Barry Bonds quest for HR record

[Big Al]

The discussion over Bonds quest for the home run record is taking up so much space in the 2007 thread, that it's making it difficult to find any discussion about other baseball-related items. So, for those of us who are tired of having to slog through the back&forth about Bonds, please post your comments/arguments/rhetoric here. Thanks!

[Soulstation1]

great idea.....

[GA Russell]

This morning's paper in an AP story quoted an ABC/ESPN poll that said that only 37% of fans hope that he breaks Aaron's record.

[donald byrd 4 EVA]

thank you for doing this. it was getting too insane in the other thread

[catesta]

This morning's paper in an AP story quoted an ABC/ESPN poll that said that only 37% of fans hope that he breaks Aaron's record.

Probably even much lower than that if Hank spoke his true feelings.

[Tim McG]

This morning's paper in an AP story quoted an ABC/ESPN poll that said that only 37% of fans hope that he breaks Aaron's record.

Probably even much lower than that if Hank spoke his true feelings.

C'mon.

Who knows what he's thinking?

[Tim McG]

This morning's paper in an AP story quoted an ABC/ESPN poll that said that only 37% of fans hope that he breaks Aaron's record.

Actually, it's [edit] 75% of Blacks according to the ESPN.com want to see him do it according to an article written by Jayson Stark. That's more than half; a majority. 11% don't care so of the total poll population, that would put 48% vs 52%. Not huge by anybody's standards.

Seems to me the cheers you hear at opposing team's ballparks when Bonds goes yard, pretty much tell the rest of the story.

Most folks are either ambivalent about it or want to see him break the record.

Edited May 8, 2007 by GoodSpeak

[Man with the Golden Arm]

goodspeak has some company today.

[Dan Gould]

goodspeak has some company today.

The simple question then remains, why didn't Bonds hit homeruns at the same rate before he bulked up?

[GA Russell]

This morning's paper in an AP story quoted an ABC/ESPN poll that said that only 37% of fans hope that he breaks Aaron's record.

Actually, it's 52% according to the ESPN.com article written by Jayson Stark. That's more than half; a majority.

That's not what this morning's Raleigh News & Observer said. It said that 37% are rooting for him, 52% are rooting against him, and 11% don't care.

[Aggie87]

goodspeak has some company today.

The simple question then remains, why didn't Bonds hit homeruns at the same rate before he bulked up?

Somehow, his miraculous, non-steroid induced, increased muscle mass caused his bat speed to increase.

[Guy Berger]

This morning's paper in an AP story quoted an ABC/ESPN poll that said that only 37% of fans hope that he breaks Aaron's record.

Actually, it's 52% according to the ESPN.com article written by Jayson Stark. That's more than half; a majority.

No, you are misreading the article. 52% DON'T want him to break the record.

Here are the results of the poll.

Guy

Edited May 8, 2007 by Guy

[Aggie87]

Little support for Bonds

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Only about four in 10 baseball fans are rooting for Barry Bonds to break the career home run record and most think he knowingly took steroids, according to a poll showing stark racial divisions in how the San Francisco Giants' slugger is viewed.

Still, most fans think Bonds should end up in the Hall of Fame. He has 10 homers this season and 744 lifetime -- 11 shy of Hank Aaron's record, one of the most revered in sports.

In the poll by ABC News and ESPN, 37 percent said they are rooting for Bonds to break Aaron's record, while 52 percent said they hope he falls short and 11 percent had no opinion. Twenty-eight percent of whites and 75 percent of blacks said they were hoping Bonds succeeds.

Nearly three quarters said they think Bonds knowingly took the performance-enhancing drugs, which he has long denied. Just more than a third of blacks -- and three-fourths of whites -- shared that view.

Of those who think he used steroids, two-thirds said that makes him a cheater -- even though major league baseball was not testing for the drugs at the time. There was no racial breakdown for that question.

Nearly six in 10 said Bonds should be elected to the Hall of Fame, including majorities of both races. About as many said they believe he has been treated fairly, including a third of blacks and six in 10 whites.

Of those who think his treatment has been unfair, more blacks and whites say it is because of his alleged steroid use than because of his race.

The ABC-ESPN poll involved telephone interviews with 799 adult baseball fans from March 29 to April 22. Its margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Those surveyed included 203 blacks, for whom the margin of sampling error was 7 percentage points.

[Dan Gould]

goodspeak has some company today.

The simple question then remains, why didn't Bonds hit homeruns at the same rate before he bulked up?

Somehow, his miraculous, non-steroid induced, increased muscle mass caused his bat speed to increase.

Not according to our friend:

Muscle mass does not generate speed, Boyz....it creates strength. Not the same thing.

but then again, no one from MENSA is trying to track him down based on his statements here.

[Johnny E]

Anyone who thinks that McGuire, Sosa and Bonds (and others putting up crazy power numbers) sudden shattering of HR records that stood for 50 odd years has nothing to do with the fact that they miraculously gained 30 pounds of pure muscle is kidding themselves. Lots of players have fast bats, but you don't see 5' 10" 180 pound shortstops with fast bats hitting 40, 50 HR's a year. You need strength AS WELL as bat speed. Bonds always had one of the fastest bats in the game. But it wasn’t until his mid-thirties and his steroid use that he started hitting 60 and 70 a year.

I have nothing against the guy personally. I actually used to admire him in many ways. But I for one hope he does not break the record. That’s all the game needs is another asterisks next to one its most important records.

[Chalupa]

I have nothing against the guy personally. I actually used to admire him in many ways. But I for one hope he does not break the record. That’s all the game needs is another asterisks next to one its most important records.

