Well, I wrote it before and I'll write it again—he's the best. Now, he's the King. Barry Bonds is the all-time home run leader in Major League Baseball.

After the post last June, when I discussed the negative attitudes from watchers that Bonds has had to endure (including the commissioner's! ), I got several responses from people who had good insights on the issue. More than anything else, people who didn't want Bonds to take the crown seemed to harbor a dislike for Bonds.

I think I have that one figured out. And it comes from the most genuine source I can cite—my own heart.

I have tickets to tonight's game. The game after the Great Moment . Thirty-three-dollar tickets that are now worth $33. Tickets to a game where I have a chance to catch a ball that will be just a ball. Tickets that I'll share with my kid for his birthday, where we'll have to rely on bonds of family and affection for our memories.

I wanted to be there. I wanted to give my son a moment of history. I wanted to have a memory I could hold when all the rest of life is pedestrian and unremarkable and nothin' ever really goes my way . Barry kinda messed that all up by hitting 756 last night instead. Barry didn't do what I wanted him to do.

So all these people who don't like Barry or don't want him to be home run king for one reason or another are upset because Barry doesn't do what they want him to do—confess, fail, be nice to reporters, do ads for hamburgers, leg out a ground ball to second base, live in Springfield, make $1 million and be happy with it, yuk it up with Terry Bradshaw in a halftime piece.

And mostly, they're mad because he doesn't play in Arlington, New York, Philadelphia, Denver, St. Louis, Toronto, Phoenix ...

And the record-breaker? A 400-foot monster to dead-away center, the deepest point in the ballpark. Oh yeah, one more thing—it was the go-ahead run.

Posted by Charles at 08:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Found in Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Baseball, Hank Aaron, Misc, Perspective, Remember, San Francisco, Substance abuse, Wells Fargo Bank, Willie Mays

Baseball season is about one-third gone in 2007. Barry Bonds  is about 10 homers away from setting the all-time home run record . It's controversial—baseball is pretending Bonds isn't really nearing a milestone, and it's all because of the book "Game of Shadows."  Sorry, but I'm celebrating Bonds' 756.

This a tough issue for me because I'm still not convinced that performance-enhancing substances  improve the stats of hitters who are already productive. I was watching the Cubs and Braves one weekend, and I noticed how one Braves outfielder has changed over the years. He's still as tall as he was when he started and as joyful in his expressions. But he looks a little older and a little thicker with age. I remember an Orioles' outfielder in the '90s was known for his meticulous workouts and he was in perfect shape. But he wasn't a big star—he was just in killer shape.

When Babe Ruth moved into Yankee Stadium  in 1923—"The House That Ruth Built"—he continued his home run legend. The right field fence was 295 feet away; The Babe, however, had begun hitting homers by the dozen before Yankee Stadium. Hammerin' Hank Aaron  himself enjoyed an Atlanta ballpark known as "the launching pad" for its homer-friendly dimensions. In 2000, Bonds moved into PacBell Park (now SBC) after years in other, less friendly ballparks, but his numbers show he was a game-changer even in the cavernous parks.

Willie Mays , on the other hand, hit 660 career homers in a career that was spent in Candlestick Park  in San Francisco: windy, cold, deep and stingy. Put his right-handed bat in Fenway Park  and what do you have? We can only guess.

I watched Bonds play since he came to S.F. in 1993. Every game, seems like, he drives in the clutch run, scares the other pitcher and manager to death, makes the good play in left. After the controversial years began, that did not change. I notice his stats are pretty consistent  except for a couple of incredible home run years. He's the best hitter ever, from this fan's standpoint—he comes up and everything changes. Everything.

So I myself can only accept the moral dimension with substance abuse—drugs are addictive and bad for you. But I am not yet convinced that they enhance hitting. Before or after the controversy, Bonds has always been pretty good at that. Like, "best ever!" good.

Posted by Charles at 09:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Found in Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Baseball, Hank Aaron, Misc, Perspective, Substance abuse, Willie Mays