See, here’s the thing, you guys:
I dislike Barry Bonds immensely, for reasons I’ll go into now.
I could also care less about his relationship with the media. That’s not what puts asses in seats at Candlestick*. His being one of the best players in the history of the game is what brings in the fans.
Barry says a lot of things that would be best served if he’d never opened his mouth at all. Things like blaming White America for his woes, blaming the media, blaming everybody but the big-headed gentleman he sees in the mirror when he shaves. My mother used to say, “If you have a lot of doomed relationships, and you go looking for a common factor in the patterns, it usually leads you back to your own doorstep.” Barry will never, however, admit – to others OR himself – that he is probably the one most responsible for all his problems.
But you really want to know why I dislike Barry so much? Why I show up in all the Pit threads and all the baseball conversations, just to tell everybody what a jerk he really is?
Because he’s arguably the best player in the game – and I have seen FIRST-HAND how he treats the fans. The people that indirectly allow him to make million-dollar paychecks.
And I’m here to tell you he treats them like all like staff. Low-level employees that he can hardly deign to look in the eye, much less speak to.
Now this is the ambassador of the sport. The go-to guy. The guy that inspires kids to want to take up baseball, to hit like Barry, to walk and talk and act like Barry.
And Barry won’t even look at most of his fans. I encourage you to ask Barry for an autograph sometime. Unless you’ve got $50 in your hand, and you’re waving it in front of his nose, he’ll refuse. He might even laugh, like I saw happen to a kid. A kid.
He’s obviously under the impression that all the hardships he’s endured make it okay to treat people like that. I’m not saying he should stand in one spot for two hours signing autographs after a game, but come on. He ignores the people that love him because they’re unsightly to him.
He’s a blight on the sport. In fact, I’ll go you one better – he’s the worst thing to happen to baseball. Talk all you want about steroids and juicing, but God DAMN, the American people will forgive you many things.
Many things, but not being an arrogant prick to the folks that support you.
Here’s hoping that Albert Pujols stays in the game long enough to shatter Barry’s record. Nobody with Barry’s attitude deserves the most prestigious record in the bigs. What Barry deserves is a long time to think about what he’s done and how he’s conducted himself on and off the field, following a sudden precipitous fall from grace.
Oh…you mean he’s doing that now?
Pity.
It’s always going to be Candlestick to me.