Is it possible for Bonds to salvage any respect? (for those of you who don't like him). read details.?

Question

someone at work mentioned a very interesting idea.

WHAT IF .... Bonds just walked away from the game right now? he's one HR from tying the record. he doesn't owe the Giants anything. if he walked away from the game right now, for the expressed reason to respect Aaron and the record and show people that it's not all about him and his image. it's not like the Giants are in the playoff race anyway.

for those of you who don't like/respect him, or whatever ... would you gain back some respect for him, regardless of past (perceived) wrongs?

walking away isn't necessarily admitting that he took steroids. rather, it would suggest that regardless of the past, that he's not about just chasing a number so that his name can be in a record book and forever questioned. it's showing respect.

"It is impossible to make someone like you."


???

"Whites tend to belabor a point until the cows come home. Minorities are not in denial; we simply do not want to talk about it 24/7 for the rest of our lives."

it's a good thing you're not generalizing or anything, Richard. that would be called "stereotyping". besides, i'm a minority. please don't speak for me.

interesting point, jvh. i didn't think about that. thanks.

folks, it doesn't matter to me. i'm just posing a question, because i thought it would involve an interesting conversation (hmm, sounds suspiciously like the reason why Yahoo Answers was created). hmm.

harmon, you make good points. thanks. however, you may have noticed a small, yet significant word in my details ...

IF

anyway, good points, but seems like you've been taking some lessons of arrogance on your own. whether from Bonds or whomever. it's all about the delivery. i'm exploring a concept. i'm not betting that he'll do it. he WON'T do it. in fact, the thought hasn't even crossed his mind. he's too busy thinking about his "acceptance speech".

good points, triple soul

harmon, alright, good enough. i hear you. thanks for the contribution.

some other good points. hey brett, can you explain the whole "22% easier/918 HR" thing, please?

sgoldperson, good points too.

Answer 1

Liking Barry Bonds and respecting Barry Bonds are two different things. I don't like Barry Bonds. I respect him for what he has accomplished, but I don't respect him as a person. Like him or not, he WAS a feared hitter and a great player.

Yes, I know he cheated. But I'm sure he wasn't the only one during that era who cheated... so to me, it's fair game.

My dislike for Barry Bonds has less to do with the HR record then it does with Barry Bonds the person. Bonds doesn't show anyone any respect, especially news reporters and baseball fans.

Bonds isn't going to walk away. He is self-centered and believes that he's the greatest player in the game. If you read Game of Shadows, you'll find out the supposed reasons why he started the steroids.

For me to have any respect for him, Bonds needs to come clean and admit what he did.

Answer 2

There is no way anybody will walk away from a record like that. Specially, after been this close from breaking it. Another thing is that all records are made to be broken, no matter who is the holder right now. There is no disrespect in breaking a record. Everybody is so focus about Barry Bonds right now and people are not even noticing that there are other player closing in to the same record in question. Alex Rodriguez is closing in and He even have a chance to break the single season record. But, why nobody put his accomplishment in question? I'm not trying to take anything away from A-Rod, He is a great player, but people are been unfair with Barry bonds. He hasn't failed a drug test yet, nor has accepted that he has used steroids. It is not like Palmeiro that after telling the congress that he didn't used them, later he tested positive on a test. Barry is been tested in a regular bases and for different substances and still , nobody haven't been able to find nothing. So, let's give the guy a chance and enjoy his accomplishment in baseball. I'm not a fan of the guy, but as a former baseball player I give him some credit. He deserved it.

Answer 3

When A-Rod is being compared from 15 YEARS ago to now then we can talk about the "size difference". We are talking about Bonds LAST YEAR WITH THE PIRATES to THIS YEAR. So that is 15 YEARS, which is oddly left out(well not so odd if you ask me), and what 3 or 4 knee injuries and replacements and whatever else. OK I am a Pirates fan, I have a lot of respect for Bonds. So what if he "thinks" he is the greatest player ever, in his era he IS. So if you want to compare why not look into who has more Gold Gloves? Oh wait that was Bonds. If you look at the side by side you will see that Bonds is as good a player over his career. In a sense he does owe SF this though. They paid a HUGE contract for this year. They are out of the playoffs and have NOTHING this year EXCEPT Bonds. So yeah in a sense he does owe them the record. Look at the one run games he played in that they might have won if he wasn't there in the Field or batting. I have said before that a HR is a basically meaningless record though. SF is one of the, if not THE, hardest park to hit a HR in. Then, since we are talking about A-Rod, you have a place like Yankee's Stadium where it is far easier to hit one. So a Yankee can pile them up. The Rockies used to pile them up. Other places pile them up. Babe Ruth PILED THEM UP because "the Stadium Ruth built" that was DESIGNED to make it EASIER for him to hit HRs. So build every stadium in a dome under the same specification, like a hockey rink, and THEN we can make new records that are everyone has to play by the same rules.

