"Barry Bonds"

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Well, the Major League Baseball season starts tomorrow. One of the biggest stories of the year is about Barry Bonds. For two reasons. One, he threatens to take the crown of all-time home run king from not only Babe Ruth but also Hank Aaron. Two, because of this rediculous issue of steroid usage.

Let me state from the start that I am a very BIG Barry Bonds fan!

Here's why:

Barry Bonds is the son of baseball great Bobby Bonds, and the God-child of Hall Of famer Willie Mays. He served as a batboy for his father as a young boy.

During the time when Bobby Bonds and Willie Mays played the game, and a young Barry Bonds served as batboy, racial tension ran high. It was common-place to have an all white attendance in the stands. Many of them were corporate business men. White men.

A young Barry Bonds had to listen as a batboy to people in the stands (I call them people, but really they don't deserve the title of such) call his father a nigger and other slurs.

My heart cannot forgive such hatred, and it wasn't even aimed at me! I'm not black! Still, F**K those who would do such a thing!

Now today, Barry is closing in on a record that is one of the most coveted in the sport.

He has been a real thorn in the side of the media ever since he entered the sport.

So what?

Arrogant? Yes. No argument from me there. But you don't pick your team based on personality. You pick it on a person's ability to contribute to gaining victories and essentially winning a championship. Barry Bonds is the first choice on that criteria. Nobody can argue that.

He's the BEST player of our time.

As far as steroids, well, baseball didn't even make them illegal until a couple of years ago. Why? Because the sport was benefitting from the increase in attendance due to the number of homeruns and excitement given to the game BECAUSE of the enhancements! Major League Baseball turned a blind eye to all of it while it prospered. But now that it has become such a politically correct issue (much like that of Bobby Knight in his final year with the Indiana Hoosiers- another subject) we are all supposed to villify Barry Bonds.

Count me out!

I hope he breaks the record.

I also hope he refuses to give the media the time of day.

BARRY, you still have a fan in this lonely, F**ked up world!

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BARRY BONDS & THE HOME RUN RECORD
Chasing the Babe, meeting resistance
FOR AARON, IT WAS RACISM; TODAY IT'S A STEROID SCANDAL
By Daniel Brown
Mercury News

When Hank Aaron hit the home run that surpassed Babe Ruth, radio broadcaster Vin Scully kept his description short. Scully marveled briefly about seeing a black man getting a standing ovation in the Deep South. Then he got up from his stool, walked across the booth and pressed his back against the wall. He did not want to ruin a moment that spoke for itself.

It's hard to imagine such restraint when Barry Bonds passes the Bambino. There is too much to say. Bonds is one of the most complex and polarizing figures in the history of American sport, a niche he carved out long before he became the poster child for a steroids scandal that threatens to undermine his legacy. When Bonds hits his 715th home run, probably in early May, he will be called a hero and a cheater, an icon and a jerk, a marvel and a fraud -- all by the time he touches home plate.

Ruth, in contrast, remains almost universally beloved, the mythic, moon-faced slugger who hit home runs for dying children. He was Santa Claus in pinstripes.

Just ask Aaron, the only man so far with the audacity to pass Ruth. He was greeted with a barrage of racist hate mail. In 1974, the year he became the home run king, Aaron was asked about someone breaking his own record.

``Believe me, I'll be pulling for him,'' Aaron replied, ``and I hope they give him as much hell as they have me.''

Wish granted. Bonds is the subject of a book that alleges several seasons of massive steroid use. Major League Baseball last week hired former U.S. Senator George Mitchell to conduct a formal investigation. Several corporate sponsors have retreated from the prospect of celebrating Bonds' achievements.

While Aaron chased Ruth with a quiet dignity, Bonds is unlikely to move forward with any such subtlety. He tends to meet his critics with defiance.

Bonds is also clear on his feelings for the man he needs seven home runs to pass. At the 2003 All-Star Game, the Giants left fielder said, ``In the baseball world, Babe Ruth is everything, right? . . . I'll take his home runs. And that's it. Don't talk about him anymore.''

In an attempt to explain Ruth's enduring popularity, Bonds put it another way last spring. ``Babe Ruth was white and I'm black,'' he said.

With Ruth, Aaron and Bonds, however, there are also shades of gray. That is what will make his home run No. 715 difficult to interpret, and perhaps even more controversial than the one other time a man passed the Babe. Aaron had it rough, but his classy comportment ultimately won over the country. A survey at the time showed that nearly seven in 10 Americans were rooting for Aaron to pass Ruth.

In contrast, an ESPN.com poll this spring asked fans to choose the best-case scenario for Bonds: 70 percent responded that they hope he gets fed up with the media and retires. Just 17 percent said they wanted him to have a great season and break Aaron's record of 755.

