Barry Bonds
I'd never heard one man argue with 30 people before I watched Barry Bonds hold a press conference. He comes off as particularly bullish and a sort of personality that I would avoid. None of that matters. What matters is his words and deeds.
When asked if he thought of steroids as cheating, he skirted around it and stated that he was not convinced steroids helped you in baseball. He claimed to not know what cheating means in the terms of baseball the sport.
When asked direct questions about his steroids use, he got irate and refused to answer. When asked direct questions about his knee injury, he got angry. When asked about his reputation, he got angry. Not only that, he took the time to blame the media for his anger. He yelled that they have all told lies of some form and invoked a lame defense along the lines of not casting stones/glass houses. So much for his words...
His undue attention in relation to others is a result of his immense stature in the game. Unprecendented 7 MVPs, single season records, career records, Gold Glove awards, he has done it all better than anyone else in this era. It's also a factor that his personal trainer is one of the few individuals coming under scrutiny of a federal investigation of steroids. This man is also Barry's childhood friend who even received a ring from the Giants NLCS championship run a couple years ago. That is no small honor in a sport where players vote on who is to receive any accolades from their team's accomplishments. Lastly is the most obvious. Barry did not develop a work ethic in his mid thirties, he developed a literal "growth spurt" that radically altered his physical form. Despite shaving his head, his hat size is larger than it was in years prior.
The timing of this in relation to the BALCO hearing, the Jose Canseco fiasco book release tour, the President and John McCain talking up the issue, and unprecendented union cooperation in passing a new testing policy, all comes to a sad state of affairs. Many call for the truth, which surely will never be known at this point. One thing is sure. Bonds took steroids and thought that he could get away with it. It is no coincidence that this occurred after the McGwire/Sosa homerun race brought the debate to homeruns instead of Griffey v. Bonds as the best living player (at the time). It reminds me of the Pete Rose contrite logic, 'I did it because I could get away with it' - a pathetic explanation. Barry is definitely not stating that at all, rather vehemently denying, but his arrogant refusal to even concede an inch on the issue is perplexing. His skull grew. In his late thirties. No exercise regiment can accomplish that. No apology can make up for that. Nothing he could say would ever make me understand the drive to go to that length. I suppose that is why he bitterly holds out his fact-telling and replaces it with open-ended, irritating opinions. I wish he could see this makes things worse. No one cares his opinions really. People want to be able to respect his talent for what it truly is. His skirting the issue leaves that unresolved in perpetual scandal.
When asked if he thought of steroids as cheating, he skirted around it and stated that he was not convinced steroids helped you in baseball. He claimed to not know what cheating means in the terms of baseball the sport.
When asked direct questions about his steroids use, he got irate and refused to answer. When asked direct questions about his knee injury, he got angry. When asked about his reputation, he got angry. Not only that, he took the time to blame the media for his anger. He yelled that they have all told lies of some form and invoked a lame defense along the lines of not casting stones/glass houses. So much for his words...
His undue attention in relation to others is a result of his immense stature in the game. Unprecendented 7 MVPs, single season records, career records, Gold Glove awards, he has done it all better than anyone else in this era. It's also a factor that his personal trainer is one of the few individuals coming under scrutiny of a federal investigation of steroids. This man is also Barry's childhood friend who even received a ring from the Giants NLCS championship run a couple years ago. That is no small honor in a sport where players vote on who is to receive any accolades from their team's accomplishments. Lastly is the most obvious. Barry did not develop a work ethic in his mid thirties, he developed a literal "growth spurt" that radically altered his physical form. Despite shaving his head, his hat size is larger than it was in years prior.
The timing of this in relation to the BALCO hearing, the Jose Canseco fiasco book release tour, the President and John McCain talking up the issue, and unprecendented union cooperation in passing a new testing policy, all comes to a sad state of affairs. Many call for the truth, which surely will never be known at this point. One thing is sure. Bonds took steroids and thought that he could get away with it. It is no coincidence that this occurred after the McGwire/Sosa homerun race brought the debate to homeruns instead of Griffey v. Bonds as the best living player (at the time). It reminds me of the Pete Rose contrite logic, 'I did it because I could get away with it' - a pathetic explanation. Barry is definitely not stating that at all, rather vehemently denying, but his arrogant refusal to even concede an inch on the issue is perplexing. His skull grew. In his late thirties. No exercise regiment can accomplish that. No apology can make up for that. Nothing he could say would ever make me understand the drive to go to that length. I suppose that is why he bitterly holds out his fact-telling and replaces it with open-ended, irritating opinions. I wish he could see this makes things worse. No one cares his opinions really. People want to be able to respect his talent for what it truly is. His skirting the issue leaves that unresolved in perpetual scandal.
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