Wednesday, December 12, 2012

2013 BBWAA Ballot, Part 2: Bonds

This won't be the only time I mention Bonds.

So, it's time for all of us to get back at him! For all the years he lied to us, was rude to us, and showed us Barry's three favourite people in the world: Me, Myself and I! (Bonds would want me to capitalize all three, so there!)

And guess what, he took steroids.

So, now, let's keep him out of the Hall Of Fame.

And keep Gaylord Perry, Ty Cobb and others in, never to be questioned.

Or have their character questioned.

But with Bonds their is always controversy. And whether he makes it in or not, there will still be controversy.

Before we go into anything, let's also remember: the voters have to vote for someone. Anyone, maybe even someone who isn't qualified numbers-wise. See where I'm going?

It is ironic that Bonds first year on the ballot will also be Dale Murphy's last. The difference between the two could be like night and day.

It's kinda of sad that a guy so colourful, sometimes grand, and spectacular will probably not make it. I guess that it what happens when you don't cheat. You lose.

Then you cheat and lose.

Your stats can take a nosedive if you don't cheat (as Murphy's did after 1987), when he had 310 homeruns and a .279 batting average. If he had started cheating in 1988 like Jose Canseco (who was in his 3rd year of juicing and about to go 40-40), you can bet he would have finished with more than 398 homeruns and a .265 batting average.

The thing is, you can condemn Barry Bonds all you want! But by the end of the 1998 season, he had become the first player to hit 400 homeruns and steal 400 bases. That is Hall Of Fame material.

So too, was Barry's then .411 OBP, more than 400 doubles, 3 MVPs (plus many say he should have won it in 1991. This was one of the ways the writers punished him), EIGHT gold gloves...

That's all Hall Of Fame calibre.

And by the way, he was in the top 10 in stolen bases 9 times, including his rookie year, where he appeared in only 113 games and stole 36 bases.

And now for something interesting: Barry Bonds didn't start juicing until 1999!

See, the point I am trying to make, he is a Hall Of Famer. Yes, before Barry started to cheat. Even Clemens, I'll don't think, quite had his foot in the Cooperstown door before he started juicing.

And you know what? Bonds was, and probably still is, a jerk. A self-absorbed , and has no time for you, me or anyone else. Happy I said that. That's what you wanted to hear. Guess I should have put that in the first paragraph. It was that obvious.

But Barry Bonds is still a Hall Of Famer. And I don't think the same thing of McGwire, Sosa and Canseco. Clemens, I'll leave that up to you. And get, this, I think's he's better than Aaron!

And Barry did lead the league in home runs, in 1993, when he was still clean. And, of course, no one else he was competing against was cheating, right? So what does that say? He beat the guys whose low he would stoop to 6 years later!


References


Canseco, Jose. Juiced (Jose Canseco). Regan Books., 2005.

Kalb, Elliott. Who's Better, Who's Best in Baseball: Mr. Stats Sets the Record Straight on the Top 75 Players of All Time. McGraw-Hill, 2005. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.

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