Monday, May 28, 2007

Barry Opts Not To Share, Instead Takes Bats and Goes Home

Barry Bonds has announced that all the mementos from his home run chase will be stockpiled with him, and potentially not offered to Cooperstown's Baseball Hall of Fame. Said Barry, "I'm not worried about the Hall. I take care of me."

NEW YORK -- As Barry Bonds nears his record 756th home run, he's stockpiling quite a collection of souvenirs -- bats, balls, helmets and spikes, pieces of baseball history perfectly suited for the Hall of Fame. Whether he'll donate any of them to Cooperstown, however, is in doubt.

"I'm not worried about the Hall," the San Francisco slugger said during a recent homer drought. "I take care of me."

No wonder those at the museum are getting concerned, especially with Bonds only 10 homers shy of breaking Hank Aaron's career mark.

"There's uncertainty," Hall vice president Jeff Idelson acknowledged.

Around 35,000 artifacts are shown and stored at the shrine, and about a dozen pertain to Bonds.

There is a bat from his rookie year and cleats from him becoming the first player in the 400-homer/400-steal club. Unsolicited, he sent the bat and ball from his 2,000th hit. A batting practice bat from the 2002 World Series was the last thing Bonds provided.

"Doesn't everybody have the right to decide to do it or not do it?" he said last week.

The most prized items, the ones that fans would really want to see, are missing.

Two comments. First, it's not like he is hoarding them for a Barry Bonds Museum, since no one would attend. So it's clear that he's only doing this to sell the items down the line. His avarice knows no bounds.

Second, its is hilariously ironic that Bonds adds fuel to the movement to keep Bonds out of the Hall of Fame. Irrespective of his achievements on the field, if he doesn't want any of his stuff commemorated in the Hall, why should he be admitted to the Hall in the first place?

11 comments:

dab said...

barry bonds...is very egotistical...I thought pete rose was bad, but bonds makes rose look like a pussy cat in that category. rose was a dedicated hard working, hard playing, and ALWAYS played fair and legal...gambling had nothing to do with his playing...now bonds on the other hand, played hard, but legal???? I say nay nay with his allegations of steroids...think about it, he hit almost 200 homers in a 3 yr stretch at the ages of 38-40... THATS NOT possible without extra help!!!! steroids??? care to honestly answer that barry??? I didnt think so...bonds the greatest player of all time??? again I say nay nay...lets see, has not hit for average, not known as a base hit man, has not played multiple positions, has had no consistency...aaron on the other hand hit for average, over .300 lifetime, hit for average, was consistant throughout his career, averaged 40 to 46 homers per year EVERY year he played except his final year in milwaukee, played multiple positions...that makes a great all around player as well as greatest of all time...AND aaron was a very class act as I had the opportunity to find out and meet in '72...he provided many (40) artifacts to cooperstown for display, and bonds?? only a measely 10 items...I think he will have his own private museum and love me room where he can go look back at those items and remember what he thought was a great career, but in fact was a suck ass performance full of self centered egotistical controversial experiences...and finally, remember the beginning of the 06 season when he said, this (06) will be my last season, the game just isnt fun anymore...what happened??? he didnt pass aaron so he thought he could try it again in 07...I just wish ALL pitchers the rest of the season would pitch him nothin he can hit, or just walk him altogether...he should NOT EVER be considered the all time home run king because he is not worthy of the title.

Steve Sax said...

Thanks for the comment. Just wondering, are you really saying "nay nay", or just writing that? It kinda sounds like you may be a talking horse.

Other than that, thanks for the comment!

Anonymous said...

With the way the media and so called fans have treated Barry Bonds, I wouldn't leave anything to anyone, either.

addlibb said...

You can't have it both ways, baseball. All of the threats and allegations about steroid abuse and not being admitted to the hall; In this case why not look out for himself? He was not proven guilty of taking steroids, only accused. I could accuse most of you bloggers/sports writers of being a jackass but if I can't prove it then you are who you are. Baseball turned a blined eye to the steroid generation and now they are paying for it. And, we,us the fans are being led around by the nose because of a few "sports writers" who just happened to get their feelings hurt because Bonds was not nice to them. Maybe he is a jerk, I don't doubt that. But most of his teammates and his opponents do like and respect him. Does every one that you come in contact with like and respect you?

Steve Sax said...

addlibb, I don't think the Hall of Fame is accusing Bonds of anything. Meanwhile, Bonds has chosen greed over being magnanimous.

On the "sports writers" front (and I'm not sure why you use quotes, unless you think the Game of Shadows authors' credentials from the SF Comical are a joke), they have faihfully covered Bonds, and his impressive feats, for years despite the fact that he is a jerk. If they are only supposed to write positive things about him, they wouldn't have anything to write at all.

Eric Karros said...

My Dodger loyalty notwithstanding, I don't necessarily disagree with anonymous' and addlibb's posts.

I don't like Barry. He sure seems like a jerk, I'm pretty sure he took 'roids, and to top it off he's about to break the record of a totally stand-up guy. But if you put Barry's "crimes" in perspective with what other athletes have done (both regarding taking steroids and other, real crimes), I agree negative media treatment of him can get out of control. He totally deserves bad press for his roid-poppin' and attitude, but as addlibb alludes to, some media pieces seem so vindictive that I have to wonder what the author's true agenda is. If Barry doesn't share with the Hall, he solidifies his jerk status for sure, but part of me doesn't blame him. Just like all players did during the '94 strike, and just like fans who make demands before returning a historic home run ball to the player, and just like players in any sport who hold out during contract negotiations, in the end Barry has a right to put himself before fans, teammates, and certainly the media. And yes, we have a right to criticize him for it.

Anyhow, don't expect another Barry-sympathetic piece from me for awhile, as I don't like the guy. Plus, it's far easier (and more fun) to tear him apart...but most of us already know that.

Orel said...

Fans "who make demands before returning a historic home run ball to the player"? Do you mean exorbitant demands like season tickets for life? Because a few demands seems reasonable.

Steve Sax said...

Orel: Agreed. But I do think it's wrong that Mark McGwire still have to babysit every week for the family that caught the 70 ball.

Steve Sax said...

(Those kids are brats, by the way.)

Eric Karros said...

Orel - I guess I was speaking generally without a particular example in mind. But yes, some requests/demands are more reasonable than others. Maybe a better example are fans who don't return a ball and isntead sell it on eBay.

chandlmj said...

Bonds can quit the game today for all I care. He hit 80% of those homers on the juice. He is an egotistical ass to say the least