"I do really care," Bonds said. "I may say I don't, but I do really care. I've been through a lot in my life so not too many things bother me. Making the Hall of Fame, would it be something that's gratifying because of what I've sacrificed? Sure. Baseball has been a big part of our lives. We've sacrificed our bodies. It's the way we made our living."
"I don't even know how to explain it. The world has become so negative," Bonds said. "One day, I'll be able to say things the right way. But it's tough when you have so many people out there who don't want to turn the page and want to be angry at you forever. I don't understand why it continues on. What am I doing wrong?
"I can sit here and say, 'You know what? Baseball is great. I love it.' I can sit here and say in a very kind way that I'm sorry about the way things ended. I can sit here and say that I respect the Hall of Fame, which I do. But I don't understand all the controversy we're having about it. For what reason? What's there to be gained by all of this? What's the point?" — Barry Bonds
There are no reasons. There is nothing to be gained and there is no point. Barry Bonds was arguably the greatest player who ever played this game and it's a damn shame he'll be left off enough ballots to keep him out of the Hall of Fame. He was a Hall of Famer before he took steroids, during it and after. If there's no place for the likes of Bonds and Rogers Clemens in a baseball shrine, there is little point to that place's existence. If it can't honor and recognize the very best players, it's not doing its job. It has failed.
Baseball has a dark past. There's no reason to hide it. Barry Bonds most certainly took steroids. Cap Anson was largely responsible for MLB's color barrier that lasted until 1947. Cap Anson is in the Hall of Fame because he hit .334/.394/.447 and had a carrer 91.1 rWAR. He should be in the Hall of Fame. He was a great player and a shitty fucking human being. He was at least in part responsible for diluting the talent in baseball for over half a century. He helped make baseball less talented and yet he still belongs in the Hall of Fame.
If there's room for a racist motherfucker like Anson in Cooperstown, there is room for the people who took performance enhancing drugs to provide the game with more talent. These guys did the opposite of what Anson did. He sought to minimize the talent in baseball. The PED era sought to maximize it.
Topical: Marvin Miller interview in 2002 regarding drug testing.
http://www.salon.com/2002/06/20/miller_18/
Agreed. I’ll never understand why people care enough to keep these players out. How does Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, etc. taking PEDs affect their lives? It’s lunacy.
@ Mucker:
Because ruining the integrity of the game angers God to the point where he starts killing kittens. Is that what you want?
/non sequitur
@ GBTS:
Smart dude.
@ Mucker:
It matters because it makes Mickey Mantle look less impressive, and if Mickey Mantle isn’t impressive, what the hell have I been masturbating to for 56 years?
@ Mucker:
and how much enjoyment did those people all get from bonds/sosa/etc. when they played? if they gave even the tiniest shit about baseball then i’m sure it was a lot.
@ GBTS:
Besides the picture of yourself you mean?
@ GBTS:
Well since you put it that way………..fuck those cheaters.
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Real fans much prefer watching players move runners over and execute safety squeezes. That’s what got guys like Mantle and Ruth into the HOF.
Biggio is probably the only one elected this year, and it’s a not unworthy choice.
I think the BBRAA types freeze out Bonds and Clemens for a few years, but I think they’ll get in eventually.
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Those were 700-foot homers I recently enjoyed.
Well, not so recently anymore
Rice Cube wrote:
The integrity of the game argument makes me laugh. How does keeping black outs for more than half a century maintain the integrity of the game? It’s absurd.
Berselius wrote:
“R” = ?
if bonds even gets a third of the votes, it would honestly restore a lot of my faith in humanity. that’s probably a dumb sentiment but it’s true. even with the PED bullshit, bonds is the most obvious first-balloter ever.
on a side note, i’d add that i really like bonds’s attutide to this garbage. the aggregate sentiment from the interviews i’ve read is basically “i know i deserve to be in there but fuck you if you’re not gonna elect me. sure it sucks but you’re a bunch of idiots so i’m not gonna lose too much sleep.”
Berselius wrote:
Speaking of moving runners over, I was thinking the Cubs should have a pinch runner contest in spring training instead of a bunt contest. That would be exciting. (dying laughing)
Is it possible to get demoted in VWL?!
http://muskat.mlblogs.com/2012/11/29/1129-josh-vitters-update/
Because I think Vitters just got demoted.
EnricoPallazzo wrote:
I know I got a lot of enjoyment out of those guys. I miss performance enhancing drugs. (dying laughing)
Let’s face it, the only people who truly deserve to be in the baseball hall of fame are the tireless sports writers.
@ mb21:
Oooh, they could have a “Best Matt Holliday Impression” category for Cubs Idol too.
@ Rice Cube:
He left to get more playing time, but now he’s home not getting any playing time. Gotta love that one.
@ mb21:
The macro broke the link
Muskat’s blurb says he’s playing for a Caracas affiliate now.
@ mb21:
They should have a switch hitting contest. Then the Cubs will have the advantage at the plate in each at bat because everyone switch hits. It’s fool proof.
JonKneeV wrote:
@ GBTS:
Pizza Hut Milf Alien Big Boobs Anal Porn?
The way I see it, if it was one person “cheating” then that individual shouldn’t be allowed in. But we have a whole generation of players who may or may not have “cheated”. So if Bonds is the best “cheater”, then he should be in the HOF for that.
@ WaLi:
I’d even go as far as to say that if the game of baseball had never had any cheating then someone who cheats should not be allowed in. Otherwise, they should be allowed in based on their performance and nothing else.
