Baseball: Bonds still slammin'. Prove anything?

[Brainiac4]

@me

IMO, he’s an amazing hitter who’s being persecuted because of his race.

@ElvisL1ves

That is gonna take some damn fine arguing on your part, including a hell of a lot more examples. Yes, racism exists still, but it is not automatically the primary explanation of anything.

Going to take some damn fine arguing to do what? Convince you? I don’t know that I want to. I agree that racism is too often invoked as a primary explanation. Note, however, my use of “IMO” to preface that line. It’s my opinion. It’s not a deeply held one, though, and I’m certainly willing to discuss it.

As I noted in my post, I’m having a hard time figuring out why Bonds gets so much bad press. He has a reputation for being difficult, moody and selfish – but how much of that is true and how much is a media construct? The interviews I’ve read quoting his teammates have been mixed. Some people like him, some don’t. That’s normal.

But he gets a lot of bad press. I’m trying to figure out why. It may be that he’s a dick, and that nobody likes him. Maybe it’s pheromones.

As I review this, I’m coming to the conclusion that I can’t come up with anything concrete to support a charge of racism against Bonds. As I pointed out, we have a number of counter-examples of black athletes who are highly regarded – Michael Jordan comes to mind – but baseball has a history with race, so it tends to be in the back of my mind when I think of baseball.

So I’ll call this one in your favor, ElvisL1ves. It’s not racism, just Bondsism.

@me

Despite the fact that Mark McGwire was admittedly using performance-enhancing drugs, nobody has suggested that his accomplishment bear an asterisk in the record books.

@ElvisL1ves

Nobody? Really? I’ve heard it quite a bit, and said it myself, too. If not an asterisk, then at least a correction factor when assessing his performances. Sosa’s too, to mention another guy who insists he doesn’t juice but refuses to be tested.

I should be more precise. I have not seen calls for reassessment of McGwire’s record in the newspaper I read (Mpls StarTribune) or the websites I frequent (baseballprospectus.com, espn). “Nobody” is hyperbole. I haven’t heard or seen calls for it in the mainstream press. And I apologize if you’re a member of said press and I’ve been ignoring you.

[Marley23]

But he gets a lot of bad press. I’m trying to figure out why. It may be that he’s a dick, and that nobody likes him.

There aren’t a whole lot of ways to get bad press in my opinion. There’s playing badly (non-issue), breaking the law (non-issue), being a dick to your teammates (this has happened to Bonds) or your manager (not that I know of) or someone else, being a dick to sportswriters (ahem), and generally having a bad attitude (something I think he can legitimately be accused of, at least at times).

I just can’t buy that Bonds is being persecuted for his race. Despite the corked bat incident, who ever says a bad word about Sammy Sosa - another guy who started off very slender and then bulked up and turned in crazy power numbers? I don’t think comments about baseball’s “history” with racism are relevant in this case. All sports have the same history, and we’re long past the point where black athletes are discriminated against in baseball. Athletes are generally popular or unpopular based on their personalities and skill, not their race. Michael Jordan is among the most popular athletes ever and he’s black; Charles Barkely was a popular black player but thought of as a dick because he is one.