Kuzul

It was a game that was meaningless in the standings, but it was a game that established a record that will never, ever be broken.

Russ Springer was on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Barry Bonds was the batter.

It was the first inning of the San Francisco Giants’ final game of the 2001 season.

The bases were empty with two outs. Springer got the signal from his catcher, Chad Kreuter, nodded assent, went into the windup, and delivered.

Barry Bonds hit his 73rd home run into the arcade above the right field fence. Barry circled the bases, crossed home plate, raised his arms above his head, and pointed his forefingers to the heavens.

The Giants won the game, 2-1, and to Barry Bonds, it mattered.

“This was a great, great way to end it, with a victory and a home run. You can’t ask for anything better. I never thought I could do it.”

Barry Bonds oozed greatness and modesty. He actually said that he didn’t think he could do it. Isn’t that unbelievable? It is, isn’t it?

Two nights before, Barry broke Mark McGwire’s single season record when he blasted a pair of home runs. At the time, the new home run champion issued a word of caution.

“I don’t know if it’s going to exist next year.”

In 2001, Sammy Sosa (64), Luis Gonzalez (57), and Alex Rodriguez (52) hit over 50 home runs. The home run sluggers were becoming more formidable and numerous.

An amazing statistic is that Barry hit a home run every 6.52 at bats, topping McGwire’s rate of 7.27.

When Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in 1927, all the Babe could manage was a home run every 9.0 at bats.

Roger Maris, who set his record in the first season the American League went from a 154-game schedule to a 162-game schedule, hit a home run every 9.7 at bats.

Mark McGwire attempted to provide some perspective.

“It’s a crazy number and we all thought it was crazy at the end of ’98. But now we’re looking at it like it’s not crazy. That’s just the way the game’s gone; there’s so much offense.”

Tony Gwynn, who never hit many home runs but who knew a little about getting base hits, made an interesting statement.

“I don’t know where it’s going to end.”

Barry told the media that the game had changed and “…whatever happens in the future, we should allow it to happen on its own and not question it.”

Sadly, some individuals have not heeded Barry’s advice,

Barry made 2001 a bad season for Babe Ruth. The Giants’ slugger broke the Babe’s single season record for walks (177 to 170), and broke Ruth’s single season slugging average (.863 to .847).

Baseball Digest selected Barry as its Player of the Year for 2001. The respected periodical noted that Barry’s accomplishments embellished the final seasons of future Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr.

“And five years after he leaves the game, so will Bonds (be elected to the Hall of Fame). That’s a given.”

Reference:

Kuenster, John. “Player of the Year Barry Bonds Had a Season For the Ages.” Baseball Digest . Jan. 2002.

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He said what?! You support steroids in baseball? Are you serious?

In a way, I do. I miss seeing mammoth home runs being shot to the upper deck on the simple flick of the wrist. The shouts of “Wow” that would emanate throughout the stadium from the fans. Plus, the naive state that many baseball fans stayed in (including many today) in believing their baseball heroes were clean and played pure baseball was hogwash then and now. 

Well, to those who are purists and want answers, all I can say is this: I do miss players staying with their original teams; I miss every team having a chance to win the World Series title and I miss the days when you didn’t have to throw away a full day’s itinerary around a Sox-Yanks game. If that’s your thing, fine. I on the other hand, am so numb to the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry that the desire to address this topic awoken in me.

Let me be the first to state that my favorite baseball player of All-Time is and will probably always be Ken Griffey Jr. I don’t believe he used, so whether or not you believe he used ‘roids, I am not a particular fan of players who use steroids, I am just a fan of the type of game that was being played during that time.

Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, and others as the list goes on are not going to be on my favorite players sheet. I have a feeling others feel the same way. Their cowardice from not speaking honestly about the steroids is my main issue, not the steroids themselves.

I really wish one of them would have just come out and said: “Yeah, I use steroids. I play better, get paid more and give my team a better chance at winning. That’s why I use them.” Nope. Not a single word of that dialogue was spoken by a single player at the time. Everything was hush hush around the league which made more of an annoyance looking at things now, but also made them more intriguing as time progressed.

