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What happened to the Bonds racial witch-hunt argument?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by The Big Ragu, Jan 9, 2007.

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  1. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I've gotten annoyed at times on here the past two years, when people made a horribly misguided argument turning the scrutiny of Barry Bonds into a racial issue. Some of you will remember the, "White people don't want to see him break Babe Ruth's record," argument that was argued vehemently on here--despite people pointing out that a black man, Henry Aaron has the record, not Babe Ruth, and to the typical baseball fan in 2007, Babe Ruth is nothing more than a black & white relic running pigeon-toed in grainy films.

    I thought it was time to remind people of those threads, now that Mark McGwire, based on his evasiveness before Congress, has faced the same scrutiny and paid a heavy price (heavier than Bonds has so far).

    This will inevitably turn into a "do steroids matter" thread, and that's fine, but it's not my intention. It just stuck in my mind all this time, because I think that wrongful cries of racism numb people to the real thing when it does occur (thankfully, at a much lesser frequency than it did 40 years ago).

    Whatever you feel about steroids, and whether they are a big deal or not, are people at least willing to admit that it's the steroids, not Bonds' skin color, that is driving the story? The scrutiny is probably worse because he has a surly and mean-spirited personality, but it should be obvious it's about the "cheating" first and foremost: McGwire was pretty well liked.
     
    The Big Ragu, Jan 9, 2007
    #1
  2. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    I will say this much -- the news today concerning McGwire does not bode well for Bonds when his time comes. And I know there's the argument that Bonds was a HOF player before he juiced up, which you cannot use for McGwire.

    But if you're supposed to elect someone to the HOF on what they did for their career -- their entire collection of work -- you can't ignore all the years that person was under suspicion. Because if McGwire or any athlete were to admit he used, that would be it so far as possible HOF entry would go.

    If McGwire got this treatment, I imagine Bonds will get much the same.
     
    Oz, Jan 9, 2007
    #2
  3. Johnny Dangerously

    Johnny Dangerously Well-Known Member

    Interesting thread, Ragu. I suspect this is a corner that will not get worked as exhaustively as others.
     
    Johnny Dangerously, Jan 9, 2007
    #3
  4. JayFarrar

    JayFarrar Well-Known Member

    I don't know. A friend, the baseball purist, didn't care about the steroids. He called McGwire the Dave Kingman of this generation. So his thinking was that McGwire didn't have the numbers anyway for the Hall, despite the late career homerun bulge.
    As for Bonds and the race argument. I think writers have traditionally been more tolerant and forgiving of a surly white man, than a surly black man. So I think race is one aspect, just not the only thing.
    And you could make the argument that for all Aaron accomplished, what he really did was hit homers and mind whitey during his playing days.
     
    JayFarrar, Jan 9, 2007
    #4
  5. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Excellent thread idea, Ragu. Not much else for me to say since I agree with you 100 percent.
     
    outofplace, Jan 9, 2007
    #5
  6. PhilaYank36

    PhilaYank36 Guest

    Ditto to what everyone has said before. My basic belief has always been that nobody likes an asshole and Barry Bonds is an asshole. With the material found in GoS, Jeff Pearlman's book and how Bonds used his son as a stage prop after one of his surgeries, his skin has no color in my eyes. The only thing I want him breaking is his leg bone, Joe Theisman-style.
     
    PhilaYank36, Jan 9, 2007
    #6
  7. Columbo

    Columbo Active Member

    He hit .263, not .236... and he was arguably the most intimidating right-handed hitter of his time.
     
    Columbo, Jan 9, 2007
    #7
  8. 2muchcoffeeman

    2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

    But would he have been so without a little help? That's the question that's always going to dog McGwire and it's the reason he'll never get into the Hall of Fame.
     
    2muchcoffeeman, Jan 9, 2007
    #8
  9. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    Roid rage will do that to a guy.
     
    Flying Headbutt, Jan 9, 2007
    #9
  10. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    Barry Bonds is the real american dream
     
    Boom_70, Jan 9, 2007
    #10
  11. 2muchcoffeeman

    2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

    Dusty Rhodes is going to sue for copyright infringement.
     
    2muchcoffeeman, Jan 9, 2007
    #11
  12. DyePack

    DyePack New Member

    Probably the same thing that happened with the story about Jason Grimsley naming steroid users.
     
    DyePack, Jan 10, 2007
    #12
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