Answer 4

I don't think I would respect him any more/less for walking away.

To be honest, my opinion wouldn't change if he came out and admitted his steroid use, because, well, he's done that, just not to the fans.

If he made a public statement saying "I used steroids", my response would be "yeah, we know that".
Possibly if he said "Yes, the public's perception of me, as a steroid user, is true and I am sorry for lying to you", then I may have a bit more.

In this Sopranos's time period, people are in a 'boys club' and I would have respected him greatly back in 99 when he saw people doing this if he would have raised his hand and said "did you know these guys are using illegal steroids so they can excel in a game"

If baseball didn't care, then go to the media. But, we live in a society that when WE do things wrong and are called out for it, we don't blame ourselves, but blame the people that pointed it out.

It's a shame really.

The home run record to me is meaningless, it's a number that people are worrying about and not the achievement. It's been 22% easier for Bonds to hit home runs than Aaron, so Aaron's adjusted HR # is 918. Bonds isn't passing his achievement anytime soon.

Answer 5

I would respect his attitude towards the game. That's it, that's all, case closed. Now if and when A-Rod passes Bonds, if he retired before hitting the HR that puts him over the top, I would wonder why. Clearly he is a more deserving player to have such a hallowed record, and I'm not even a Yanks fan. To all of you that think A-Rod is just as juiced as Barry, of course nobody can prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that he isn't, but there are virtually no allegations (that I know of -- at least compared to Barry) and he doesn't have the same size difference from one part of his career to the end of it. Sorry for getting away from the point there a little bit.

Answer 6

It is not important for him to do so. It is impossible to make someone like you. At best, you go on with your life and let folk think what they want. The media is obsessed with Bonds, but Bonds is not obsessed with the media. Every game that the giant's play, the commentators talk solely about Bonds. Talk is and always will be cheap.

Different ethnics handles things differently. Whites tend to belabor a point until the cows come home. Minorities are not in denial; we simply do not want to talk about it 24/7 for the rest of our lives.

Answer 7

It does not make sense at all. I'm a Giants fan, a Barry Bonds fan and have met him personally various times in the past at work.

He's not one to be a coward and face the skeletons in his closet by walking away from the game he's played almost all his life.

True, he took prescription substances hidden in salve, oil or cream, but the HGH and Steroids within those applications were legal and not banned by MLB at the time. He's shameful of what he's done to himself, but what's done is done. Time will only tell what the drugs will do to him as he gets older.

Walking away like a coward would be like 1/4 of all baseball players just quitting, because that's probably the total of all players that used HGH, steroids and other drugs. We'd see big names that we love just disappearing from the game and we would have only ourselves and the media to blame for it.

I would like to see him pass the record and have someone else eventually pass his total up too. That's the spirit of baseball, or professional sport at it's best. No shame, no disgrace and no allegations of cheating. It does not make sense staying unhappy about the past. We can only look towards a drug free future in baseball.....

Answer 8

If you honestly think there is even a 0.00000001% chance of Bonds walking away now you have lost your mind.

Aaron has already made it known he will not attend any of BB's games. BB is so selfish and arrogant that Aaron's stance just gives BB more reason to NOT respect Aaron and the record.

BB would have to undergo a complete personality transplant overnight for your scenario to even be a remote possibility. Do you know where such operations are performed? If so, speak up!!

ADDED: Appreciate your reply.
Sure I noticed you said *IF*. I also said "IF ..."
Of course I didn't think you'd lost your mind. I'm just being realistic. It doesn't stop me from being outspoken. That too, is a part of YA Q&A.

To your specific question: my answer is yes. It would be a decent thing for the man to do. And it would earn him some of my respect. Sadly, earning my respect means nothing to BB.

If you look at BB HRs numbers throughout his career it looks like he enjoyed the benefits of steroids from 2000 to 2004. Would his quitting now wipe away five years of cheating? No way.

One of the reasons you got a realistic answer is the sheer number of Bonds questioners here asking "If he did ____ would he be ____?". Most of them want nothing more than to hear glowing praise for the guy... or to justify liking him in spite of what they fear its the truth.

Take care.

Answer 9

You say he doesn't owe the SF Giants anything, and if he walked away it would show it's not all about him or his image. But you are recommending that he do this in order to salvage his image. And of he course he owes the SF Giants and their FANS something. They're the only ones that have stood by him. He shouldn't do that. The damage has been done to his reputation, and there's no going back. He should at least fulfill his obligations to the only group that is still with him.

Answer 10

i think if he admitted he took them knowingly it would mean alot dont play fans for idiots.

even before steroids bonds was a jerk to pretty much every one i compare it to the media not wanting maris to break the single season mark just because he wasnt a star. well barry bonds shouldnt hold this record simply because hes a jerk and a selfish player.

if bonds just walked away it wouldnt make much of a diffrence he still has 73 which doesnt belong to him hes still 2nd all time which he doesnt deserve.