Home Run King Bonds Forever Tainted

[Gold9472]

Home-run king Bonds forever tainted

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSSP30418820070808?src=080807_0818_DOUBLEFEATURE _record_home_run

(Gold9472: As far as I'm concerned, his "title" is not legitimate.)

Wed Aug 8, 2007 12:51AM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Barry Bonds is the greatest master of baseball's most difficult skill -- hitting a ball thrown at more than 100 miles an hour over the outfield wall for a home run.

Yet the San Francisco Giants outfielder has also come to symbolize the nagging doubts many fans have about the spread of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball and other professional sports since the 1990s.

The 43-year-old seven-times National League Most Valuable Player broke Major League Baseball's career record on Tuesday by belting out his 756th home run, one more than the number that made Hank Aaron the home-run king for the last 33 years.

Yet many fans are not celebrating what might otherwise be an occasion for national pride and marketing hoopla because of suspicion he may not have spoken truthfully when denying steroid use.

A sometimes abrasive personality has not helped his image, and has caused many fans outside San Francisco to jeer the slugger and root against his record run.

During his career, Bonds has set a wide array of records, from most home runs in a single season to most walks in a season and in a career. Over the years he has hit a home run every 13 at bats, far more frequently that Aaron's every 16 plus at bats.

"I don't know if he is the greatest ever, but he is soon going to be the greatest home-run hitter ever," Hall of Famer Willie McCovey, a vocal Bonds supporter, told Reuters ahead of Tuesday's game.

BASEBALL FAMILY
Born in 1964 in Riverside, California, the 13-times All-Star grew up steeped in baseball.

His father Bobby was a power-hitting outfielder from 1968-1974, hitting 332 home runs in his career and his godfather, San Francisco Giant Willie Mays, was one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.

Barry Bonds started his Major League career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 season as a skinny rookie.

He joined the Giants in 1993, and then as he entered his mid 30s, grew noticeably more muscular and showed more power behind the plate.

In 2001, Bonds hit an all-time single-season record 73 home runs, yet a federal investigation into the BALCO nutritional lab near San Francisco soon after cast an unwelcome spotlight on possible links to doping.

According to his lawyer, Bonds told a San Francisco federal grand jury that he never knowingly used steroids.

His personal trainer and close friend Greg Anderson ended up in jail on steroid distribution charges in the case.

The BALCO probe continues to shadow the slugger's considerable accomplishments as federal authorities investigate whether the left fielder lied during his testimony.

In the meantime, Anderson has made a return trip to prison starting last year because he has refused to testify in the case.

A photo of Bonds still adorns the hallway where BALCO's owner now operates a renamed nutritional supplement business.

All of that background has muted the excitement around his home-run record quest.

When Sharp Electronics launched an advertising campaign for its televisions earlier this summer, it featured Aaron rather than the soon-to-be home run king Bonds.

[AuGmENTor]

I don't know why I am even throwing in my two cents, but I have to. What a complete waste of time organized sports is. I so can't be bothered watching these glamorized idiots hit a ball with a stick. I know it is hard to do, but I would much rather watch local people do it for the fun of it than some drugged out overpaid jackass. I feel this is just another method of distraction from the things that really matter. But I guess you need some distractions...

[AuGmENTor]

(AuGmENTor: Gee Mr. Bush, how many American soldiers and Iraqi citizens LOST THEIR FUCKING LIVES while you made this call?)

Bush Telephones Barry Bonds

Aug 8 04:28 PM US/Eastern


WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Wednesday called to congratulate Barry Bonds (http://search.breitbart.com/q?s=), the new home run king, but didn't weigh in on the steroids controversy surrounding the slugger's smashing of the major league record.


On Tuesday night in San Francisco (http://search.breitbart.com/q?s=), the Giants' outfielder hit his 756th career home run, breaking Hank Aaron's record of 755.

"You've always been a great hitter and you broke a great record," Bush told Bonds on the phone, according to White House spokesman Tony Fratto.

In a Fox News interview later, Bush noted the speculation about whether steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs tainted the title. Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.

"There is a lot of speculation about Barry Bonds, and my only advice for people is to just let history be the judge," Bush said during the interview. "Let's find out the facts, and then everybody's opinion—one way or the other—will be verified or not verified."

If it's later proven that a lot of Bonds' strength came from drug use (http://search.breitbart.com/q?s=), Bush said, there will be a lot of disappointed people.

"Baseball and the baseball writers will have to make the determination as to whether or not he would receive the highest accolade of all, which would be to be admitted into the baseball Hall of Fame (http://search.breitbart.com/q?s=)," Bush said.

Would Bonds' record have an asterisk beside it?

"It really depends on what the facts are, and it's going to be up to them to make the determination as to asterisk, but more importantly, it will be the Hall of Fame (http://search.breitbart.com/q?s=)," Bush said. "That'll be the ultimate decision point for the baseball writers. In the meantime, anybody who knows the game will tell you, Barry Bonds is a great hitter."

Bush said he loved baseball, but was "dead set (http://search.breitbart.com/q?s=)" against steroids. "I think it's bad for the game," he said.

In his State of the Union address in 2004, Bush called for a crackdown on steroids.

"I put it in there, because it's part of a larger context, and that is, how we behave as adults will influence how children behave," Bush said. "And I was very concerned that it would be viewed as OK to use steroids if you are a high school kid or a junior high kid. And it's not. It'll hurt your body."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8QT2FK00&show_article=1

[PhilosophyGenius]

Apperently Bonds' increase in head size is proof of steroid use- literally, not a joke.

But at the same time, what steroids does (obviously) is it allows an athelete to train longer, harder, and become stronger- has no effect on skill.

If that's the case you Bond's legacy is tainted, then you also have to look at the majority of athelets who use creatin, protien powder, supplements for recover, ect... IMO

Yeah steroids is illegal and not good for the health, but the way I see it, it crosses into a fine line of who's record is tainted and who's isn't because the vast majority of athelets use something or a bunch of stuff which enhances performance. Steroids is the only one that's illegal.

[AuGmENTor]

But at the same time, what steroids does (obviously) is it allows an athelete to train longer, harder, and become stronger- has no effect on skill.


It kinda does in that it allows better concentration. I heard that on a call in talk show from a doctor, so I don't knwo how true it is. As far as it goes, NO drugs should be illegal. Until you hurt others because of your habit, you should be able to do whatever you want. Life, Liberty, and The Persuit of Happiness...

[PhilosophyGenius]

It kinda does in that it allows better concentration

No it doesn't. And if it does, they should ban meditation as well.