Barry Bonds: "I Wiped out Babe Ruth. Don't Talk About Him No More"

ESPN.com ^

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Wednesday, July 16, 2003 Desired target in homer assault: Ruth

Associated Press

CHICAGO -- Barry Bonds keeps climbing the home run charts, edging closer to Willie Mays' mark and drawing more and more questions about whether he will break Hank Aaron's record.

Bonds, however, is also taking aim at The Babe.

“ In the baseball world, Babe Ruth's everything, right? ” — Barry Bonds

The San Francisco slugger leads the majors with 30 home runs at the All-Star break, putting him just 17 shy of matching his godfather -- Mays -- for third on the career list.

"Willie's number is always the one that I've strived for," Bonds said before Tuesday's All-Star Game.

"And if it does happen, the only number I care about is Babe Ruth's. Because as a left-handed hitter, I wiped him out. That's it. And in the baseball world, Babe Ruth's everything, right? I got his slugging percentage and I'll take his home runs and that's it. Don't talk about him no more."

Ruth hit 714 home runs, a mark that stood for many years until Aaron came along. Aaron finished with 755, but Bonds said "755 isn't the number that's always caught my eye."

At 38, Bonds' drive to reach Aaron has been slowed a bit by his high walk total. With each year, the daily grind of playing left field might take its toll, too. Bonds has said recently that he would welcome playing for an AL team -- he's specifically mentioned the Angels -- as a full-time DH once his contract with the Giants is up.

"The toughest thing about getting older is playing defense. That is where you get hurt. Guys can hit from a wheelchair," said Cubs manager Dusty Baker, Bonds' former manager. "I always thought someday Barry might be a first baseman or a DH."

The AL beat the NL 7-6 to gain home-field advantange for the World Series.

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[governsleastgovernsbest]

"I wiped out Babe Ruth. Don't talk about him no more."

Who said Barry Bonds isn't a class act?

[Puppage]

Wow, such a roll model.

[Puppage]

"I Wiped out Babe Ruth. Don't Talk About Him No More"

And an English major on top of it, too.

[HamiltonJay]

Bond's attitude and mouth is why he will never every replace Babe Ruth, even if he hits 2 times what Aaron did, he will never be in the same league.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Bonds will catch Ruth, but probably not Aaron. He doesn't get enough pitches to hit these days, and he's bound to slow down after he turns 40. Unless he wants to pull a Rickey Henderson and keep playing until he's 45 (and he says he won't do that) it will be hard for him to get to 755.

[dighton]

Who said Barry Bonds isn't a class act?

Who said Barry Bonds ain't no class act?

;-)

[CollegeRepublican]

And you wonder why attendance in the ballparks is down? He is such a happy person, a real team player:)

Statistics are nice, but different ballparks, different pitchers, different balls make Ruth's homerun mark different from Barry's. That is not to say that what Barry has accomplished is not very impressive, but they are hard to compare.

[BenLurkin]

Census taker: "What are your children's names?"

Woman: "Eeenie, Meenie, Mynie and Franklin."

Census taker: "Franklin? Why Franklin?

Woman: "Because I didn' want no Moe!"

[arly]

Hey Barry you aint no Babe Ruth!..

[Puppage]

.......NO MORE

[Yo-Yo]

"...I got his slugging percentage and I'll take his home runs and that's it. Don't talk about him no more."

Babe Ruth played how many games in a season? And how many games in a season for Bonds?

[mhking]

Arrogant pissant...

Black conservative ping

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[governsleastgovernsbest]

He is such a happy person

You've touched on something that has always intrigued me. Why is Bonds - someone with unimaginable fortune and fame - such an apparently miserable human being?

[Guillermo]

Babe never played DH...

Bonds is a sissy.

[Semper Paratus]

100 years from now Babe Ruth will be more well known than Barry Bonds.

[Puppage]

Statistics are nice, but different ballparks, different pitchers,

Not only that,but there were so few teams that you had to be an incredible player to make it in the majors. Now, there are SO MANY teams that guys hit'n .180 are playing.

Too many teams = not enough GOOD players.

[Reagan Disciple]

He fails to mention that if he does pass Ruth it will be by playing in more games while hitting below Ruth's carrer average and in hitter friendly parks with shorter right field walls.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Well, in fairness to Bonds, though he DHed in last night's All Star Game, he has played his entire career in the DH-less National League, first with Pittsburgh and now of course with the Giants.

So none of his home runs have come as a DH (with the possible caveat that he might have DHed and hit home runs in a few interleague games played in AL parks.)

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Gee, Barry, just imagine if, instead of large amounts of beer and hot dogs, Babe Ruth took steroids like you?

[CollegeRepublican]

I am not sure what his problem is, but I have a feeling that players with his attitude are the reason that baseball has been surpassed by football as America's game. The fact that they recieve so much guaranteed money and they don't seem to care about the well being of the sport and what will bring the fans into the ballpark. Baseball needs more players like good old Cal Ripken, not Barry Bonds.