If you’re like me—and it seems many people are in this regard—Barry Bonds hit his 715th career home run and your reaction was “Ehh…let’s move on.”
We can debate the reasons why people like me react this way. Is it a dislike for Barry because of the steroids issue? Or just because he’s a self-centered jerk? Or is it possible we’re suffering “home run fatigue,” with records being broken left and right?
Think about it. Roger Maris’ single season HR record stood for 37 years. Then after a short period of time he went from first on the list to fourth!
Heck, the guy who caught Bonds 715th wasn’t even paying attention to the game. With the San Francisco slugger due to come up to bat and take his shot at history, this guy was in line to get a beer.
So if we’re not getting as fired up about the long ball like we used to, what does excite us in the baseball world? ESPN’s Jayson Stark has compiled an excellent list of the top 10 non-HR-related records in baseball.
The first thing to leap to everyone’s mind is DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. After that, everything is up for debate…
History Has Its Eyes On You, Part Deux
1 year ago
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3 comments:
I can't say that I'm a huge baseball fan... Now, I don't take the stance that Jim Rome takes on soccer... I just don't really follow it. Even though I did room with a guy in college for a semester who played professional ball.
So, as a non-biased third party... this is what I think about the Bonds issue (this is a world release). A young Bonds has some self-esteem issues, so as he gets more and more notiarity, he acts in such a self-centered way that he pushes the envelope and becomes "a jerk"... I think that media can respect people if their not that camera friendly as long as they act civilized. Now, as Bonds become more and more in the spotlight, his story sells papers and creates interest for the sports media. A good marketeer sees this and highlights it, the purist hates it because his attitude is not the essence of the game (or athletics in general). So now Bonds is in control... he is delivering product... but the fans don't really care all that much. Then the steroids thing comes out. "An out" to bury Bonds and stifle his affect on baseball. But Bonds doesn't go anywhere... in fact he gets closer to Ruth's record and look at the timing. The NFL is in it's down time, NCAA basketball is well over, NHL doesn't make a splash anymore, NBA has lost a lot of its luster, but MLB is in the season and except for Detroit... everyone still feels good. So, there's nothing to talk about except for Barry... Barry... Barry and more Barry. So, now... history is threatened and fans have to recognize it at some level... so Bonds gets more and more attention and more and more people get a blaise attitude towards the him. So he passes Ruth... they'd really like to be happy to see this record broken in their lifetime, but they can't because they view Bonds as a jerk and a cheater in what is America's Game.
But according to the article... there are plenty o'fans that are happy... very happy...
OH MY GOD..............................I AGREE WITH YOU............AGAIN.............DOES THIS MEAN THE END OF THE WORLD IS NEAR!!!
I have to say "All of the above". I don't like Bonds because of steroids, being a self-centered jerk and I have Homerun Fatigue.
Gotta love Stark. His columns are first-rate.
(I do swear I'm a girl...I just LOOOOVE baseball!)
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