Everybody's favorite surly, chemicially-enhanced fat-head is back in the news. Apparently, US prosectors are a little ticked off that Barry "One Cheek or Two" Bonds lied to them about his steroids use--the excuse that he'd been hit with a gamma bomb was beginning to wear a bit thin, not to mention the accumulated layer of subcutaenous fat around his cranium that has made him impervious to Arctic waters. Amongst the evidence due to be presented in the case (which itself is based on perjury) are positive tests that prove Barroids used anabolic steroids. Well geez, you mean Bonds' 73 homeruns was artifically powered?! And in other related news, the sky is blue, pain hurts and water is wet. Countless bloggers no doubt have posted similar, smug notes cheering the ignonimous downfall this polarizing behemoth. Amazingly, there were professional sports writers who said that Bonds' achievements were legit and until there was proof (you know, beside the entire book Game of Shadows and the freakish, puffed-up body that contained the inner Bonds) in their minds, Bonds stood as greatest player of all time. I can only assume these writers were playing devil's advocate, though there was certainly the issue of race playing into the mix; many black sportswriters were reluctant to crucify Bonds, even though the man whose Home Run record he supplanted was also black. While I can respect the intial cultural nod in giving a "benefit of doubt", anyone who knows baseball knows race ultimately plays no part of Bonds crimes.
Sure, Bonds has always been a jerk but that's nothing new in sports. In his first seven years as an MLB player, he never hit more than 34 home runs and was regarded as a fast, lithe hitter with decent speed, a great eye and occasional power. In the late 90's, his power totals were up and this was probably the last time we saw the natural Barry Bonds--an excellent athlete in the peak of his career. Yet, unlike normal human beings, Bonds started to pack on muscle as he got past the age of 35. When Barry went from 46 HRs to 73(!) in 2001, anyone with eyes could see Bonds had transformed into a hulking thug whose joyless pursuit of baseball's most hallowed record was reluctantly praised by those who know the game. Even when Bonds broke the record this year, the fanfare was extremely subdued and the news quickly shifted to other stories.
So now, the "cream" has hit the fan. Bonds' career is likely over. Though it's not 100% certain, any team would be crazy to take put a juiced-up elephant in the locker room. No World Series rings, no 3,000 hits and an asterisk the size of Mars accompanying whatever legacy he has carved out. Bonds is like the kid in school who you always saw cheating on tests but got straight A's. There are plenty of other players who could have put up Bonds-esque numbers if they took cheating to the next level--Bobby Bonilla, a footnote as Bonds' one time equivalent comes to mind. Now that there's a proverbial smoking gun in the positive steroids tests, Bonds has no where to hide. Much like the protagonist in the fabled Monkey's Paw story, Bonds got exactly what he wished for: the most home runs of all time, bar none--yet the circumstances that enabled him to do so will forever haunt him and negate the honest talent that could have been his legacy.
Fare thee well Barry, the tragic prince of baseball's dark side.
