Barry Bonds of the Giants will play his last home game tonight (assuming he plays despite an injured toe) against the San Diego Padres. In a way, Bonds has done a great deal for the Giants--including helping to get them to the World Series in 2002, where they lost in seven games to the Anaheim Angels. Indeed since 1993, Bonds has been the major draw for the Giants. I don't know if they would have been able to move into their new downtown ball park without him. He will always be remembered as a major influence on Bay Area sports.
But having said all that, I think Bonds' 756the Home Run Ball deserves the asterisk that the fans who bothered to vote on-line gave to that piece of baseball history. The guy who bought the ball, fashion designer Mark Ecko, paid 700,000 bucks to put its fate on the block of public opinion and then annouced the results on today's "Today" morning show. Seems a steep price to me for some network face time, but I guess he had the cash to waste.
The sad thing is that Barry Bonds, despite being a complete Hall of Famer and a great "five tool" offensive and defensive force, leaves the Giants under a big cloud. The steroid allegations and potential perjury charges looming over him for years has made his tenure with the team problematical for too long.
Fans in other cities have considered Giants fans "enablers" for supporting the guy when he came to the plate. But the truth is a lot of us who cheered Bonds in the past are happy to see the back of old number 25. We cheered him because he was innocent under the law and MLB allowed him to continue to play. So why not cheer him; its better than if he played for another team.
So, good-bye Barry. You tarnished every record you set by very likely putting crap in or on your body. That is something you will have to carry forever. Hope the few extra home runs you hit because you healed faster from injuries and got more muscle mass was worth it to you. It wasn't to a lot of fans that I know personally, that's for sure!
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