I, for one, enjoyed the other side of baseball that was forgotten as all of these recording breaking Home Run numbers were being put up. That would be the pitching aspect of the game.

Watching Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Mike Mussina, John Smoltz and Pedro Martinez going at it in the Steroid era was great. Having these behemoths of meat staring you down at the plate and still being able to be effective at pitching is simply impressive.

It makes what Pedro Martinez did from 1997-2003 astounding and an almost resounding reason to put him into the Hall of Fame.

In 1997, back when he was with Montreal, he posted a 1.90 ERA with 13 Complete Games over 241 Innings Pitched. Already a fantastic season under his belt as the Steroids Era was under way, he would follow this with a trip down to Boston to continue his career.

Now Martinez would take on competition during the hey day of Steroids. How would he respond?

During 1999, Pedro only allowed 9 Home Runs over the season while pitching 213 innings. A ratio that works out to only one Home Run in every 23.6 at bats. That went with a 2.07 ERA that year. He would follow the next season with a “decent” 1.74 ERA. He would hold a 2.21 ERA over this seven-year period.

That is part of what was so great about the Home Run Era over the Dead Ball Era to me; it truly showcased the great pitchers of the time. I also believe with this blueprint put in place, it should resolve any questions about Mike Mussina legitimately making it into the hall.

Now to the opposing side of the field and focusing on Offense, who doesn’t like scoring? Americans are starting to come around on Hockey and Soccer/Football depending on how you want to address it, but scoring still reigns.

Did the West Coast Offense not make the 49ers and Professional Football all the more appetizing? I believe so. With that thought in mind, Americans love scoring whether it’s with each other or when its watching an event in front of them.

I was living in Seattle when Brett Boone was a Mariner, and I can say he was 100 times more fun to watch on ‘Roids. Not only was he belting Home Runs at a record pace for a second basemen, but he was making unbelievable defensive stops to save games.

I can just imagine if Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle or Babe Ruth would have been able to Juice. That would have been crazy. So crazy that no matter how much one might be against steroids, you know seeing a Mantle/Aaron/Mays fight for Home Run supremacy today/then would be great. A healthy Mickey Mantle against a young Aaron and a primed Mays would  be awesome, no other way to face it.

Everyone hates Barry Lamar Bonds, however no one argues that he wasn’t a fantastic player on steroids or that he wasn’t also fantastic at being an ass. People didn’t need reality T.V., they had the ups and downs of a Major League player on the juice to watch. He showed us the numerous strengths and faults we can find in humans displayed in so many ways in just one person. He was a truly polarizing figure.

I also miss the days of hating Bud Selig and the owners. I personally see them as the main contributors to this Era in baseball. Selig had a chance to nip this steroid problem in the bud; but following the strike of ’94, integrity was not going to go ahead of dollar signs and the long ball fun was going to continue. He was a fun villain to root against and today unfortunately, he is just that guy who allowed a tie in an All-Star Game.

My frustration now, is that so many players had to use just to compete with others who were using at the time. No one wanted to be taken down to the minors, so you did what you had to to survive. If your rival third basemen on the team is taking, are you going to stay clean and get demoted? That was an issue many faced and with Selig not cleaning things up, players had to say yay over nay way too many times.

With the past transactions however, have we become so sensitive to steroids that we have taken them out from everything in our society?

The new Predator movie called “Predators” is coming out and who does it star: Adrien Brody and Topher Grace! Now I love Adrien Brody, he deserved the Best Actor award for the Pianist in 2001, there is no question about that in my mind. Turning towards the movie Predators however, how can I take him and Topher Grace serious as the men who are going to stop a Predator.

I need the Steroid base men who fill their meat head roles. Brody and Grace are lovers, not fighters and I would like it if Hollywood realized that. Please leave my favorite Hollywood movies remade realistically. No one wants to see Schwarzenegger in a love story, same with Brody in an Action flick.

Steroids can have negative and positive effects, it is acknowledging their uses that is key. I don’t condone players to use them because they are messing with their health by overusing them and I am not a supporter of that function. There are people who have needed steroids to treat life threatening illnesses and I fully support their usage if they can help improve their quality of life.

