Where The Hell Is Barry Bonds?

So unlike Roger Clemens, for whom there is consideration and even a move to pardon him, Bonds seems to have been Blackballed. Pardon me, is it me, or does there seem to be a double standard going on?

[Sports Commentary]

 

Now this one is a hell of a question. And one baseball needs to answer.

You mean to tell me nobody can use Barry Bonds on their team? He is the one with 73 homeruns in one season. He is the one who has 102 intentional walks. He is the one with over 200 walks in one season. He is the oldest man to ever win a batting title.

And, he is the winner of seven MVP awards that could have been nine.  Seven MVP Awards, however doubles the amount of what used to be a record; three.

Where the hell is Barry Bonds? Bonds is the athlete who has over 500 homers, over 500 stolen bases and let me add, over 500 doubles. Did I mention the 77 career triples, and the .299 life time batting average? Bonds’ is the first National League player in baseball history to steal over 40 bases and hit over 40 homers in one season.

And he was going to duplicate that feat –or maybe surpass it with a 50-50 season; had there not been a 1994 baseball strike.

Bonds’ is the man with the most 30-30 seasons outside of his late father, the incomparable Bobby Bonds. The legendary Willie Mays, Bonds’ Godfather was the first African-American player to do 30-30 in a season.

Where the hell is Barry Bonds? Bond is the all time homerun king and has the most homers hit by a left-handed batter in baseball history? He is the Man of the Hour in the multi-gold glove seasons. Where the hell is Barry Bonds? 

A man so respected and so feared by opposing managers that he was twice, yes twice, walked with the bases loaded—the bases loaded, mind you!

Hall of Famer Eddie Murray, the greatest switch-hitter in the history of baseball and my all-time first basemen, was telling me over the phone the other day, Bonds is tailor-made for the ball park in Tampa Bay: “He could play there another three years,” stated the great Murray to me. 

So where the hell is Barry Bonds? Yes, where is Bonds, who is championed as one of the best ball players of his generation. Where the hell is Barry Bonds? Barry Bonds is the man who has brought sports to the forefront with the most walks and scored runs in baseball history.

Where the hell is Barry Lamar Bonds? He has never failed a drug test. He has always maintained his innocence concerning the usage of performance drugs. So unlike Roger Clemens, for whom there is consideration and even a move to pardon him, Bonds seems to have been Blackballed. Pardon me, is it me, or does there seem to be a double standard going on?

Bonds deletion from baseball continues the downward spiral of the continuing disappearance and attendance of African-Americans in baseball. There were more Black players in the game of baseball 20 and 30 years ago then there is now.

Bonds’ deletion from baseball is another continuing chapter of the on-going racist concepts, theories, and ways of baseball. Bonds told me when he was offered a contract by the Yankees years ago as a free agent the contract was constructed so he couldn’t take it. And remember before he re-signed with the Giants nobody else was looking to get him. How could that be? He had won the MVP and a batting title.

Barry Bonds is being Blacked out of the game of baseball. It is just that simple and just that American.

Diamond Dust: Bonds wore number 24 when he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in salute to his godfather, the incomparable, Willie Mays.

He wore number 25 as a San Francisco Giant in salute to his dad, the late great Bobby Bonds.  Barry Bonds is the oldest man to ever win a batting title, obtaining a distinction once held by Ted Williams. And, besides holding the single season and southpaw homerun records, Bonds is baseball’s all-time homerun king.

Also no player outside of his late father has had more 30-30 seasons than Bonds. He also holds the single season record for both walks and intentional walks. Bonds’ is also one of the few men in baseball history to hit over 50 homeruns and strike out less than 50 times in a season.
TRUST*IN*GOD*

To comment, to subscribe to or advertise in New York’s leading Pan African weekly investigative newspaper, please call (212) 481-7745 or send a note to [email protected]

 

Also visit out sister publications Harlem Business News www.harlembusinessnews.com publications and The Groove Music magazine www.thegroovemag.com

“Speaking Truth To Power.”


 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *