The Buck Stops with Bud

Do you feel sorry for Barry Bonds?

PHILADELPHIA, May 5 -- When Barry Bonds jogged to left field in the first inning here, some fans unfurled a huge banner with a message that he could not miss. Simply and cleverly, it said, "Ruth did it on hot dogs & Beer."

Before Bonds could even get to his position for the San Francisco Giants, the typically unforgiving Philadelphia fans told him what they thought about his pursuit of Babe Ruth's hallowed 714 homers. There have been suspicions that Bonds used performance-enhancing substances to help him collect some of his 712 homers.

If Bonds somehow did not see the white banner with black letters that was almost as long as a row of seats, the fans also chanted, "Just retire."

Welcome to Philadelphia, Barry, the Phillies' fans said in their rude, remember-us way.

On a warm Friday night in what should be a historic chase, Bonds was blanketed with boos. The teams combined for seven homers, but Bonds hit none and went 0 for 3 as the Phillies rolled to an 8-3 victory at Citizens Bank Park.

It was a futile, frustrating night for Bonds. After he chopped into a double play because he did not hustle to first, he slammed his helmet to the ground. Bonds did not run when he hit a pop-up, even though it could have dropped in for a hit. In Bonds's last at-bat, he looked confused as Aaron Fultz struck him out.

...Eventually, Bonds will hit three homers to surpass Ruth and then go after Hank Aaron's record of 755. But, while recognizing the inevitability, the fans here also expressed their thoughts about it with "715*" signs.

When Bonds came in from the outfield to the dugout to prepare for batting practice, two fans with homemade T-shirts that said, "Giant Cheater," berated him.

Just two runs away from tying Babe Ruth's record, baseball fans are really turning up the heat on Bonds.

Jack Curry, the reporter who wrote this article, certainly seems to view the treatment that Bonds is getting from the fans as undeserved.

True, they are granting Bonds no mercy. Whose fault is that?

Had Bonds not hit at least a portion of his home runs while juiced, fans would be celebrating and eagerly awaiting him reaching Ruth's milestone.

Well, that might be a stretch. Bonds is not exactly a likable guy. Maybe fans wouldn't be happy about someone like Bonds passing Ruth's home run total, but they wouldn't be harassing him.

Bonds chose his asterisk and the fans' wrath. He's no national treasure.
Had Bonds made different choices, I have no doubt that this would be playing out differently. He determined his fate when he chose to cheat.

That said, I do have some sympathy for Bonds. Not much, just a little.

Bonds is not the only player to have cheated. In a way, Bonds is sort of a scapegoat for the fans' anger. Still, it was easier to dismiss the abuses of other cheaters because they weren't guaranteed to surpass Ruth's record and on course to take the all-time home run record away from Hank Aaron.

I have no respect for Bonds or any of the others. Their stats are tainted and they have brought shame to themselves. That's bad enough.
The real problem is that Major League Baseball ALLOWED them to bring shame to the game, to tarnish its records, and worst of all, to diminish the accomplishments of the real heroes of baseball.

Robin Yount joined the 3,000 hits club because he was a great player, not because he was cheater.

Hank Aaron hit 755 home runs in his career because of his talent and hard work and commitment, not because he relied on steroids.

There will always be cheaters, conscienceless people who don't care about playing by the rules.
More than those losers, like Bonds, I'm angry with Bud Selig and others in authority. It was their responsibility to make sure that the cheaters were tossed out.

Instead, they betrayed the greats of the game. They betrayed the fans. By failing to put a stop to the abuse, in effect, they condoned it.

When Commissioner Fay Vincent resigned on September 7, 1992, Bud Selig was named Chairman of the Major League Executive Council, placing him in the position of overseeing the game. On July 9, 1998, Selig officially became the Commissioner.

While I think it should be noted that Selig deserves credit for the positive changes he brought to baseball during his tenure, he will be remembered as being the one who let Bonds and those of his ilk trample on the achievements of MLB's heroes.

That is not a proud legacy.