In the end, it is a contradiction I live within when it comes to steroids. I long to see the game played the way it once was, but at the same time I do not condone unhealthy functions by the players.

Young men of high school age have followed their heroes in paths to sometimes tragic results and that is a shame.

Again, I’ll admit it I miss the Steroid Era of baseball. That being recognized, I also enjoy the growth that people can make with their minds instead of just their bodies. Here’s hope that the mindset of people can continue to grow over desires to modify only the body.

Home runs are nice, but knowing how to build a home is a little bit nicer.

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Barry Bonds could quite go down as the most dangerous hitter Major League Baseball has ever seen. Steroids or no steroids, Bonds eye at the plate was matched by a select few.

Bonds is a guy who was walked intentionally with the bases loaded just so he wouldn’t hit a homerun. So, the question is what 10 pitchers gave Bonds the most problems with the minimum being at least 25 at-bats for Bonds?

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By now, it is pretty much agreed upon that Randy Johnson is one of the top five pitchers in the last 20 years and one of the greatest lefties of all time. He is an individual that I loved watching take the mound and intimidate hitters like hardly any other pitcher during what has become known as the Steroid Era. 

It is also common knowledge that Barry Bonds, performance enhancers or not, was one of the best hitters of the last 20 years. Any argument against the fact can be pointed at almost any of his great years in the 90’s, which saw him plate three MVP awards. He also was notorious in bringing fear to opposing pitchers, often drawing the intentional pass, or pitched around to the same effect. 

Now, as you are reading these words, you are probably wondering why I would draw a comparison between a pitcher who has not been associated with steroid use and a hitter that is still going through the legal system in defense of alleged use of steroids (more commonly seen as abuse of steroids). I’m not disputing either fact in this article. 

Barry Bonds’ most famous nemesis, Bob Costas, to whom Barry referred to as “that little midget man”, and many others have stated repeatedly that the proof of Barry’s use of steroids, outside of his enlarged head, muscles, and stature, was in the fact that Barry was not only good from 2001-2004, but that he had gotten better. There is no arguing that those were Barry’s best years—from age 36 to age 39. 

During that time period, Mr. Bonds was one of the most escalated figures in the game. He, at a point, could have been seen as larger than the game itself. He broke Mark McGwire’s now admitted steroid abused 70 home run season with 73 of his own. During that incredible four year span, Barry won four MVP awards, hit .349, with a .559 OBP, earned a ridiculous 1.368 OPS,  and averaged 189 BB’s—71 of them intentionally. On top of that, he hit 209 home runs, averaging 52 per season.

Again, that is from age 36-39!  

Now, throughout my limited research, there is only one other person, who at a similar age, also got better at the later stages of his career and that would be Mr. Randy Johnson. Many people have not looked into this fact, or at least, I haven’t heard nor seen any reporting of this fact. If you know of a report, please do inform me.

Randy Johnson was also dominating in the early stage of his career with Seattle, leading the league in strikeouts four years straight from 1992-1995, with the highest total being 308 strikeouts in 255.1 innings in 1993. 

However, just like Barry Bonds, Randy Johnson showed the world that his best performances were held to later in his career when he put together four masterful seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

From 1999-2002, with four straight Cy Young Award seasons just like Barry’s four MVP’s, Randy Johnson led the league in strikeouts, averaging a whopping 354 per year (1,417 total) in an average of 254 innings (1030 total) over that stretch. He also led the league in ERA for three of those four years, posting three of his lowest ERA’s of his career, averaging 2.48.

During these four years, ages 35-38, Mr. Johnson also posted two of his three 20 win seasons, averaging as much over the four years and, as we know, adding a World Series title to his credit. 

When we do a wider comparison, Roger Clemens, over the same time period, ages 36-39, playing for the New York Yankees, averaged 189 strikeouts in 198 innings, with a 4.01 ERA. He had a Cy Young winning season in 2001 when he was 20-3 with a 3.51 ERA. An interesting note here would be that if we were to move the clock back a couple of years for Clemens, his two Cy Young Award winning seasons in Toronto would skew those numbers. 

Another contemporary, slightly younger still (33-36), was Greg Maddux, who, over the same time period, averaged a 3.07 ERA, 154 strikeouts, 225 innings pitched, and 18 wins. He didn’t win a CY Young Award (see Randy Johnson), was not once an all-star, but did win a gold glove each of those years. His numbers decreased even more in his late 30’s. 

There really is no comparison with Barry Bonds as far as age and career numbers in what has been labeled the Steroid Era. But, if you go back throughout history and look at some numbers, interested things are revealed.

Ted Williams from ages 36-39 had a batting average of .355 (hitting .388 at the age of 38) had a .490 OBP, a 1.144 OPS, all while averaging 29 home runs (the highest being 38, again, at the age of 38.)

Babe Ruth, from ages 36-39, averaged 36 home runs and batted .329, with a .470 OBP and 1.089 OPS. The interesting thing to note with the Sultan of Swing is that his numbers decreased with each passing year. 

Hank Aaron averaged 40 home runs during those ages, but the other numbers are much lower. Willie Mays doesn’t even compare.

In the end, Barry Bonds and Randy Johnson did the unthinkable. They actually got better with age. They are the only two players that I know of throughout the history of the game to do so. They both put up, in consecutive years, in their mid to late 30’s, numbers that do not compare to what they had done previously in their career, although they both had eye popping numbers in the 90’s.

It must be stated, I’m NOT making a case for Randy Johnson using steroids, nor am I trying to diminish what Barry did during the highlighted years. What they accomplished as individuals carry very striking similarities—similarities that cannot be matched by other individuals of the same age at any other point in the history of the game.

There are players that performed at a high level during those years…Warren Spahn, Cy Young, and Ty Cobb to name a few. But none of these players took their game to the next level later in their career.

It deserves recognition, and from my vantage point, praise. Whether or not they used performance enhancers matters little to me. I think it is truly remarkable and outstanding. 

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Home run records holder and alleged steroid user Barry Bonds, earned a major win Friday when a federal appeals court ruled prosecutors could not use drug tests and doping calendars in the former All-Star’s ongoing perjury case. 

Bonds’ case went to the ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a lower court ruled the government could not directly tie blood and urine samples to the retired slugger. 

In order to legitimize the drug tests from 2000 and 2001, the government has to get Greg Anderson, Bonds’ former trainer, to testify.  Anderson will likely keep quiet; he has already been to jail multiple times for steroid distribution.  

The court decision is frustrating for both the U.S. Government and baseball fans. 

Unlike Mark McGwire, whose admittance to using performance-enhancing drugs has allowed his fans to start a necessary healing process, Bonds is stuck in legal limbo, where his image as a potential Hall of Fame inductee has been severely diminished.

Although the court ruling greatly helps the Bonds case, it does little for Bonds’ future. 

Sports analysts, fans and the like have already begun adding asterisks to Bonds’ 73rd and 762nd home run records in conversation, and most San Francisco Giants enthusiasts have chosen to put Bonds behind them and cling to young (and skinny) pitcher Tim Lincecum.

So where will Bonds be in five years?  Will he be finishing a five-year prison sentence for having pleaded guilty to multiple counts of making false statements under oath?

No.

Bonds has the kind of legal backing that could disprove gravity if it was so inclined.  Plus, steroid litigation is a relatively new and delicate subject to the U.S. court system. 

Although he will probably not spend any time in prison, Bonds will spend many years on the Hall of Fame ballot. 

It’s no question Bonds was already a Hall of Fame caliber player before steroids, but the refusal to give Bonds baseball’s highest honor will not be a fallacy.

Bonds, like Pete Rose, may just have to spend the rest of his life on the chopping block, to serve America’s past time as an example of athletic wrongdoing, instead of athletic greatness.

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People like to take the high ground whenever it is convenient for them. If you’ve never been put into an opportunity that could cause you to make a questionable moral decision, than it’s easy to condemn it.

But let’s face it, when it comes down to it, if you say that to save your job, you wouldn’t have at the very least tried PHDs, then I’m calling you a liar.

I think it’s often lost on us who don’t play the sports we love for a living that it is, in fact, a job to these athletes. I don’t have to remind anybody how scary it is living in the real world without a way to make a living. Regardless of your previous income.

I hear a lot of folks say that Bonds stats need to be tossed out prior to 1999. I also hear a lot of these very same people talk about the “human factor” in the game and that Armando Galarragas game effort should not be overturned into a perfect game.

Is not craving to stay on top, and doing whatever possible to succeed a human response? I don’t think it can be argued that it isn’t.

The fact is, Barry Bonds is simply the greatest to ever pick up the lumber and swing it. Like him or not, for most the answer is not. However, his job was not to be liked. It was play ball. Nobody did it better.

The 500-500 club. He invented it. I don’t ever think we’ll see another member.

Not to mention the fact that people often overlook his defense, simply because his offense was so impressive. The man won eight Gold Gloves. No small number.

The bottom line is, who was ever a more complete package? You can argue Willie Mays, and a valid argument it would be. But he didn’t have the pure hitters ability that Barry had. The sweetest swing that ever grace a field belonged to Barry. Anybody who knows a thing about hitting won’t argue.

It’s unfortunate that Barry played in the steroid era, and took them, like so many others to keep his spot.

It’s easy to act high and mighty when not put into a spot where acting low is the most logical choice.

We don’t have to like it, but to ignore the last 8 years of his career is not the way to handle it.

Just like Galaragga’s gem, that was not to be, we must accept it for what it is.

Simply put, part of the game.

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The San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies face off this weekend in a match-up featuring a bewildering assortment of player related in some way to other players, including Will Venable, Tony Gwynn Jr., Jayson Werth, Scott and Jerry Hairston, and Padres coach Glenn Hoffman.

Nevertheless, with Ken Griffey Jr., announcing his retirement on Wednesday, the era of Major League sons truly comes to a close.

In the last 25 years we’ve enjoyed the careers of several sons of major leaguers, including some of the best players of the generation.

So where does Griffey rank on the list of the Top 20 Sons of Former Major Leaguers of All Time?

Let’s have a look.

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I think we all know that Babe Ruth was probably the greatest offensive player in the history of baseball. Ted Williams was probably second, and Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds, and Lou Gehrig round out my own personal top five. The numbers these guys put up during their careers were astounding, but are sometimes difficult to fully appreciate out of context.

What’s not difficult to appreciate is a truly great season. Last year, Albert Pujols led baseball with 47 homers. Joe Mauer led baseball with a .365 average, and Ryan Howard led baseball with 145 RBI. What if I told you a player had hit over .380, with 40 homers, and 170 RBI, and still missed this list? It happened. That was Chuck Klein in 1930. Of course, that was the year of the hitter. The league average BA was over .300, and he didn’t lead the league in any of the three categories. Someone else was better (and that someone made the list). But even so, Klein hit .386, with 40 and 170, and didn’t make this list. These seasons are really, really good.

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I just realized this fact after I saw Emmanuel Burriss get transferred to the 60-day Disabled List on May 22 to make room for Santiago Casilla:

The Giants haven’t had one African-American player take the field for them this year.

Burriss has been hurt and on the disabled list all season, and Fred Lewis, the only other African-American player on the 25-man active roster this Spring, was traded away to Toronto shortly after the season began.

In my mind, this is incredible, and may be the first year in a long time that the Giants have not had an African-American player take the field in a Giants uniform. I mean, this is a franchise that has housed great African-American players like Willie Mays, Monte Irvin, Hank Thompson, Willie McCovey, Bobby Bonds, Jeffrey Leonard, Kevin Mitchell, Ellis Burks, Reggie Sanders, Kenny Lofton (for a half-season anyways), Ray Durham, and of course, Barry Bonds.

Now, I don’t think you can blame this one on the Giants organization or use the racism card on Bill Neukom or Brian Sabean (though I wish we could because it would get Sabean fired). The lack of African-American ballplayers on the Giants roster is simply a reality of the game nowadays. It’s not just the Giants that lack African-American players, a lot of teams are. Last year, in a tweet, Bill Simmons joked that the Red Sox “had more Jewish guys on their team than African-Americans.” Hence, anybody claiming the Giants as a “racist” organization may have a hard argument to make.