I totally disagree. I think the game is still in denial about the steroid era. I'm hoping that he shatters Aaron's record and exposes Selig & MLB for being the hypocrits that they are. Maybe after "baseball's most cherished record" falls they will see what a mockery they are turning the game into and actually do something about steroid use. They conviently turned a blind eye to all the steroid usage for the past 15 years while MLB's owners got richer and richer. Now just w/in the past two years as Bonds has been closing in are they doing something about it. The current policy is still bullshit, imho.

[ghost of miles]

Won't matter in 10 years when A-Rod passes Bonds.

[Tim McG]

Grandmothers don't play in the MLB.

Muscle mass does not generate speed, Boyz....it creates strength. Not the same thing.I'm 52, and I never lift weights, but I can make a racquetball racquet snap with such force in order to get the ball to move 90-100 mph.

Sorry, no sale.

I'm sure this must to have been mentioned before but if you're stronger, wouldn't it make sense you could possibly swing something (perhaps a bat) a little faster??? I know "stronger" and "faster" are not the same thing but could this be possible???

m~

With all due respect here Guys....you are confusing brut force with timing and bodily motion required to generate speed. Look at your average PGA golfer...most are thin or under tall or over weight. Look at the LPGA, for instance. Michelle Wie is as thin as a stick, but she is out hitting the entire field. Why is that? I think at some point we need to rectify ourselves with these simple facts and how being strong does not equal bat head speed or how far the ball will go.

If this were the case then every body builder in the nation would play MLB and all be HR kings or rule the PGA with 500 yard drives..

Case in point: Jose Canseco., aka, Jose CanStrikeOut. The guy is as big as a house and couldn't hit his hat size let alone jack the ball out of the park 755 times.

[Guy Berger]

GoodSpeak, it would be nice of you would concede that you were incorrect about the Bonds poll earlier.

Guy

[Dan Gould]

who among you decried the insanely corrupt Yankee stadium deal? i don't know who roots for who here but i'm assuming there are SOME Yankee fans. shit could NOT be more bald & hinky (they're building it on PARKLAND, also, in poorest congressional district) & what was reaction?

Clem, please explain how terribly corrupt the deal was. My understanding is:

A) The Yankees agreed to turn the site of the current Stadium into park land.

B) The Yankees are financing the construction entirely on their own, so there is no public money going into the stadium (I don't know what the cost/who is paying for the infrastructure work required for sewer lines, etc)

Unless you can tell me that the new park is 50% or less the size of the old park, I don't see the "insane corruption".

On top of that, it keeps the Yankees in that poorest Congressional district, where I am sure they employ a significant number of disadvantaged youth as ticket takers and concession workers. Hardly the best jobs in the world, and it is seasonal after all, but its still better than moving the team to the Meadowlands (or the west side).

I admit I did not follow the process of how this got done but aside from the usual way that big businesses gets what they want, I'v never understood your oft-stated vehement objections.

[Soulstation1]

i'd think these 700-756 home run balls would be worth something

[Aggie87]

I think at some point we need to rectify ourselves with these simple facts and how being strong does not equal bat head speed or how far the ball will go.

If this were the case then every body builder in the nation would play MLB and all be HR kings or rule the PGA with 500 yard drives..

Nobody's confusing anything. Power is an ingredient to hitting home runs, as is vision and hand-eye coordination. Strength DOES contribute to power, and affects how far a ball will go.

If strength (of which additional strength can be attained through use of steroids) had nothing to do with bat speed/hitting distance, there wouldn't be a single baseball player using steroids. Obviously that's not the case.

And those body builders you comically mention may have adequate strength, but may not have the other ingredients to being a great batter, or a great ball player overall. Nobody has ever said in this discussion that strength/muscle mass is the only contributing factor to hitting homeruns - that seems to be only floating around inside of your head.

[Dan Gould]

With all due respect here Guys....you are confusing brut force with timing and bodily motion required to generate speed. Look at your average PGA golfer...most are thin or under tall or over weight. Look at the LPGA, for instance. Michelle Wie is as thin as a stick, but she is out hitting the entire field. Why is that? I think at some point we need to rectify ourselves with these simple facts and how being strong does not equal bat head speed or how far the ball will go.

How ironic that you use the word "rectify" considering that it is you who has inserted his head rectally on every salient point in discussion.

Why don't you consider why everyone else disagrees with you, and whether that is any indication that it is time for you to reconsider your logic-impaired beliefs.

OR, you can simply start by answering my question, raised many times now:

Why, if strength is not remotely related to home runs, did Bonds undertake such strenuous "efforts" to become bigger and stronger??

Why did Bonds change from a decent power hitter to an extraordinary power hitter at such a late stage in his athletic career, and why do you think it is merely coincidence that his home runs jumped after he packed on 30 or 40 pounds of muscle?

In the immortal words of John McEnroe, ANSWER THE QUESTION!

[Brad]

I have nothing against the guy personally. I actually used to admire him in many ways. But I for one hope he does not break the record. That’s all the game needs is another asterisks next to one its most important records.

I totally disagree. I think the game is still in denial about the steroid era. I'm hoping that he shatters Aaron's record and exposes Selig & MLB for being the hypocrits that they are. Maybe after "baseball's most cherished record" falls they will see what a mockery they are turning the game into and actually do something about steroid use. They conviently turned a blind eye to all the steroid usage for the past 15 years while MLB's owners got richer and richer. Now just w/in the past two years as Bonds has been closing in are they doing something about it. The current policy is still bullshit, imho.

I completely agree with this.

[Jazzmoose]

How ironic that you use the word "rectify" considering that it is you who has inserted his head rectally on every salient point in discussion.

I don't think that word means what you think it means...