Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Barry Bonds: Please Retire Now

Barry's really come a long way since his rookie season, hasn't he?

Now that he has the record -- until Alex Rodriguez breaks it in 2013 -- maybe Barry can just go away. I've never been so bored and uninterested in such a huge sports achievment. And, that has nothing to do with the steroid issue.

The guy's a jerk. Plain and simple. I find it awfully difficult to root for a tool like Bonds. It's almost as if he goes out of his way to make you not like him. Hey, Barry, with me, you don't have to try so hard.

I wasn't a fan of his back when he played with Pittsburgh, you know, about six hat sizes ago.

I didn't like the fact that he passed Mark Maguire for the single season home run record in 2001. Steroids or no steroids, at least Mac was affable, approachable, and handled the situation well -- thanks in large part to some assistance from Sammy Sosa.

Look, Bonds is a great player. Even without the obvious enhancements over the years, he was a hall of famer. Reaching 756 is a major milestone...maybe the highest peak in terms of baseball records.

Did he cheat? Well, he's never been caught doing anything "illegal" as far as baseball is concerned, so I guess the answer is no.

Did he do it naturally? Of course not. But, shame on Major League Baseball for not being able to do anything about it, at least in time to keep him from reaching 756.

Inferring what we can about Macguire and Bonds' past performance enhancing usage -- let's face it, they, along with countless others, bulked up more than Janet Jackson has recently, but the difference, for me, is that Macguire was likeable. Sosa was likeable. Bonds, a jerk.

I look back at 1998, and even with all of the allegations, I still look back at that year fondly for the Macguire/Sosa home run chase.

I look back at 2001, the year Bonds hit 73, and frown.

The same with Bonds hitting 756.

As Bryant Gumbel would say following a segment on Real Sports, let's move on.

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