Barry Bonds is a jerk

Column: Wild pitch

By: Ryan Bradley, Staff Writer

Posted: 2/24/05

I don't like Barry Bonds. And as I watched and listened to Bonds field questions from the media Tuesday at Spring Training, I became more and more angry with the homerun king.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't liked Bonds for a long time. I didn't like him when he was a skinny slugger for the Pirates. I didn't like him long before he bulked up and started shattering records. I've liked him less and less almost every time I've heard him open his mouth over the years.

Don't get me wrong. I don't deny for a second that Bonds is one of the greatest ballplayers of all-time, with or without the juice. He has the quickest hands baseball has ever seen. He was once a threat to steal every time he reached base and no one dared to run on his arm in the outfield. None of those God-given talents can be directly attributed to his alleged steroid use, in my opinion. But that doesn't mean I have to like or respect him.

Bonds is a jerk. He has obvious personality flaws and an awkward vendetta with the media. It was more obvious than ever Tuesday that Bonds is on a completely different wavelength than pretty much everyone else on the planet.

He balked at questions about steroids as if they were a non-issue. He stated once again his belief that steroids cannot make you a better baseball player. That statement alone is ridiculous enough, (there is a reason they are called "performance" enhancing drugs). But wait, it gets better. He later insinuated that reporters are foolish to re-hash the past, and baseball's problems with steroids, and we should instead move forward.

I don't even know where to begin with this one. Apparently Barry has never heard the age-old proverb about those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are destined to repeat them. In Barry's mind it is outrageous for us to want answers from our heroes on whether they are the real deal or in fact cheaters. Then again, Barry told the media Tuesday, he doesn't know what cheating is, (right before he called every reporter in the room a liar).

Obviously not. He doesn't believe steroids can help you, yet he allegedly admitted to a grand jury in the BALCO investigation that he unknowingly took them. Anyone who believes Bonds didn't know exactly what he was putting into his body must also believe in the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and that O.J. didn't do it.

Bonds claims he doesn't care about the records, yet he discounts the achievements of Jose Conseco by saying, "I don't see any of your records." He has said time and again that the only opinions that mattered to him were those of his father, Bobby Bonds and his Godfather, Willie Mays. Yet he bragged about the reception he has received from fans during the recent steroid scandal and admitted to thriving off the negative reaction he receives in opposing ballparks.

Barry believes he is disliked by the public because he has remained aloof throughout his career and has never shared his personal story with the world. What a load of crap! I understand Bonds desire for privacy. But he chose to be a professional athlete, and like it or not, he is also an entertainer, a public figure, and has an obligation to the public, who by the way, are most responsible for footing the bill for the millions of dollars he has accumulated over the years.

I could go on all day, but I won't. The bottom line is that by mid-May Bonds will probably have passed the Babe on the all-time homerun list. He'll pass Hank Aaron and become the all-time homerun record holder sometime next season.

It will not be a day of celebration for most baseball fans. We will never know the effect steroids might have had on his performance. But that's not the only sad thing about Bonds legacy. He will never be remembered as a hero. Not in the way we admire and idolize Mantle and Ruth, Robinson and Mays. Number one in the record books, but not in our hearts. Which one matters most?