Hoping For Failure

Before last Sunday afternoon, every time Barry Bonds came up to the plate my stomach started churning.  That was because I couldn’t imagine this person was going to pass Babe Ruth as second on the all-time home-run list.  He passed just about everyone and you would think people would be impressed by this feat.  You would only be impressed if you didn’t watch the news, listen to the radio, or step outside.  In my mind, Barry Bonds is a cheater and an ingrate who should be gone from baseball now and have all of his records erased; lucky for him, though, that will never happen.

Barry Bonds came into that fateful day tied with Babe Ruth with 714 home runs.  Number 715 came in the fourth inning off of Rockies hurler Byung-Hyun Kim.  The home run was obviously in San Francisco as the fans were going crazy.  Bonds trotted around the bases and then kissed his son before coming out of the dugout twice to give curtain calls.

I didn’t actually see the home run live but I tuned in to watch the eleven o’clock SportsCenter on ESPN.  That was the first thing they showed.  I just about threw up my marginal dinner then and there because I just realized what Bonds had done and what he could do if he stays healthy enough.  And if he does pass home run king Hank Aaron, I don’t know what state baseball will be in until someone who played the game right would beat Bonds’ all-time record.

Saying Barry Bonds is the best player that ever played the game is like saying the Florida Marlins have the highest payroll in the league.  It just isn’t true.  Granted Bonds was a great player when he was in Pittsburgh and even better when he got to San Francisco.  But what he did when he was over 35 is unbelievable – and that is not saying it was a good thing it just shouldn’t happen.  That is because Bonds was not playing the way players should be playing it today.

Bonds has hit over 305 home runs since he turned 35.  The statistic is insane because that means 43 percent of his home runs have come after that age.  The stats – and his appearance – prove that Bonds was using something to enhance his performance.  I think he was using steroids.

My stomach churns when this man comes up to bat not only for his homerun total but also his attitude.  His mind-set is that everyone is out to get him.  Even Carlos Oliveras, the serviceman who lives in Philadelphia that caught home run number 713, was denied an autograph from Bonds.  He did, however, get to take a picture with Bonds where the two men are shaking hands.  

How much do you want to bet that Bonds didn’t sign the picture either?  I am sure the only reason Bonds didn’t sign the ball is because he wanted it.  I don’t care how you put it: that is being selfish.  And it’s not like we are talking about some hobo who wanted a signature; this is a man who might someday soon be stationed abroad, possibly even in Iraq.  And all he wanted was a simple autograph.  

There are a lot of words I can use to describe that but I will not use any of them.  I will let you pick your own word that you can say out loud or in your head.  Your choice.

Like it or not this is our new second place home run hitter.  He could very well reach number one – but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.  It is known worldwide about Bonds failing knee and many are unsure about him playing past this season.  I for one hope he doesn’t play.  But, hey, I am just another fan hoping that Bonds will fail.