Maybe this was inevitable... everyone loves to hate him: he's never been popular in the media. He's passionate about bringing race to the forefront (which can be a good thing) but he normally does it in a completely nonconstructive way (which is definitely a bad thing).
Did he use steroids? Most likely. Did everyone else? Pretty much.
Every professional athlete (up to and including golden boy Lance Armstrong) is pushing supplements as far as they possibly can without breaking. In cycling, that means pumping in the EPO and figuring out how to best mask it. In baseball, until recently, the point where you were pushing supplements too far was non-existent. That doesn't make it ok to pump yourself on illegal drugs, but when it's effectively being encouraged by your sports blatant "look the other way" attitude... and doing it can make you millions of dollars... it's hard to put the blame squarely on Barry's shoulders which is effectively where it falls at the moment.
I'd be pretty torn if I had a Hall of Fame vote and Barry (or Sosa, McGwire) was on the ballot. Until recently I've been saying that I would vote for Barry, but not the first year - and never for Sosa or McGwire. I think I'm changing that though... Barry is a first year HOF entrant - he just has to be... he has the best stats of anyone... ever. As for the other two: I think they get my vote too. Definitely not on the first ballot, but eventually: I am voting for them.
While I don't have a HOF vote, I have made an important decision about something I actually do have a say in... when he breaks the record: I will be clapping, not booing.
2 comments:
Surely a milk ad would make Barry more popular.
Everyone likes milk.
I'd only be clapping if I caught the home-run ball and I could make money on Barry "my head looks like an orange on a toothpick and I'm a piece of crap" Bonds...
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