Why does Barry Bonds draw criticism when Roger Clemens get a free ride?

Question

Look at clemens early pictures and compare them to now. It is so obvious that he took enhancements.

Answer 1

It is typical of the way baseball always has been. Clemens is viewed as a hero while Bonds has always been a villian in many eyes. I cant help but wonder the same you have...Clemens has grown about the same as Barry and it does seem interesting that most athletes when they get older talk about the need to spend even more time taking care of the body and preparing yet Roger can sit back (and avoid testing in spring training...Hmmmmm, interesting isnt it?) then suddenly decide to get in baseball shape in a months time. I cant say for sure he has done anything but I can say if one guy looks suspicious for being dominant well past what is considered their prime, then either Clemens is a total freak of nature the likes of which nobody has ever seen in professional sports or the cloud should hang over him (and a few others that come to mind). Dont get me wrong, I dont feel sorry for Barry Bonds but I also dont think he is the only guy who has ever cheated and anyone who thinks he is....they are the fools! Funny how a lot of people are willing to forgive Sosa and talk about his wonderful comeback....and what is he coming back from?(he is every bit as guilty as Bonds and everyone knows it....and he has been caught corking bats also!) If a fan can hate one cheater they should have the courage to *itch about ALL cheaters or drop the Bonds bashing.

Answer 2

I'm a Bonds fan, but this has nothing to do with my answer. People hate Bonds because he won't give autographs or interviews. He has been accused of being a bad teammate, but so has Clemens. They have both been accused, but the person that accused Clemens retracted for some odd reason. There are consistansies with both them and McGwire, and that is leg injuries. When you gain weight in your upper body, without any leverage in your legs, you will be injured. This has happened with all three men. I'm not accusing anyone, because I'm not in a position to judge them. I think maybe 20% has to do with race, because Clemens can be as big of a jerk as Bonds. I do wonder though, how many tests Clemens had to take. The league needs to make these things public since there is so much outcry over this.

Answer 3

It is NOT so obvious that Clemens took enhancements. He has always been a heavy, barrel chested guy, and now he looks like he is older and heavier. Bonds looks like he has gone through a major physical transformation over roughly the same period. No one's head size grows that much over the years. Bonds should look a lot more like Griffey.

As to the race issue. I always use this test: change skin colors and what happens? If Bonds were white, do you really think he would be beloved? Or even respected? Given his behavior in the locker room (the lounge chair, personal trainer, dietitian, masseuse, and the rest of the entourage), you don't think he would be resented because he was white? How about the fact that he has never led his teams to much success while accumulating wonderful statistics for himself?

Now make Clemens black. What has he said or done, other than gain too much weight, that would lead to suspicion? I will grant you, his mid-career resurrection now should come under scrutiny, as should any unusual occurrence in the Steroid Era. But similar things have happened to other players in the past. (Look at Ted Williams accomplishments after extended military stints--TWICE!) He's a bad teammate? Then why do so many of his former teammates have so many good things to say about him? Do you think the Yankees would have reacted the same way toward Bonds coming on board as they have Clemens? And look at how many times Clemens has contributed to making his teams much more successful than they would have been without him.

And the final word about race is this: what do you have to say about Mark McGwire? Last time I checked, he was as white as they come. And last time I checked, he didn't even get 25% of the vote for the Hall of Fame. The color of his skin wasn't as important as the disgrace he brought to baseball. Hopefully, Barry Bonds will be held to the same standard.-

Answer 4

First off to say its a race thing is completely ignorant. I know racism exists, but the color of Barry's skin has nothing to do with why people dislike him. Its because he's a jerk. As for Roger he didn't gain muscle like Bonds, he just got bigger (ie fatter) over the years. I don't know where this talk of the Rocket taking steroids really comes from, but everyone knows the evidence against Bonds. I'd love to beleive that he took legal enhancements and lifted weights to change his body to the way it is now, but I can't... If they show m evidence that Roger used other than saying just look at his pictures, then I'll be just as hard on him as I am on Barry. At this point their is simply way more evidence pointing at Bonds than there is at Clemens.

Answer 5

Thank you thank you thank you so very much, finally someone else who sees things way they are and not the way the media try's to make us see it. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are one of the same mold. Both are Possibly the greatest players ever at their area of the game, Clemens is a 7 time Cy young award winner, Bonds is a 7 time MVP. Clemens is 2nd all time in strikeouts which is the most illustrious pitching stat and Bonds is 2nd all time (for now) in homeruns which is the most alluring hitting stat.

The only difference is that Roger is perceived as a good guy by the media and Bonds is perceived as jerk, so they just take that and run with it and paint the picture in all the sheep's minds that bonds is the worse guy on the planet.

I mean for real at this point right now you could have Adolf Hitler, Osama Ben Ladin, and Barry Bonds in a room with 1 gun and three bullets and i would be shocked if people didn't vote to shoot Barry bonds 3 times.

Answer 6

Well maybe so but the fact that Bonds has been goin to extremes to avoid steroid test like when he had that miraculous 6 month injury (which was just enough time for steroids to leave ur system) Where as Roger Clemens never was asked to take a test and played it the right way.

Answer 7

Good question. I mean they have both been accused of using steriods. Why does Clemens get a free pass, someone else said it here. Clemens is white, Bonds is black. When McGuire hit 71 homers people rooted for the man, even though it was clear that he was using steriods. but when bonds breaks the record with 73 homers, people boo him. Its sad that race has to play a part in baseball but it will for another 50 years to come.

Answer 8

Because Barry Bonds cheated, everyone knows it, he knows everyone knows. Yet he's still as cocky as ever. Roger Clemens should not get a "free ride" but he has never been suspected of nor admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. Clemens is guilty of being a bad teammate and very very greedy.

Answer 9

Clemens was a rookie over 20 years ago. The dude is 40 something now. Bonds gets criticized because he's a cheating scumbag. Clemens is a classy ballplayer with a true love for the game. He's not getting a free ride. He has 20 something years of stellar stats under his belt. He earned his ride chump.

Answer 10

Even the pre-steriod, 30-30 Bonds was never popular because he was a d-bag. Now that he most likely cheated to take one of baseball's highest honors, there are plenty of reasons to be upset.

Test him all you want. Clemens may seem like a mercenary these days, but he's only been with 4 teams in 24 years. He's a hard-working guy who just can't retire while he's still able to dominate at age 45. I don't like the fact that he doesn't start with the rest of baseball but he's been overpowering hitters with class since before you were born.