Other than Islamic terrorists (and their apologists), Keith Ollberman, Rosie O’Donnell (ok, this list could get long, let’s just say ALL unhinged-liberals) and all anti-military zealots — I hate Barry Bonds more than just about anybody.
I’m a baseball fantatic. But it’s not just the day-in and day-out grind of baseball that I love — it’s the storied traditions and history of the game that I love the most.
I remember the day (September 6, 1995) that Cal Ripkin Jr. played his 2131st consecutive game against the California Angels, breaking the 56-year-old record set by the “Iron Horse” Lou Gehrig, the legendary New York Yankees first baseman.
I stood — all alone — in my living room and cheered and clapped as though Ripkin could hear me in Houston.
I remember watching from a bar in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on May 1, 1991 as Nolan Ryan threw his record 7th No-Hitter at the age of 44. The entire bar went nuts.
And now Barry Bonds is about to take down one of the most — if not the most — hallowed records in all of sports: Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record.
Unlike those other historic games, I won’t watch a single Giants game this year to make sure that I don’t witness this black moment in baseball. I won’t cheer when Barry hits number 755 to tie Hank. And I won’t cheer when he hits number 756 to cement his place as the biggest cheater in the history of sports.
The number of people that don’t believe that Barry is juicer who has cheated his way to Hammerin’ Hank’s record can probably be counted on one hand.
Hank Aaron himself has said that he will not be in the stadium when Bonds breaks his record. That one fact says more to me about the hollowness of Bond’s (soon-to-be) record.
Listen to the dripping sarcasm of Joe Buck when asked how he would call the “historic” hit.
I don’t usually want to wish ill-will on anybody — but if Barry Bonds were to sustain a career (but not life) ending injury before he passes Aaron, I’d be pretty happy about that.
In the meantime, could opposing pitchers just get together and agree not to throw Barry a single hittable pitch for the rest of his career?
Seriously.
If I were the opposing pitcher, and Bonds only needed one more HR to break the record, I’d throw every single pitch at his knees (not at knee-height, but right at his knee cap). Or maybe into his ear hole.
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RELATED — Gary Clark at the Sports Frog blog (a great sports blog, even if they do write a bit too much about the NHL) notes that Ken Griffey Jr., a truly great baseball player, moved into the Top 10 club of home run hitters last night, but without much fanfare:
But the real reason that this milestone has been largely ignored by the baseball press and the American public, is because the value of the home run has never been lower. And that is because of the shadow of steroids. We all heard the arguments about ballparks, the tighter balls, and expansion in 1998 when Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire were hitting home runs night after night. And yet we clearly did not care. It was the top news story, not the top sports story. Street vendors in New York City were hawking Big Mac and Sosa hats and t-shirts. That home run race is credited with bringing Americans back to baseball after the canceled 1994 World Series.
And when Griffey looks up on the top 10 list, four of the nine players in front of him have something very much in common:
#2 741 HR Barry Bonds
#5 592 HR Sammy Sosa
#7 583 HR Mark McGwire
#9 569 HR Rafael PalmeiroSo here we have a clean-cut, All-American, son of a ballplayer who has never been associated with steroids moving onto the top 10 list of all-time. And barely a peep is uttered. How quietly did this happen?
What do those four names above Griffey have in common? C-H-E-A-T-E-R-S and S-T-E-R-O-I-D-S are a couple of common themes that come to mind immediately.
i have much respect for Hank Aaron for what he had to go through when he surpassed the Babe. i cant believe that there arent more people who are speaking out against Baseball. Even Bud Selig was qouted as saying that he does not know what Baseball will do if and when Barry breaks the record.
Barry is an idiot. by continuing to play baseball, he is proving how he doesnt care about winning a World Series. All he wants is to get the HR record. i wish i was a pitcher. i would nail one right in Barry’s head
Hank Aaron will always be #1 to me.
Fans rooting against Bonds, http://www.BlackOutBonds.com
Thanks for a great piece….we couldn’t agree more.
We have a massive Boycott coming up May 29 at Shea Stadium when the Giants play the Mets.
Full story @ http://www.BoycottBarry.com
i just wish the bastard would get hurt, blow a knee or sometihng to keep him put of the lineup, so he does not break the HR record of CLASSY GUY LIKE HANK AARON! Iwould LOVE TO SEE A 95 MPH FASTBALL SMASH INTO HIS HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!