That being said, the organization isn’t completely bare of talented African American players. Let’s take a look at the African-American players in the Giants organization and how soon (or if) they will see playing time in a San Francisco Giants uniform.

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It seems that nary a week goes by without another player being indicted on charges of using PEDs. While the juicers’, and their suppliers, house of cards fell in the MLB, PED investigations and suspensions have now proliferated to the NFL, professional cycling, and other sports.

One thing is clear. These substances, the people who use them, and the people who distribute them, are not going away.

Every conviction is only a drop in the vast ocean that the purists believe professional sports are sinking in.

There may be only one solution: Legalize performance enhancing drugs.

It may not be a perfect fix, but it would end the tiresome finger pointing, rumor generating, asterisk affixing, 1940’s style blacklisting that has been running rampant in professional sports today.

The argument for the legalization and regulation of these performance enhancing drugs is similar to the argument for the legalization of controlled substances such a marijuana.

There is no stopping it completely. Sure, the War On (Performance Enhancing) Drugs has garnered a few victories, but those are few and far between compared to the holes in the system that allow these PEDs to enter the bloodstreams of our prized athletes.

Athletes in general are adored by their fans, and are idolized by young children. The truth, however, is that just because they are rich and talented, does not mean that they are inherently “good” people. In fact, it is often because of their fame and fortunes that many athletes become drug and alcohol users, female and spousal abusers, adulterers, conceited, selfish, jaded, narcissistic, or all of the above. Take your pick.

Reading the newspapers or watching ESPN, it seems that there are very few athletes who can even qualify as decent, much less heroic, figures. Maybe the athletes are changing, or maybe, like how the brightest of lights brings out flaws in even the smoothest skin, the media evolution allows us just too close of a look for us to retain the puppy-saving ideal citizen image we have of our favorite sports figures.

Regulating performance enhancing drugs would even the playing field. Teams already have their own nutritionists, weight trainers, medical staff, and high tech facilities that allow their players to achieve physical results far beyond the normal Joe six-pack is capable of. Performance Enhancing Drugs merely widen the gap between the mortal and the superhuman.

In the MLB’s Mitchell Report, over 87 players were specifically named as relating to steroid and steroid based offenses. On this list were superstars like Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Rafael Palmeiro. Also on this list were no-names like Todd Pratt and Hal Morris. This is evidence that steroids alone cannot turn an average player into a star.

More recently, NFL players have been getting caught up in the PED storm.

Brian Cushing, the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2009, was recently suspended four games for his involvement with PEDs. However, upon a re-vote, Cushing was still awarded Rookie of the Year honors. This is a sign that not only are PEDs widespread in the NFL, but people know it and are even beginning to accept it.

In the opinion of one NFL player, PED use is as low as 15 percent amongst players. In another current players estimate, it is as high as 30 percent. If this is the case, and who would know better than guys who work out with, spend time in the locker room with, and more importantly, are, NFL players, then why have only a few players been charged?

Major league sports organizations know that they are selling a spectacle. They can’t make the players donate to charity, give autographs, or even acknowledge a fan’s presence. What they can do is provide an awe-inspiring show of athletic ability, strength, and power of the human form.

While it may be cynical and jaded outlook on sports, sooner or later this performance enhancing drug situation is going to have to be hit head-on. Were PEDs to be regulated, at the very least fans wouldn’t have to wonder if they’re favorite players were secretly juicing. They would know that they were, and they would know that they were only doing it so that they could compete in a league where everybody else is doing it.

Then, more focus could be spent on keeping PEDs out of player’s bodies at the collegiate and high school levels, where the love of the game and the purity of the sport outweighs the love of money and marvel.

It will also make the players who voluntarily refuse to take PEDs look like heroes, as opposed to singling out a few villains in a league where every player could be harboring the same dark secret.

Just my two cents, hate away. I know you want to.  

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