For Bonds to get there, he will have to follow Aaron's footsteps past the Babe.

The scene in the '70s
• Aaron was quiet; detractors were not

Dusty Baker, who managed Bonds for 10 seasons in San Francisco, had an even better view of Aaron. Baker was in the on-deck circle with one on and none out in the fourth inning of the Atlanta Braves' home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 8, 1974.

``It was a cold night in Atlanta -- cold as heck,'' Baker recalled during an interview at spring training, ``and right before Hank walked to the plate, he told me, `I'm going to get it over with right here.' ''

Aaron crushed the second pitch, a fastball from Al Downing, over the left-center-field fence. Tom House, a young Braves reliever, caught the ball in the bullpen and sprinted to home plate so that he could hand the ball to its rightful owner.

``Getting it over with,'' as the hitter had put it, fairly summarized Aaron's attitude toward breaking the record. It had been an ordeal. Aaron was besieged by death threats, many targeting his wife and four children.

``Martin Luther King was a troublemaker and he had a short life span,'' someone wrote. Also: ``My gun is watching your every black move.''

One time, in the summer of 1973, Aaron warned Baker and teammate Ralph Garr that a gunman had threatened to take him out. Aaron said he would understand if they wanted to sit somewhere else in the dugout. ``Hank, we're down with you, man,'' Baker said. ``We're not going anywhere.''

Aaron's hate mail did not become public until the spring of 1974, but Baker, who had the locker next to the slugger's, saw it all along. He and Garr dined frequently with Aaron on the road, before they would retreat to their hotel. Aaron had two rooms during this time: one for himself, and one for his bodyguard.

``I don't think that with Barry it's the same thing. At the time, Babe was king,'' Baker said. ``Even though Hank is the home run king, I bet more people know Babe Ruth. Babe was a symbol of America.''

The third of eight children born to Herbert and Estella Aaron, Hank grew up in segregated Mobile, Ala. He was an ice deliveryman, and carrying the huge blocks with tongs strengthened the wrists that would become his hallmark. Aaron's playing size is listed as 6 feet and 180 pounds -- about the same as the A's scrappy second baseman Mark Ellis -- but his powerful wrists could crush a fastball.

His father, who worked in a shipyard for 29 years, told him that the best way to make it through life was to keep your mouth shut and keep working. That's what Aaron did with his bat. Unlike Bonds and Ruth, with their glittering single-season totals and prodigious, cloud-scraping shots, Aaron somehow hit his home runs sneakily.

Aaron never had more than 47 in a season. Instead of towering blasts, he whistled line drives so low that shortstops occasionally leaped for the ball off the bat, thinking they had a chance to catch it.

Aaron didn't bother watching the flight of the ball, even in batting practice.

``As much as Barry was outspoken, Aaron was reserved,'' said House, who runs a pitching clinic in San Diego.

Eventually, as uncomfortable as Aaron was in the glare, he embraced the responsibility he felt came with the attention. He became a civil rights activist of sorts, having been inspired as a young player by Jackie Robinson, who had told him that, for black players, success could not be an individual thing.

With help from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Aaron began speaking out. He pushed for baseball to hire its first black manager (it was Frank Robinson, in 1975).

Aaron dedicated his pursuit of Ruth to kids of all races, especially those who had written to support him. He wanted to give ``children hope that no matter how high the mountain, they can climb it.''

On the night he hit No. 715, Aaron had ensured the festivities would feel like a civil rights rally. He requested that a black choir perform ``Lift Every Voice.''

Before singing the national anthem, Pearl Bailey leaned into the microphone and said, ``If humanity could do just a little bit more of what we're doing here tonight -- do a little bit more -- we'd have it made. We're here out of love. Why not tomorrow, too?''

How times change
• Ruth was lionized; Bonds scrutinized

The unabashed worship of Ruth seems disproportionate, as Bonds has noted, considering the Babe's contract holdouts, his fondness for prostitutes, his run-ins with managers and his questionable training habits. Ruth once punched an umpire. Another time, he went after a heckler in the stands. His first owner, Harry Frazee of the Boston Red Sox, wrote: ``He has no regard for the feelings of anyone but himself.''

But it was a different time. The knife-wielding wife of a state senator once chased Ruth right past reporters on a train. ``There were 11 of us sitting there and no one said a word,'' sportswriter Fred Lieb later recalled in his memoirs. ``We just went on typing, reading magazines and playing cards.''

Still, as the drama unfolds this season, Bonds will play the role of the villain in the eyes of many fans. This despite the fact he has never tested positive for drugs or been convicted of a crime. His Giants teammates often talk of the honor of playing by his side.