Good Lord you all need to get a life! Barry is the greatest ball player in the history of the game. Why do you hate him? Because you are all so small minded to let the media control how you should think. I’m pretty sure none of you have ever had a personal relationship with Barry Bonds. You see what you want to see. So what if he is a little cocky. So what if he was born with a silver spoon. So what if he doesn’t like to kiss the medias arse. So what if Barry didn’t get along with his ASU redneck teammates. I went to college in Arizona. I wanted to smack have those guys myself. America has a problem with well spoken, arrogant black males. It seems the soft spoken, obeying Hank Aarons of the world are more preferred. I remember Steve Garvey and how much he was loved and how cocky he was. I remember that a*hole Mike Schmidt. But Barry….you all love to hate him. So I say to Barry, SMACK NUMBER 756 and tell everyone to kiss your articulate, cocky, money havin’ black a$$
What a joke.
Ottie, Ottie, Ottie — you small minded fool. All those reasons you gave as to why we shouldn’t hate Barry; all those words you strung together, and not once did you mention the one word that is the reason why we all hate Barry more than herpes: STEROIDS.
The man is cheater, and doesn’t deserve any accolades or recognition for anything other than being a cheater.
Robster, you know why I love being from New York? Because I can spot a hypocrite from a mile away. This whole Barry Bonds hate party is full of hypocrisy, jealousy and small mindedness. Steroids? Are you f’n serious you twit? Steroids may have allowed Barry to hit a couple of further home runs but he still has the best hand/eye coordination baseball has ever seen. The man can spot a pitch better than any human on earth. Look how many fools forgave and continue to forgive Giambi. If McGwire were still playing he would still have a larger fan base than Bonds. This hatred goes deeper my man don’t fool yourself. Either all of you are so flippin’ small minded to allow the media to sway you so much or your hatred runs deeper. Did you see the article on MSN? The one about this hatred going way too far? Get a life people. Read some books, take your wives out to dinner, play with your kids more but please, stop your dumb obsession with Barry Bonds. Usually when hatred goes that far the person hating really wants to be the person they hate. A little Freud for your a$$.
Ottie
I hate McGwire and Giambi, too. For the exact same reason that I hate bonds: they cheated my favorite sport.
I hate bonds more because he is about to break one of the most hallowed records of all time.
This isn’t a race issue, moron. It’s a cheating issue. What is so difficult for you to understand about that?
I hate Bonds as much as anyone. As a Dodger fan it’s required, however as a baseball fan and a traditionalist it’s my duty to. Of all the reasons to hate Bonds, steroids is far down on my list. There is no telling how many players took them, and how many pitchers he hit home runs off of that were taking them too, so I won’t even get into it. Fortunately, baseball, more than any other sport has a way of remembering it’s history. The dead ball era, the 30’s with it’s amazing offense, the late 60’s when nobody could hit, the 80’s live ball era, etc… So, while Bonds has not failed a drug test publicly, he will most certainly be remembered for playing in this era.
I can hate Bonds for not respecting the game or his teammates. You have to respect your peers, and he has on so many occasions showed no respect for them. From alienating himself to missing team photo days in which everyone else made concessions. I can also hate Bonds for not respecting the fants. You have to respect the fans, because we are the absolute providers of their millions. Comments he makes regarding a lack of sympathy for guys saying that it isn’t his fault they can’t play ball is insulting to those that provide for him.
Mostly, I can hate Bonds for not respecting the history of the game. At one point he was heard to say that he didn’t care if he ever broke Aaron’s record, he just wanted to pass Babe Ruth so that white America would stop talking about him like he is a hero. That is totally absurd. Ruth is a hero regardless of how many homeruns Bonds hits, or anyone else in the future for that matter. RUTH SAVED THE GAME of baseball by becoming a national hero only a couple of years after the White Sox almost ended the games credibility following the 1919 World Series. After that incident, the game was a joke and had the credibility of professional wrestling. RUTH SAVED THE GAME. Without Ruth, there is no Bobby Bonds or Willie Mays, let alone Barry Bonds. To talk lightly of anything he accomplished is a slight to the man that saved our pasttime. Bonds cleared up his comments later, but the damage was done forever in my eyes.
