.)
