HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED

It truly is as if he were the villain in the Harry Potter stories. His name has been erased from the history books by the powers that be. He never played. He never broke any records. He never existed. But you know what? I KNOW that he did. I saw him play. I marveled at his natural ability to take over a game. And I have no trouble saying or writing his name. He is Barry Bonds.

I have seen the absolute and disgraceful hypocrisy displayed by the Selig Regime for too long. My only comfort rests in knowledge that his reign as “The Dark Lord of Baseball” will soon come to a close. We can only hope that his successor (**cough** Joe Torre) will be a sane individual with a sense of humility and a level head. Maybe the next commissioner will be (and absolutely should be in my opinion) a former player or manager. We should be looking for someone who knows the human side of the sport and can watch over the game rather than manipulate it.

It is my belief that Barry Bonds was destined for Cooperstown before he left the Steel City for the City by the Bay.  He was more than a home run hitter back then. Bonds had a game that was as well rounded as any the baseball world had seen in a long time. He was very much like Mike Trout is today…only better. Because of the type of player Bonds was the Pirates were not seen as the “Little Engine That Could” back then, they were a locomotive. So why does the story of a “sure thing” Hall of Famer end with Baseball shunning him? In a word, it was ego.

Like so many superstars in the sports world, Barry Bonds has an opinion of himself that is larger than life. These types of individuals don’t just see themselves as better baseball players, they see themselves as better people. They are superheroes, a cut above mere mortals and, in their opinion, should be treated as such. Bonds was as much to blame for his fall from grace as anyone else.

I am not a class warrior. I don’t fault pro athletes for going to another club if the money or chance to win is better. Yes, I am disappointed when they leave (see Robinson Cano), but at the end of the day they have earned the right to choose their path. As fans we will often try to put ourselves in their spikes, but that is a futile endeavor and deep down we know it. So Barry, being one of the games top players, took his act to the San Francisco, and his first step into toward being Baseball’s Public Enemy #1.

In 1998 Selig and company stood by and profited as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chased Roger Maris’s single season home run record (61). The game was still licking its wounds from the strike in 1994.  Fans had stopped watching on TV, coming to the stadiums and spending their money on baseball in the aftermath. When Big Mac and Sammy started crushing dingers MLB jumped all over the chance to promote them and bring the fans (and the money) back to the ballpark…no matter what.

Suddenly these two men were the biggest stars in the game. They were long ball hitters and only long ball hitters. It didn’t matter how they were defensively or what their team’s records were, they hit home runs and were chasing the record. It was a great show. Selig was breathing new life into baseball and reaping the benefits...without thinking about what it would cost the game in the long run I guess.

The Hulk-like hitter became commonplace in the game. WWE-type physiques started popping up on every team in the league, but to MLB all was right with the world. If you hit home runs you were a superstar, embraced and promoted by the game. It seemed that so many players bought into this formula…especially Barry Bonds. The Giants’ All-World player wanted to be the biggest name in the sport and couldn’t stand that players who weren’t as gifted in terms of defense, average etc… were getting all the fame. In the years following MaGwire’s big season, Bonds was suddenly a power hitter of Ruthian proportions and regained the headlines he craved.

Recently it was reported that Commissioner Selig doesn’t recognize Barry Bonds as Major League Baseball’s Home run King. But let’s be fair, Selig doesn’t recognize Bonds at all. You see if he did he’d be acknowledging the steroid era that he ushered in and turned a blind eye to. Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, Palmerio…these are names that MLB championed to bring the sport back to prominence and then made disappear as if they hired “The Wolf” in Pulp Fiction. They were NEVER here. They NEVER happened. They WON’T be remembered.

Do I think Barry Bonds is the All-time Home run King? Yes and no. I know what you’re saying, “That’s a really lame answer, Mikey.” Look, I’m more comfortable saying, “No. It’s Hammerin’ Hank, end of story.” But Bonds still hit a round ball with a round bat squarely and often. Sure, the alleged “juice” would have helped many would be fly balls leave the yard, but I can’t say it made hitting 96-97 mph gas easier. Can you?

I think that unlike the asterisk nonsense Baseball tried to pull with Maris, they should absolutely use one with records broken during the “Steroid Era”. In fact I think that there should also be an asterisk placed near Selig’s name as the commissioner who presided over said era. He helped create these “Monsters” whose names have been stricken from the record, so he should share in their punishment. Barry Bonds DID play the game of baseball. He played it at a very high level and should be remembered for the amazing talent he was. His (alleged) latter day sins do call his accomplishments into question, but he and those “Who Shall Not Be Named” are a part of Baseball History…whether Bud Selig wants to recognize them or not.


 

--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
   Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."


 

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