I turn my back on him when he comes to the plate, and could care less if he ever took steroids. On the other hand, his head is huge!
BARRY BONDS does NOT DESERVE THE RIGHT TO CLAIM THAT TITLE FROM HANK AARON…BECAUSE HANK WAS NOT JUICED UP LIKE BARRY …..TO ME KNOW ONE WILL WILL BEAT THAT RECORD UNLES THEY ARE A REAL BASEBALL PLAYER….BARRY BONDS RANKS THE SAME AS THE CHICAGO BLACK SOX
It’s very easy to figure out why anyone would want to back Barry Bonds as well. I can think of at least three of the most popular reasons. And Ottie you probably know what they are. Why don’t you think about it and then call me a biggot or something but it’s as true as his steroid abuse. And you know what? I don’t mind being an prick and I’m glad I’m not from New York if it allows that small of a IQ to function in society. It is people like you that made me leave the military and it’s sad when your own country has people so stupid that instead of protect them you’d rather blow them away.
Barry used steroids for about five years. Take a look at his slugging % for his career. The thing about baseball is it is easy to tell when something isn’t right by the numbers someone puts up. A pitcher’s ERA climbs and he’s soon on the DL with tendonitis or some other malady. A batter struggles at the plate with a strained oblique or some other nagging injury and his average drops 30 points over a month’s time. So, what causes a guy with a career slugging % of around .575 to .600 to suddenly post these numbers in the twilight of his career: .688 in 2000, .863 in 2001, .799 in 2002, .749 in 2003, and finally, .812 in 2004. Barry’s slugging % the last two seasons: .545 and .586. When these stats are coupled with the overwhelming body of evidence – including leaked grand jury evidence – there is no doubt Barry used roids and does not deserve a place in the history books. A shame too because he was and is one of the most talented individuals to ever pick up a bat. He should be hitting number 700 amid accolades instead of number 760 with ridicule and scorn by those that understand the game. Barry’s use of steroids has caused him and us much grief. For that, I am very much anti Barry Bonds.
Hank Aaron will always be the “homerun king”. Uhh… Guess what???? He is also black… Barry Bonds’ name should never be anywhere near Henry Aaron’s or Babe Ruth’s….
Ottie ,
I am sorry that you have been so hurt by racists to the point where you can’t even acknowledge when someone is truly in the wrong. It makes me sad to think that maybe an entire generation thinks that way. When emotion is allowed to over-run common sense, then a problem is evident. I don’t respect Bonds, McGwire, Canseco and the rest because of the attitude of attaining personal glory through cheating in any form is acceptable because everyone is doing it. Real men would stand up against it, not to try and exploit it. Bonds is not articulate or a role model. He has a politicians tongue that is expert on avoiding truths. I do agree with you that the masses should try to find truth for themselves and not just listen to mainstream media, but that is why I don’t understand in your second post how you mentioned if anyone saw MSN on how the hate has gone too far? MSN is another part of big business and the censored media. Please don’t believe that a few dumb a$$ racists are fueling this controversy against Bonds. It is time that all sports players are held accountable and the fans are starting to get angry. No steroid users in the hall, period. I can’t believe that everyone was so fired up at Pete Rose for just betting on his own team, not illegally enhacing anyone’s performance. Pete Rose was banned and barred from the Hall. Interestingly, though, there was no racist outcry during his persecution. So please before you scream discrimination use that brain of yours to properly disseminate the entire situation.
Chobee
I think Barry Bonds is the biggest cheater in sports history. I was wishing that a pitcher would through a fast ball and hit him any place so he would be hurt. And whats with A-Rod saying that he has full respect for Barry. If he comes back next year and plays either the Mets or the Yankees during the season or the postseason i am going to get seats on the left field line towards the outfield and just bother him and scream at him the whole entier game!!! I think every hater of Barry Bonds should do that. He says on T.V. during the interviews that he hears all of what the fans say to him.
That idiot is a freakin’ cheater
What goes around comes around! Its funny how athletes think they can talk to anyone they want to a certain way, act a certain way and get a way with it, but this “man” is ridiculous. Not only is he unsavory for cheating, but his attitude has a bearing on what people think of him. Its sad that he doesnt embrace the people who love him. He reminded me of Wesley Snipes in the Fan. It’ll come around on him, one way or another.