The Bonds Indictment
November 16, 2007 by Ryan
There is a great deal of vindictiveness surrounding the Bonds indictment. Some feel that he deserves to be “thrown into the bay.” Some feel that he should be castigated for all time. I tend to agree with Curveball City, “This is not something to be happy about.”
I think I view the whole Steroids Era a little different than the general public (Here is a quote from my “Mark McGuire Deserves the Hall of Fame” post:
You say, “But the balls & the players were juiced.”
I say, “I don’t care!”
That’s what we wanted needed to see! Steroids got out of hand, I agree. When it gets into the high schools, that’s bad. But at the time there wasn’t that stigma. You can’t punish one without punishing all during that period and I don’t think we should. Ask yourself this, would you be a baseball fan if it weren’t for Mark McGwire?
Would baseball be around if it weren’t for the Steroids Era? And don’t try and separate the two, Bonds & the whole era. Bonds stands out for several reasons:
- He owns the Single-Season HR Record.
- He owns the Career HR Record.
- But I think mostly, he isn’t likable. He’s rude, arrogant, etc. He doesn’t fit the Baseball Hero Archetype.
Some of you might add that he may be guilty of perjury, lying about knowingly taking steroids, and obstructing justice. I agree and I don’t agree. I think I would draw the line at perjuring myself to a Federal Grand Jury. However, consider that you’re being confronted with your involvement in something that was widespread, ignored by some, encouraged by others and, at the time, not viewed with the same stigma as it is today. It would call into question everything you’ve ever done. Possibly discredit every achievement. Would you at least try and “walk the line” while being run through that inquisition?
I’ve heard some in sports say we just need to move on and I agree. Sure, we can muck back through everyone’s involvement and find that there are few who are completely uninvolved. Again, it was a different time. No testing. Borderline consent among peers. I remember a conversation I had years ago with a guy who was a bodybuilder and he talked about competing in competitions that we classed differently because it was just understood that if you tried to compete at the highest levels you had to use steroids. And it was more a choice of whether you wanted to go there or not.
Which brings me back to the Bonds indictment. I’m not trying to defend breaking the law. I just hope that the Feds have something big on him to convict him on if he does get convicted. I just think it’s all so gray. Look at the treatment of those who have come out: Palmero, McGuire, Giambi. When you see that castigation from the media and the strategic distancing on the part of the league, where do you put your trust when you know you are just one of many that were involved. Again I ask, would you try to walk the line?
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