July 24, 1964, 60 years ago: Barry Lamar Bonds is born outside Los Angeles in Riverside, California. The son of baseball All-Star Bobby Bonds, he had all the tools to become the greatest player of his generation.
Through the 1998 season, the left fielder had been to 8 All-Star Games, and had won 8 Gold Gloves and 3 National League Most Valuable Player awards. Had nothing changed, he probably would have had over 3,000 career hits, maybe 600 of them home runs, and would now, following the death of his godfather, Willie Mays, be regarded as baseball’s greatest living player.
But he was jealous. He saw the love that fellow sluggers Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr. were getting. And he had heard the rumors that McGwire and Sosa had achieved their shockingly high home run totals through the use of steroids.
So after that "Long Gone Summer," he began using steroids. He bulked up -- even his head seemed to grow more than one size -- and went on to set new records: For home runs in a season, 73 in 2001; home runs in a career, 762; highest slugging percentage in a single season, .863, also in 2001; highest on-base percentage in a single season, .609, in 2004; largely because pitchers, angry at his cheating, intentionally walked him so much that he set records for walks in a season, 232 that year; and in a career, 2,558. Oddly, he fell short of 3,000 hits, ending with 2,935.
Because he used steroids, and got caught, he has not been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. If his steroid use doesn't bother you, remember this: You have the right to have your own opinion, but you do not have the right to have your opinion taken seriously. And if you believe Bonds should be in, but Alex Rodriguez (who never failed a test) and Roger Clemens (whom they've never even proven used) shouldn't be in, then your opinion simply cannot be taken seriously.
One more thing. In 1974, Hank Aaron set a new career home run record, with 715. I was 4 years old, it was 9:07 PM, and my mother wouldn’t let me stay up to watch. She didn’t have to: I didn't ask, because, at 4, I didn't know it was happening.
Through the 1998 season, the left fielder had been to 8 All-Star Games, and had won 8 Gold Gloves and 3 National League Most Valuable Player awards. Had nothing changed, he probably would have had over 3,000 career hits, maybe 600 of them home runs, and would now, following the death of his godfather, Willie Mays, be regarded as baseball’s greatest living player.
But he was jealous. He saw the love that fellow sluggers Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr. were getting. And he had heard the rumors that McGwire and Sosa had achieved their shockingly high home run totals through the use of steroids.
So after that "Long Gone Summer," he began using steroids. He bulked up -- even his head seemed to grow more than one size -- and went on to set new records: For home runs in a season, 73 in 2001; home runs in a career, 762; highest slugging percentage in a single season, .863, also in 2001; highest on-base percentage in a single season, .609, in 2004; largely because pitchers, angry at his cheating, intentionally walked him so much that he set records for walks in a season, 232 that year; and in a career, 2,558. Oddly, he fell short of 3,000 hits, ending with 2,935.
Because he used steroids, and got caught, he has not been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. If his steroid use doesn't bother you, remember this: You have the right to have your own opinion, but you do not have the right to have your opinion taken seriously. And if you believe Bonds should be in, but Alex Rodriguez (who never failed a test) and Roger Clemens (whom they've never even proven used) shouldn't be in, then your opinion simply cannot be taken seriously.
One more thing. In 1974, Hank Aaron set a new career home run record, with 715. I was 4 years old, it was 9:07 PM, and my mother wouldn’t let me stay up to watch. She didn’t have to: I didn't ask, because, at 4, I didn't know it was happening.
In 2007, Bonds set a new career home run record, with 756. I was 37 years old, it was 11:49 PM (Eastern Time), and I was asleep. This time, it was my own choice: I didn't want to see it.
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