Bonds' defenders include Hall of Fame first baseman Willie McCovey, a contemporary of Aaron's, who recently told KNBR radio, ``We are watching the greatest show on earth and for some reason we don't want to believe it or appreciate it. . . . I know Barry well enough to know that he wouldn't lie to me, so until I hear it from him, I'm not going to believe it.''

The rest of the country is waiting to hear it from Mitchell's committee, which, uncomfortably, is investigating the steroid allegations as fans outside of the Bay Area try to figure out whether to cheer or boo.

When Bonds does pass Ruth, his controversial persona and the allegations against him ensure that it will bear little resemblance to that cold-as-heck night in Georgia.

``I'm a good friend of Henry's. I'm all for someone breaking his record, that's what the game is about -- if it's done in the same fashion that Henry did it,'' Phil Niekro, a former Aaron teammate, said by phone from his home in Atlanta.

``There is just so much speculation about a lot of these guys, and it's not just one or two that may be involved. If someone is to break the record, I just hope it's done straight down the middle in terms of fairness.''


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Barry Bonds Ends Home Run Drought
Sunday, April 23, 2006


DENVER — Barry Bonds found his elusive power stroke in Denver's thin air.

Bonds homered for the first time this season Saturday night at Coors Field, sending a belt-high fastball from right-handerAaron Cook 384 feet to left for his 709th career home run.

After circling the bases, Bonds knocked fists with teammates Moises Alou and Pedro Feliz and manager Felipe Alou as he descended into the third-base dugout to jeers and a scattering of applause.

Bonds moved within five home runs of Babe Ruth for the most by a left-handed hitter with 714. It came in his 31st at-bat and 13th game.

San Francisco's surly slugger had never gone deeper into a season without circling the bases when healthy. In 1998, he also didn't homer until his 13th game, the longest season-opening drought of his career.

Hounded by steroid suspicions, a federal probe into his testimony in the BALCO steroid case and baseball's investigation of performance-enhancing drugs, Bonds got off to a slow start this season despite a stellar spring.

Plagued also by sore knees, a swollen left elbow and few pitchers willing to challenge him — he walked 19 times before hitting his first home run — Bonds brought a .200 batting average and just one RBI into Saturday night's game.

In the series opener Friday night, he swung at two of the 17 pitches he saw, flying out to the warning track in center field his first time up, then drawing three straight walks before grounding out to first.

Rockies manager Clint Hurdle vowed not to pitch to Bonds if he didn't have to: "Let him find his rhythm somewhere else."

Bonds found it Saturday night in Denver, making Cook his 417th victim and giving the Giants a 2-0 lead.

On Friday night, Bonds, who has never been a fan of Denver despite his 25 home runs at Coors Field, the most by an opposing player, got the usual treatment as fans shouted "Juice!" every time he came up or made a play. One fan behind the Giants dugout wore a tall hat shaped like a syringe.

The crowd had barely settled in Saturday night when Bonds walked up to the plate, took a high fastball and then unleashed his first homer of 2006, trotting around the bases for a change and not just to first.

[achebeautiful]

Here comes Barry!!

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Bonds Ties The Babe With Home Run #714

OAKLAND, Calif. - Barry, meet the Babe. Barry Bonds tied Babe Ruth for second place on the career list with his 714th home run Saturday, a shot into the right-field seats leading off the second inning against the Oakland Athletics.

Bonds ended a nine-game homerless drought — a stretch of 29 at-bats — since hitting No. 713 with a 450-foot drive May 7 in Philadelphia. His teenage son, Nikolai, a Giants bat boy, was waiting for him at home plate and they embraced.

Next up is Hank Aaron's record of 755.

Bonds, dogged by allegations of steroid use and repeated taunts on the road, was quickly greeted by his teammates as they surrounded him at the top of the dugout. Bonds tipped his cap and blew a kiss toward his 7-year-old daughter, Aisha, then came out and raised his hands.

Left-hander Brad Halsey became the 420th pitcher to give up a homer to Bonds, who was San Francisco's designated hitter in an interleague series against the A's.

The seven-time NL MVP was booed when his name was announced before the game and again the moment he began walking to the batter's box. He connected on a 1-1 pitch from Halsey, making history with his sixth home run this season.

Bonds received a long standing ovation and the game was delayed about 90 seconds. The Giants plan to commemorate No. 715 in their own ballpark.

Bonds came to the plate in the third to chants of "Barry! Barry!" and struck out looking.

He had hoped to hit his latest milestone home run at home in San Francisco, where he hit Nos. 500, 600 and 700 along with 660 and 661 to tie and pass his godfather, Willie Mays. In 2001, Bonds hit the final three of his 73 homers at home to break Mark McGwire's single-season record of 70.

