Bonds: Has the tide turned on the media bullies?

Bonds' decision not to take part in the Home Run Derby strikes me as logical and right. We've seen what that competition does to a batting stroke, and how tiring it is. He's 43, never mind what he's currently pumping himself full of, and his legs are bad. No problem over here.

As for Bonds in general, pass the Hateraid and the mashed pot-hate-oes. To put it in cream-o'-jdv terms.

Nonetheless, he has always been a great player. Other jerks have held significant baseball records. It will be tough going for Bonds to out-jerk Cobb.

 

My opinion is, every era has its pros and cons. ALL numbers put up by ALL players should be taken in the context of the era that they played in.

Ruth didn't play against major league-caliber black players, but he also didn't get to face expansion pitching.
Bonds plays against everyone in the world, including Japan, but he didn't have to find a hotel that would serve blacks on road trips or ride the 20th Century Limited.
Aaron and Mays faced segregation, but they didn't have to face a specialized relief pitcher, with a fresh arm in the late innings, of every game.

You can argue the degree that all those factors affected their numbers, but the point is:

Everybody in Ruth's era played under the same conditions as Ruth did. Everybody in Aaron and Mays' era played under the same conditions as Aaron and Mays. Everybody in Bonds' era played under the same conditions as Bonds.

Yet those players all dominated their peers, and I find it hard to believe that a great player like Bonds wouldn't have been just as good under 1921 conditions -- if he had been allowed to play, of course -- as he is today. And vice versa for Ruth, and Aaron, and Mays, and every other great player in the game's history.

So, no, it doesn't give me second thoughts about Ruth. Or Bonds. Or anybody else.

 

When Babe Ruth broke the Home Run Record, in 1921, he hit 59 home runs to establish the new record at the end of the '21 season of 162 career homeruns. The previous career record was 138 by Roger Conner who held the record from 1895 to 1920. Ruth held the record from 1921 until 1973.

If Bonds were to do what Babe Ruth did, Bonds would have to hit over 3100 career homeruns.

Lets take a little look at the dimensions of Yankee stadium for most of Ruth's career, though the RF foul pole was only 295, straight away RF was 429, CF was 487. LF was 500 until '23 and 495 from '24.

 

He used an ungodly large bat as well, if Bonds were to swing it he would need some more steroids to hit home runs.

 

BTW Ruth won 20 games twice, won 94 games in his career and won an ERA title and at the age of 38 pitched a complete game for a win. 1 of 107 complete games.

He started 3 World Series games as a pitcher, 2-0. 0.87 ERA.

 

Thanks Buck(and everyone else).

I actually didn't know that the fences were that far back then. If anything, I would've thought that the fences would be pushed farther because of the increase of athletic ability in today's players.

 

In 1916 Ruth pitched a complete game in the World Series, giving up 1 run in 14 innings and had an RBI in a 2-1 win.

 

Not even close, Chuck.

Hell, Yankee Stadium was originally 490 feet to center and 395 to straightaway left ... of course, it was 350 to straightaway right and 295 down the right-field line. Wonder why. ;D

Polo Grounds was 483 to dead center. Briggs/Tiger Stadium was 440 to dead center. Griffith Stadium was 421 to center, and 388 -- compared to a normal 330 today -- down the left-field line.

 

Love the Ruth one liners.

He changed the game of baseball. The previous record for HR was like 8 or 9 in a season. He was hitting 30+ every year and out homered most teams. For Bonds do that he would need 300 HR in a season.

 

Barry Bonds may be an asshole but the guy hasn't been ducking and dodging. I don't know if he took roids. If he did, shame on him, but the media has been riding his back too long. The worst part is, many of those riding his back have never played baseball. Its sad to say but Bonds probably could do the job many of scribes who are downing him, as good as, or even better, than they could do his his job.

 

So you're telling me he had a very long penis?