THE ISSUE: Should San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds be allowed into the Hall of Fame
Muscle not a factor
Casey Wooten
I’m convinced that Barry was on the juice. Anybody who swells up so much so deep into his career is either on steroids, or ate the same "Three-Course-Meal Chewing Gum" Violet Beauregard did in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Bonds isn’t a giant purple sphere, so I’m sticking with steroids.
The problem, though, is that as we learn how prevalent juicing was during his time, it isn’t too far to imagine that many of the pitchers he faced off against were roidin’ as well.
What’s more, while more muscle will help you turn what would have been a fly-out into a home run, it won’t help you connect with the ball. There’s a reason they don’t test ping-pong players for steroids: They don’t do much for hand-eye coordination.
Let him into the Hall of Fame and let’s get on with more important things. A-Rod is going to break the record within a decade anyway.
Grade: A-
Fame only for ‘good guys’
Bill Conant
I agree that Bonds was juicing, and I’m also convinced that a good chunk of major leaguers are, as well. And yes, it only helps with strength (not contact). ‘Roids still kept the ball in the air longer, making what would be a wall-climber into a gopher ball. And all this jive about his manager/trainer/agent guy giving it to him without his knowledge is BS. Even if he was using them without knowing, he still admitted that he used them.
However, I also think that any cheating should disqualify a record attained while cheating. Floyd Landis had more testosterone in his system than the French liked and was DQ’d, so Bonds’ record should be void.
Furthermore, Pete Rose isn’t in the Hall of Fame; he bet against his own team while managing it! There’s no precedent for Bonds’ entry and it should stay that way. The Hall is for guys who are known for being good sports while amazing the nation. Fame is key. Infamy gets you nowhere.
Grade: B
Race card, anyone?
Deanna Mendoza
I think both you guys are just as bad as Rafer Alston’s parking attendant. Someone starts yelling and screaming and all of a sudden they must be intoxicated, right?
A slugger hits a few too many dingers and now he’s known as Barroid, a Rocket’s guard gets a little carried away when his car gets towed and spits in someone’s face and we start calling him Reefer.
My point is if you don’t think Barry Bonds should be allowed in the Hall, you’re like TNT: you love drama, and you also might be a racist. Does pulling the race card automatically make you the winner of fighting words? I don’t care how many steroids Barry took, he’s still black and you’re still a racist. Shame on you!
Grade: B-
Skills trump steroid use
Silent Assassin
Let’s see what we have here: steroids, home runs, the race card, and Willy Wonka. Yep, sounds like Barry Bonds territory to me.
Deanna, you had something good going there, but you forgot one small item: the answer to my question. You failed to address Barry Bonds’ legitimacy for the Hall, and because of this you can’t win. But thanks for trying.
Bill, you make a good point about cheaters not deserving recognition for their "achievements," but you never mentioned how that would affect the infamous Gaylord Perry. Perry, who admitted to doctoring baseballs during his 22-year career (1962-83), won 314 games and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.
Therefore, I’ll have to give this round to Casey. If you don’t have the natural skills needed to hit a baseball, no amount of steroid use will help you. And besides, if you refuse to let Bonds into the Hall, you’d have to kick guys like Perry out. It’s only fair.
FACETIME
Remember that time when Joe Neikro threw that sandpaper on the field when the umpires confronted him back in ’97? Why can’t steroids be that funny?
