In Defense of Barry Bonds

Search

Filed on July 4th, 2007 in Baseball, Best Of..., Steroids ⋅ ⋅

As Barry Bonds begins his reign as the new Major League Baseball “Home Run King“, the allegations and accusations are growing louder and louder. You can’t turn on a San Francisco Giants game on the road and not hear the “Steroids!..Steroids!…” chant and non-stop boos. Read anything written about Bonds in the last five years and it will mention the steroid allegations surrounding him. But you don’t often hear anyone supporting or defending Bonds. That’s what I intend to do.

The most prominent allegation is that Bonds took steroids, and that’s how he “cheated” his way to the home run record. First of all, by definition, to cheat you need to break a rule. Baseball had no steroid policy prior to 2002 and didn’t have a rule specifically against them until 2004. All of the accusations against Bonds revolve around him taking steroids beginning in 1999. His grand jury testimony in the Balco case was in 2003. Unless you believe that Bonds was taking steroids anywhere from 2004 to the present, you don’t believe he cheated. Cheating is breaking a rule to get an unfair advantage, or intentionally altering the outcome of the game. Cheaters include the 1919 White Sox, bat-corkers, spit-ballers, and ball-scuffers. How can you reasonably expect someone to abide by a future rule?

What if in five years Red Bull is illegal? Do you put asterisks by any player who played while drinking Red Bull? It is already illegal in Denmark, Norway, France, Uruguay and Iceland. It is conceiveable that it is considered performance enhancing in five years, and banned in the United States. But no one can make the false assumption that energy drinks make you hit home runs, like they assume steroids do, so no one will care who drank it.

I think the problem people have with Bonds and steroids is that apparently, you are only cheating if you can hit more home runs. What’s the criteria for accusing Bonds of using steroids? Resurgance in his mid-30’s, when everyone expected him to start slowing down. Increase in size? He seemed to reverse the aging process and get better as he got older? Why doesn’t anyone call out someone like Roger Clemens? His career was supposed to be over in 1997, when the Red Sox let him go. That same year he hired his new trainer and essentially started a new career. He’s been accused of using steroids in books, he revamped his career in his mid to late-30’s, and he is noticably bigger now than when he came into the league. These are all also cited as evidence against Bonds. But in the media, Bonds is the villian and Clemens is the all-american hero. I’m not saying Clemens is guilty or a cheater, only that Bonds is held to a different standard.

The other question I have is where is the proof that steroids make you a better baseball player? Of the steroid users in question, the rest of the Balco clan didn’t seem to have much of an improvement. Jason Giambi allegedly admitted to using steroids in the offseasons from 2001 through 2003. There is no reason in the world he’d say this much and be lying about the dates. So why was his best power year in 2000? He never matched the “clean” 43 HRs from that year, and the only noticable decline he’s had since once again “getting clean” was after being diagnosed with a benign tumor and being seriously ill in 2004. He’s now coming back from that, but his numbers pre and post steroids are not very different. Same thing with Gary Sheffield. Also linked to the Balco investigation, Sheffield is an admitted steroid user (the “cream” and the “clear”) who has been remarkably consistent through his career. Sheffield has had his four best seasons in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2003. His allegations are similar to Bonds and focus mostly on the 1999-2003 year range, yet there is no noticable statistical difference in those years.

Statistically, Bonds was a first ballot Hall of Famer going into 1999. He was a three time MVP, eight time all-star, and eight time Gold Glover. He had over 400 home runs through 1998. Since 1998, he has one season over 50 home runs. He just happened to have 73. He hits for average much better than he used to. The reason his average is so much higher is because he has cut out his strikeouts and increased his walks. If you are being more disciplined, and are as naturally gifted as Barry is, your average will go up.

What people don’t want to acknowledge is that steroids may not be so bad, even if there are players using them. If there is no major change in their stats, all it means is that players are able to stay healthier for longer in their careers. Why is that so bad? Couldn’t you say that milk is a performance enhancing drug. It is likely that if you drink milk, as opposed to beer or soda, you will be healthier. Therefore your performance would be better. That would make milk performance enhancing. But people only seem to care about what you do to hit more home runs. And steroids is the fashionable answer. It doesn’t matter if it’s the logical one.

There is also something that is true that no one wants to acknowledge. Steroids are not as evil as they are made out to be. There are many myths about steroids that no one wants to recognize. I’m not condoning their use, just saying that using steroids responsibly is not the same as abusing them. They are drugs, and like any drug, abuse will have adverse effects. There is a reason that they are so prominent in the medical industry. They work. There is no scientific data to support “roid rage” as a real side effect, steroids don’t cause premature death, they didn’t kill Lyle Alzado, and they don’t cause you to commit suicide.

Lumping all steroid users into the same category is irresponsible and wrong. Don’t confuse baseball and football players with pro wrestlers and bodybuilders. Using steroids in an informed, monitored manner is not the same as abusing steroids and seeing how much your body can handle. Steroids are not magic drugs that turn an average Joe into a Hall of Fame athlete, nor are they a deadly cocktail that will kill you upon contact.

How about Tommy John surgery? Is there anything more performance enhancing than elbow surgery that usually adds three to four miles per hour on your fastball? Why is it considered okay if surgery extends your career for three years, but a doctor approved steroid or growth hormone regimine is not? Any 40 year old can go to an anti-aging clinic and get HGH right now. They can get it because it is safe and effective. If it is safe and effective for me and you, why isn’t it for a 38 year-old athlete? I’m not calling for the legalization of steroids and HGH in sports, just a little bit of objectiveness when looking at the facts.

What people don’t want to admit is that there is a much simpler, but not as exciting answer to most of the home run questions. Baseball is a different sport. Stadiums are smaller, pitching is much worse, the balls have been juiced, pitchers no longer throw inside, and modern science has helped hitters more than pitchers(swing analysis, fitness). Baseball knew that home runs sold, and they did all they could to induce more of them. It worked perfectly until the steroid allegations shot to the forefront.

There is a bottom line to all of this. People don’t like Barry Bonds. They likely never will. That doesn’t justify the treatment he gets. Why doesn’t anyone take notice that all of the “baseball people” out there- players, coaches, scouts, GMs, most broadcasters, and the majority of journalists who cover the game (not columnists) all support Bonds? People who follow the game, and know the game see Barry for what he is: one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived, and easily the best of his generation.

The treatment Bonds gets from fans and pundits day-in and day-out is completely unfair. Instead of trying to blame him for things he is not responsible for, he should be admired and applauded for his ability to play the game he loves. I’ve met Barry Bonds, and talked to him at length. He is not the evil monster that he is portrayed as. This is one of the greatest athletes of all time, and he should be appreciated in his time. You’re going to tell your kids that you saw him play, you’re going to eventually come around to the fact that he was better than everyone else you ever saw, and you’ll probably forget about the steroid allegations someday too. When the next group comes through, people will hate them too for some different reason. You might as well enjoy Barry while you can. What he’s doing is really enjoyable if you’re not too busy hating him.

Share this story...