Posted on 10/30/2004 8:44:58 PM PDT by Cableguy
Willie got himself into trouble for getting a job in Atlantic City when the casinos opened there. He was a good will ambassador or something like that. Basically he met people at the front door to greet them. Rose as we know got busted for gambling. My point is that both these guys had their records in "limbo" for a while (Rose will eventually enter the hall of fame). But to me neither one of these guys ever did anything as bad as what Bonds has done. They were both great athletes.
Never gonna happen. Pitchers Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton -- each of whom had a reputation for throwing illegal pitches and have been ejected from ball games for using foreign substances on a baseball -- are in the Hall of Fame, and no one questions their credentials or records.
(In fact, a few years back, a sportswriter discovered that the majority of the pitchers ejected for doctoring the ball in the previous decade had something in common -- they were each teammates of Sutton at one time in their careers.)
Until a drug test or a signed document proves that Bonds was illegally using performance enhancing drugs, his reputation among players will remain intact regardless of what pundits, writers, and fans think.
How can I say such a thing? Because Major League Baseball players voted Bonds the Player of the Year for this past season, in which he won his second consecutive batting title and set a record for bases on balls.
One of the reasons I have absolutely no respect for MLB.
Watching a kid's little league game is much more entertaining.
IMHO Rose should remain on the banned list. Bonds should be dealt with by MLB like any other substance abuser. Mays is okay in my book (and I'm a Dodger fan!).
What the he!! are you babbling about?
Bonds is an 'anti-hero', not because he's blaaaaaaaack, but because he's juicin' jack@$$.
Hank Aaron holds the all-time home run record, not the Babe. And if anything is going to "bring Barry down" it's going to be his conspicuous steroid consumption, not the racist boogeyman.
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