In Defense of a Lefty
So what are your thoughts on this Lefty as he tries to break the record? Nym supports Bonds and his effort. Nym supports him so much that he went and bought a signed bat a year ago to show his support. Don't worry, Nym also owns a Hank Aaron just in case it does not happen.But seriously, how can you be against this guy? Sure he's an ass. So what? He's performed at a very high level for a long time and is one of the best players we have ever seen.
Steroids you say? Well, for one it was legal for most of his career. Two, MLB wants homeruns in the game and that is why they have been slow to stop the players in their usage. They got what they wanted. Lastly, why are we just going after Bonds? 40-50% of players (I'm not using Canseco numbers) use and we never hear about them.
Thoughts?
P.S. Go to ESPN and see their opinion polls broken down by race. Kinda interesting to see where the polls lie based on your color.
posted by Nym Pseudo @ 12:01 PM
11 Comments
11 Comments:
I'm not a fan of Barry Bonds. If I had a vote, I would not vote him in the HOF. Check out these HR numbers:
86 16
87 25
88 24
89 19
90 33
91 25
92 34
93 46
94 37
95 33
96 42
97 40
98 37
99 34
00 49
01 73
02 46
03 45
04 45
05 5
06 26
07 17
At 36 years old, Barry gets on a power groove like no one has ever seen. Hmmm?
Babe Ruth hit 60 when he was 32. He continued to hit for power for 6 more years, but he had SEVERAL years over 40 and 50 home runs during his ENTIRE career. He didn't just DISCOVER his power at the end.
Here are two more numbers for you:
7 1/8 to 7 3/4, and 10 1/2 to 13.
Those are the increases in Barry's hat size and shoe sizes respectively? (This is also in spite of the fact that he has less hair than he did at the start of his career). I don't know about you, but my shoe size has not grown for a long time.
I think Barry is a lousy cheat. Frankly, I think a lot of the guys that played during the 90's and early 00's did steroids. Hell, I think it's likely that Clemens did 'em too. You know what, I don't like him either. It doesn't matter to me that it was not illegal. It just means that Bud Selig was a wuss.
The bottom-line is that there is nothing I can do about it though. Barry's going to break the record, and a don't have a HOF vote. I'm pretty sure that Barry does not care that I don't like him either.
Hey...
Go check out Babe Ruth's HR he hit versus what the rest of the league was doing. There was a year or two in which he hit more homeruns than half the teams. Steroids?
I really don't see why you don't think he shouldn't be in the hall.
Should Gaylord Perry? He cheated multiple times.
Tris Speaker and Ty Cobb 'allegedly' fixed games multiple times. I think this is much more gregious than what Bonds 'allegedly' did.
You cannot keep out some and let in others based on how much of an ass they are which is what seems to be happening here.
Also,
Look at the trend for the ENTIRE major leagues for the same years. The correlation coeffiecint certainly isn't perfect but it seems the WHOLE league is on steroids. Why is he singled out?
3,813 1986
4,458 1987
3,180 1988
3,083 1989
3,317 1990
3,383 1991
3,038 1992
4,030 1993
3,306 1994
4,081 1995
4,962 1996
4,640 1997
5,064 1998
5,528 1999
5,693 2000
5,458 2001
5,059 2002
5,207 2003
5,451 2004
beyond the age of 25 there are only two causes for an increase in the size of the human head.....
1) taking HGH human growth hormone 2) a disease called acromegaly made famous by Andre the Giant....
So really right there is plenty of proof Bonds cheated - that said Bonds record is good for baseball! it increases the color and the fan debate - Ty Cobb once beat up a man with no arms....Babe Ruth held his manager out of a moving train by the throat - this is just another example of the colorful tradition of cheaters and bums that fans will love to hate.
BTW - check out Andre's website - would you select a picture of yourself peering out from between another man's legs? for the lead picture on your site?
http://www.andrethegiant.com/photo6.html
andre's dead....
I have no problem eliminating an entire group of statistical anomalies from the late 90's/early 00's from the HOF. These guys are bums. Mark McGuire did not get in. I also think that Sosa and Palmeiro should not get in.
I understand what you are saying, Ty, in regards to a lot of the guys in the HOF being questionable guys, but the things you are talking about did not affect their performance on the field. Personally, I think it's ridiculous that Pete Rose is not in the HOF.
Additionally, what is really irritating about Bond's situation is that he was a shoo-in for the HOF WITHOUT taking steroids. For that reason alone, many people will say he should be in.
In any event, like I said earlier, what I think really does not matter. Barry will definitely get in.
Hold on Spackler...
How about Gaylord Perry? He cheated all the time and he got in the hall of fame.
Whitey Ford? Same thing, known cheater!
Phil Neikro? Through spitballs his entire career.
You want to know the difference between these guys and Bonds? The pitches these guys threw were actually illegal and steroids were not!
Read this article on Perry...
http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/bp/1383204.html
He not only cheated, he admitted it, flaunted it, and wrote a book on it. And he got in the hall of fame....
It's a funny read but at the end of the day, he cheated. He's in the hall. Barry didn't break a rule because steroids were not against the rules and baseball knew it. They encouraged it.
LET BARRY IN!
(Let me know when you want to debate Pete Rose because I feel totally different about him!)
If someone admitted to cheating, in my opinion, they should be removed from the Hall of Fame. Otherwise, McGuire, Sosa, and Bonds all belong in the HOF.
Given that they will not remove Perry or Niekro, there is definitely a double-standard there. I'm not going to justify the double-standard, but I do there is a difference between throwing a spitter and shooting up with HGH. (And not just the difference that one was illegal and one was not.)
If that is really the position of the Barry lovers, why doesn't Barry come out and say, "Hey, I did steroids, but they weren't illegal then. What's the big deal?"
That is simple my friend
Spitballs are illegal in baseball but legal in real life.
Steroids were legal in baseball but not in th real world.
Nym, that is truly an elegant response. I agree.
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