Still, the 41-year-old slugger had to be happy to hit No. 714 back in the Bay Area in front of his family and friends. Only five days earlier, Bonds suggested he was being haunted by "two ghosts" — a reference to Ruth and Aaron.

Ruth passed Sam Thompson to move into second place on June 20, 1921, when he hit his 127th home run. Aaron passed Ruth in April 1974 — and now Hammerin' Hank's mark is the only one left for Bonds to chase.

Bonds, in his 21st major league season, has hit nine of his home runs as a designated hitter — and realizes his future could be in the American League as a DH.

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Bonds, in his 21st major league season, has hit nine of his home runs as a designated hitter — and realizes his future could be in the American League as a DH.

I'm against the Designated Hitter in baseball, and so as a fan of Barry Bonds I hope he stays in the Ntional League and breaks the record as a position player.

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Bonds passes Babe with home run No. 715 ~ By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - No. 715 played out exactly the way Barry Bonds wanted — he hit it at home, in front of the fans who love him.

It just took him a little longer than he hoped it would.

The San Francisco slugger moved past Babe Ruth on the career home run list with a mammoth shot Sunday, and now stands behind just one person.

Hank Aaron owns baseball's most revered record with 755 homers. And now the debate begins: Will Bonds stick around long enough to break it?

Bonds' latest milestone — a mightier homer than No. 714 — was a 445-foot, two-run shot to center before a sellout crowd. The homer came on the last day before the Giants begin a road trip to Florida and New York.

He homered off Byung-Hyun Kim in the fourth inning during a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies. The ball glanced off a fan's hands about 15 rows up and then dropped onto an elevated platform beyond the fence.

The souvenir sat there for a few minutes before rolling off the roof to 38-year-old San Francisco resident Andrew Morbitzer waiting for a hot dog, and he was quickly ushered away by security for a postgame news conference.

Bonds circled the bases as streamers fell from the upper deck.

Now, the list looks like this:

Aaron 755.

Bonds 715.

Ruth 714.

Bonds connected at 2:14 p.m. on a 90 mph fastball with the count full, then immediately raised his arms and clapped his hands before beginning his historic trot. Kim became the 421st pitcher to surrender a homer to the 41-year-old slugger.

Bonds embraced and kissed his 16-year-old son, bat boy Nikolai, as he crossed home plate, then was greeted by his teammates at the top of the dugout. He took one curtain call in which he tipped his hat and raised both arms and blew a kiss to the crowd.

Moments later, he came out again and waved.

After the homer, the Giants unfurled two banners from the light towers on either side of the main scoreboard in center field: one of Bonds on the left side and the other of Hammerin' Hank's 755.

Bonds, who had walked on five pitches in the first inning, went five games between 714 and 715. He hit 714 on May 20 at Oakland, a span of 17 at-bats and 25 plate appearances. Aaron had a four-game wait between 714 and 715.

Bonds singled to right in his next at-bat in a drive off the right-field facade that looked as if it might be headed out, too, for No. 716. He grounded out to third to end the eighth and was replaced in the ninth.

Bonds is still loved at home despite the steroid accusations that surround his home run pursuit.

This is the first time in nearly 85 years that Ruth hasn't been in the top two on the career home run list, according to David Vincent of the Society for American Baseball Research. He passed Sam Thompson to move into second on June 20, 1921, when he hit his 127th home run.

Bonds has hit most of his other milestone home runs in San Francisco: 500, 600, 700 along with 660 and 661 to tie and pass godfather Willie Mays. In 2001, Bonds hit the final three of his 73 homers at home to break Mark McGwire's single-season record of 70.

Aaron passed Ruth in April 1974 — and now Aaron is the only one left for Bonds to chase.

This was Bonds' last chance during the six-game homestand before the Giants left town for another week. He hadn't homered at home since May 2 against San Diego's Scott Linebrink.

Kim has a history of giving up notable homers — he allowed tying two-run homers with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to the Yankees' Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius in Games 4 and 5 of the 2001 World Series.

Giants manager Felipe Alou wrote Bonds into the lineup without checking with the seven-time NL MVP about playing in a day game following a night game, aware that Bonds wanted to make history at home.

"That's one of the reasons I'm playing him without even asking him," Alou said. "We're going to be gone for a week. Today's the perfect day."

Hitting it in Florida in a near-empty stadium was far from what Bonds or the Giants wanted for his latest feat.

Fans at San Diego's Petco Park booed when a replay of Bonds' homer was shown on the big screen during the sixth inning of the Cardinals-Padres game. Bonds was booed repeatedly during a season-opening series at San Diego, and a fan threw a toy syringe at him on opening day.