Bro. Ron aka Tha Artstorian Reports... 'Passing the Torch':Barry celebrating with his Godfather Willie Mays after the superstar passes 'The Say Hey Kid' on the all-time career homeruns list.
As he approaches one of the most heralded records in all of American Professional Sports History the home run record held by Hammerin' Hank Aaron and formerly Babe Ruth, the San Francisco Giants superstar baseball player known asBarry Bonds (holder of the current record for homeruns hit in a season-73) has come under increasing attack and scrutiny from the mainstream media and from some individuals in Major League Baseball for his alleged use of steroids to help him hit homeruns…Barry's life it seems is the stuff made of legend and mythology of the highest order…His father was the late Bobby Bonds, a dynamic and very talented baseball player in his own right and his godfather is Willie Mays, considered by many to be one of the greatest if not the greatest baseball player to ever play the game…The fact that Barry is often considered the greatest player of his generation if not the greatest ever has also got many people concerned over the possibility that many of his records may be 'tainted' by possible steroid use…It should also be noted that baseball has a long history of 'tainted' records simply for the fact that known Blacks with the ability and talent to play baseball were not allowed to play with Whites for over half a century in what is now known as Major League Baseball which should bring up the question about the validity of any records set before 1947, the year Jackie Robinson broke the color line in baseball…Since Babe Ruth and other notable White baseball players pre-1947 were not allowed to play against some of the best baseball players of their generation who happened to be Black (the Babe once told a news reporter that the greatest baseball player that he ever saw was John Henry "Pop" Lloyd, a Black man) should their records also contain asterisks by them as well??? Think about it would there be a Babe Ruth if more people knew about what Josh Gibson did or was capable of doing against all pitchers (Josh hit 900 + homeruns to Babe Ruth's 714 and also hit 70 + homeruns for a season back in 1930s while the Babe's highest total for a season was 60), how about Martin Dihigo vs. Joe Dimaggio??? Also would their be a Cy Young Award if Satchel Paige was allowed to play against all comers in his prime (by the way Satchel Paige won 2,000 games to Cy Young's 511)???
It should also be noted that every since Major League Baseball implemented steroid testing back in 2002 Barry has yet to fail a test while 12 other players have, including future Hall of Famer (???) Rafael Palmeiro who even allegedly lied about taking steroids during a U.S. Congressional hearing on the subject of drug abuse in baseball…Another reason why Barry isn't liked is because of his disdain and lack of cooperation with the mainstream press…He has been labeled a racist by some (which is ironic considering that his first wife, Sun Bonds, is white and his kids are racially mixed) and a cheater by others (although to date no exact proof exist that he ever knowingly took any steroids which is why an investigation into steroid use was launched by Major League Baseball among other reasons)…His 'personality flaw' acording to his detractors has cost him untold millions in endorsements over the course of his career, but in baseball Barry is one of the best paid players in the game (Barry earned 22 million dollars last year, bested only by A-Rod's 25 million dollars)...To me Barry Bonds is the "most controversial" Black athlete America has seen in decades …Even for the sake of argument that Barry took steroids pre-2002 would it be right to persecute people for breaking a law that did not exist in Major League Baseball before 2002??? These type of character assassinations of a prominent Black athlete haven't been seen since the days of a young Ali or Jack Johnson...All three represented and represent very intelligent and articulate Black men with exceptional gifts and talents who raised the ire of White America as well as some in Black America with their refusal to conform or reform to the status quo…Please take time to look at these links and always feel free to form your own opinion on the man known as Barry Lamar Bonds and his achievements:
http://www.barrybonds.com
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/giants/2006-03-29-bonds-cover_x.htm
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AoYqJNA8yaumGFirSQCsRrARvLYF?slug=ap-bonds-syringe&prov=ap&type=lgns
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-bonds-homelessaunt&prov=ap&type=lgns
http://www.starpulse.com/Athletes/Bonds,_Barry/Articles/
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/sports-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/03/28/20060328-E7-01.html
No comments:
Post a Comment