Sportscolumn.com - Sports News - Give Bonds a Break

Poor Man's PTI Wednesday at 8PM ET | July Writing Contest

Give Bonds a Break

By giveusthering, Section MLB
Posted on Tue May 25 2004 at 8:22 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

Plop! A fish floats up sideways to the top of the water. Barry Bonds has just swatted his 661st homerun passing Willie Mays for third all time. He also took the life away from one unlucky fish all in one swing.

With rumors swirling about Bonds' probable steroid use, he continues to play above anything conceivable. He nearly had a 9 game home run streak. Forget about DiMaggio's 56 game hit streak, a 9 game home run streak defines unbreakable! Most aspire to hit .300, while he is hitting close to .500.

If Bonds' body has been chemically enhanced, is he so wrong for using steroids? I don't think he did anything as egregious as believed by the majority. Steroids will enable a player to produce more bat speed, and therefore hit the ball a longer distance. The way Bonds hits the ball with/without steroids it's leaving the park. Animal rights activists may have an imminent intervention in San Fran due to the large number of baseballs landing in McCovey's Cove. SBC Park is a massive pitcher's park, yet it cannot retain the ball within its property when Bonds is up at bat.

Did steroids give Bonds the greatest knowledge of the strike zone possibly ever? No, he has amassed over 2,000 walks. He is not only breaking records in homeruns, but also in walks as he did last year. When up to bat, pitchers would rather pee in their pants than throw a fastball on the inside corner to Bonds. If that ball is an inch on the plate say, "Goodbye to Mr. Rawlings," and also look out in right field!

Bonds has gained weight over his career. This is not uncommon for an athlete. One simply has to look at Roger Clemens to see a similar weight gain, and nobody accuses him of taking steroids. The Rocket broke into the league in 1985 at 6"4 and weighing 205 lbs. Barry Bonds in 1987, as a rookie, was 6"1 and 185 pounds. Today Roger weighs 235, and Barry weighs 230. Barry has gained only ten more pounds, but surprisingly he also grew an inch.

The players were never tested for THG, the steroid Bonds is accused of using. The FDA deemed the drug illegal only in 2003, and was banned this year by Major League Baseball (MLB) after senatorial pressure. The year Bonds hit 73 homeruns, this drug was not illegal, nor was it tested for. He did nothing he can be punished for by MLB unless he tests positive this year. The word loophole has just entered my mind.

To Baseball lovers and haters: Bonds is innocent until proven guilty. This is America, right? I want people to watch Bonds in awe. We are able to witness a man that will end up the greatest player ever. He is the only player to hit 500 homeruns, and steal 500 bases. He is one of three players to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in one season. He holds the single season home run record at 73. He is also rapidly approaching Hank Aaron's all time home run record. Even with the use of steroids Bonds is still a great player, if only for his batting eye. He has also always been an elite player in the league. Perhaps if he used steroids it was to make his testicular cancer self tests easier by shrinking his testicles. Is that so bad?

Story writing contest

< Back to the Fun Stuff | Women We Love >

Give Bonds a Break | 8 comments (8 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

the steroid allegations (#1)
by Vin on Wed May 26 2004 at 9:35 AM EST

absolutely diminish Bonds' reputation. I did a story a while back comparing his rookie card to his current card. His head has grown massively. Weight gain (trust me I know) in getting older is usually in the gut.

Just because THG wasn't deemed illegal until last year doesn't mean BB isn't a cheater. They used to put cocaine in Coca-cola too, you know.

But, you're saying, so what? Steroids is fine. Bonds is great for his batting eye. Hell, there are tons of people with great batting eyes. You have to have the steroid enhanced...er..alledgedly.. strength to jack it out of the park all the time.

Innocent until proven guilty? Yep. But something stinks in McCovey cove. And it ain't the fish.

more steroid effects (#2)
by erik on Wed May 26 2004 at 4:48 PM EST

steroids don't just help you jack the ball further with bigger biceps and quicker wrists. they also increase your visual acuity (i.e., Bonds' unmatched batting eye?) and help you recover faster from hard workouts and injuries. funny coincidence that this year (the year that they start "real" drug testing, even if it's a farce) Bonds and Giambi, both Balco customers, are suffering from recurring bad backs and are seemingly less durable than before...

btw, i hate seeing stories on big sports sites that say normal or increased fan attendance means that fans don't care about the steroid problem. baseball is bigger than Bonds or any other individual player - i still love game, but it definitely colors my view of individual achievements.

[ Parent ]

Steroids and Injuries (#3)
by giveusthering on Wed May 26 2004 at 6:58 PM EST

Steroids have been reported to prolong a recovery to and injury, and allow players to retain nagging injuries. This is why jack McDowell accused Mark Prior of Steroid usage. He has still not recovered from an injury suffered last season. I do not think Steroids are ok at all. If Bonds tests positive any record he sets should be thrown out of the books. He should be banned from the league as well. My point is that none of this has happened yet, and we cannot say he has definitely used steroids.

[ Parent ]

: Take All The Roids You Want (#4)
by LG on Fri May 28 2004 at 8:12 AM EST

Really. Pump your body full of them. See those biceps grow, the head enlarge and your nuts disappear is all on you.
When you die early or when your cock falls off, don't look for sympathy or any help.
You buy the ticket, you take the ride.

[ Parent ]

joltin joe (#5)
by tays44 on Wed Jun 15 2005 at 1:42 PM EST

ill disregard you comparing bond's cheating streak to that of Joe D's. You should be ashamed to call yourslef a baseball fan after that.

unbelievable (#6)
by JDWC on Sun Aug 14 2005 at 4:15 PM EST

do NOT give Barry Bonds a break, he has basically admitted he's used steroids, he is conviently taking this entire year to recover from his injury, and he's way bigger than he used to be.

P.S. I hope I never read something as stupid as comparing his 9 game HR streak to DiMaggio's streak, thats just ridiculous
J.D.

Jennys (#39)
by Anonymous Fan on Sat Mar 17 2007 at 1:02 PM EST

Well nice and very interesting. Thanx for looking. Jenny

Give Bonds a Break | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Login

Create an account

Give Bonds a Break

Story writing contest

Login

Related Links