I find it interesting how most of these writers benefited greatly from the Steroid era, due to increased media coverage of record chases and superstars. Apparently they care about the integrity of baseball, unless that integrity gets in the way of selling papers.
@ mb21:
That’s true. I guess it isn’t just this generation of cheaters.
@ Edwin:
yeah that’s a really good point, and it’s even more annoying to think that they are still gaining attention by continuing to care about this. i wonder how much of certain sportswriters careers have centered directly around coverage of awesome steroid-era baseball followed directly by indignation over steroids. probably a lot.
I could also understand if cheating was isolated to just baseball. But cheating happens everywhere……..how many of these people cheated at work and took more time on lunch or fudged their reports or numbers? How many cheat on their taxes and hide money or don’t include some numbers? How many go to a store and put a non-sale item on the rack and say it’s on sale? It’s in our nature to have an edge. Hell, I cheat on Words with Friends. And why? I don’t get anything for winning…….I just want to win.
Bonds said it best when he called out all those reporters and told them they all had skeletons in their closet and to clean their own before they go and clean his. The audacity of people to expect an apology from a man because he used steroids to get stronger and prolong his career is mindnumbingly insane.
Mucker wrote:
i didn’t see that one but i love it. also…umm…how does putting something on a sale rack and then saying it’s on sale actually get you a lower price? wouldn’t the clerk just scan the upc code and charge you whatever price shows up on the computer? is this some universal scam that i have been missing out on?
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Yes, it happens all the time……..at least it used to. I used to work retail and since most companies have the motto “customers are always right”, they give them the sale price if the customer bitches about it.
@ EnricoPallazzo:
Most associates will change the price a lot if you play dumb enough if it seems plausible. It helps if you act like you can’t speak English (dying laughing)
@ Mucker:
I hope you get denied admittance into the Words with Friends HOF.
@ Mucker:
I agree
The older I get, the more irritated I am with sanctimonious sports writers.
I don’t know if any of you jabronis listen to Howard Stern, but a few years ago he was bitching about how the Radio Hall of Fame was a sham institution because they didn’t elect him into it. A listener named Craig from Brooklyn made a statue and mailed it to Howard to say that Howard was the inaugural member of the Craig’s Radio Hall of Fame. I think OV should make a few statues and mail them out to Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, etc. electing them into the OV Hall of Fame. We just need a statue design that accurately encompasses the integrity and class that OV represents
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
Don’t you get a plaque for getting into the HOF?
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
These were funny when I used to have time to watch Conan.
Mucker wrote:
I knew something was up when you played “QUARTZY” across a triple letter score and a triple word score.
@ WaLi:
Plaque for Cheaters – From OV:
I’m a dork.
A plaque is good. Or a bust like RC suggests. But those would cost a lot. I’m not sure what the OV budget is for novelty awards
We could send them Cookies.
@ WenningtonsGorillaCock:
Just do papier mache. All that costs is time.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/11/athletics-sign-scott-moore.html
Damn! One less Scott for the Cubs.
Hey mb, I was going through the archives of ACB and found some useful stuff. Thanks! If you had any specific articles about the Chicago media’s racial biases. If you had any specific articles there that you remember and wanted me to see, I’d appreciate it, but don’t go out of your way to find stuff. Thanks again!
Seriously: http://www.ismycomputeron.com
(dying laughing)
@ rattier:
Found using this gem of a website:
http://www.theuselessweb.com
I feel very bad about cheating on Words. But I’m not here to talk about the past.
@ Mucker:
It would be interesting to see what would happen between two players who have access to the Scrabble online dictionary, as an exercise in who is better at cheating with the tiles given to them.
http://www.drunkronswanson.com/
@ Rice Cube:
Let’s do it….what’s your Words screenname?
@ Rice Cube:
Another Young Player the Cubs let slip away
@ Mucker:
(dying laughing)
I just play on Facebook as “Rice Cube”.
@ Berselius:
They decided to go with the young exec instead.
@ TC:
I think the search function is wonky over there now, but any of MO’s “Strange Fruit” articles, or any “Paul Sullivan has a problem” ones would be a good thing to search
I can’t remember if it was about racism but I had an OV post about Steve Rosenbloom blasting Zambrano for adopting children. Could find it if that fits (I must have missed the post about what TC is doing)
In a few hours I’ll put together a page with as many links from ACB as I can find that deal with racism. It’s been brought up here before so I’m going to put them all on one page and highlight the link here someplace.
@ Mish:
Please do.
Not sure if it qualifies since I don’t see any overt racism though you could argue that if his name was Karl Zamboni, the treatment might have been different. (dying laughing)
http://www.obstructedview.net/unobstructed-views/can-rosenbloom-outstupid-rosenbloom.html
Calvin & Hobbes search engine:
http://michaelyingling.com/random/calvin_and_hobbes/
All of the Paul Sullivan Has A Problem articles on ACB pre-Bloguin: http://www.dmick89.com/cubs/?cat=8
Mercurial Outfielder’s Strange Fruit Series (outstanding): http://dmick89.com/cubs/joomla/index.php/component/content/article/13-classics/acb/264-strange-fruit
Paul Sullivan Has A Problem on Bloguin ACB: http://dmick89.com/cubs/joomla/index.php/component/content/category/32-paul-sullivan-has-a-problem
I started a very important thread in the forum: http://www.obstructedview.net/community/topic/so-forrest-gump-has-aids-right
@ GBTS:
Was this necessary?
No, I don’t think so.
@ Mish:
False.
new shit: http://www.obstructedview.net/major-league-baseball/obstructed-view-hall-of-fame-survey.html