November 1, 2007

Bonds will boycott HOF : " I don't think you can put an asterisk in the game of baseball, and I don't think that the Hall of Fame can accept an asterisk" Bonds response to question about marked baseball and Hall of Fame.

read story | posted by brickman to Baseball at 10:14 PM CDT (54 comments total)

I... What can... What a douche

posted by everett at 11:15 PM CDT on November 1

Actually, I can't really blame Bonds for not wanting to show at the HoF with the asterisk ball. To him, the asterisk as a big FU, Bonds! and the HoF is agreeing with that statement by putting the asterisk ball on display.

posted by jmd82 at 11:28 PM CDT on November 1

He deserves a big FU!!! Who cares Barry, get over it!

posted by Buckfever14 at 12:16 AM CDT on November 2

What a big crybaby!!! he cheated and he knows it - so he needs to get over it. Actually they should not even allow him into the HOF because of his cheating.

The title really belongs to Hank AAron!!!

posted by v07 at 12:50 AM CDT on November 2

I think we should all Boycotte him.
I have a friend in MLB and knows him personally and says he is an all-round jerk 100% of the time. On and off the field

posted by shi-pal at 1:49 AM CDT on November 2

Barry Bonds would boycott Cooperstown if the Hall of Fame displays his record-breaking home run ball with an asterisk.

So far I can count five people that missed the big "WOULD", and "IF" in the opening sentence. If they do mark that ball up unlike they have ever marked anything else in that hall. Then good for Barry Bonds for standing up for something right in baseball this time.

The title really belongs to Hank AAron!!!

Not sure where you were there Verny my boy but I watched Barry break that record on the TV back on 8-07-2007. Perhaps you did see it. What a big crybaby!!!

posted by jojomfd1 at 1:59 AM CDT on November 2

From what I've heard, steroids or whatever he took was legal when he did it. So many fools talk about the "integrity of the game". What a joke! This game has been about hustlers, conmen, drunks and gamblers from its roots and has never changed.We should have voted to blow up the ball in space to show how insignificant and ridiculous this matter is. Anyway, I'm looking forward to '08. Joe Torre will have a tough year in the talented and competetive NL West.

posted by JohnEBGood at 5:07 AM CDT on November 2

My gosh, who cares anymore! Quit yer cryin' and go home! Haven't we had enough of Barry Bonds news this year?! He should have the balls to fess up to what he has done, and be a man about it. Thank Heavens baseball season is over....yawn.

posted by Marko2020 at 5:41 AM CDT on November 2

Good for Bonds. People can say whatever the hell they want but the bottom line is, #25 is a Hall of Famer, no doubt. What the people that say that Barry Bonds is a cheater and all that other crap need to do is stop whining and get over it. Bonds is the homerun king and until another player takes that title away from him, no one can convince me otherwise.

I have a friend in MLB and knows him personally and says he is an all-round jerk 100% of the time. On and off the field

And? Your point is...what? From what history says, there's another guy that's in the Hall of Fame that was despised by his fellow major leaguers and even teammates, ever hear of Ty Cobb?

posted by BornIcon at 6:09 AM CDT on November 2

If you don't care about the topic of the FPP, then why is it that important to you to stop, go in, and check everyone's comments. Only then to leave your penny, 'cause you damn sure don't have two cents in ya.

We should have voted to blow up the ball in space to show how insignificant and ridiculous this matter is.

It should have never been anybody's choice in the first place. That was just a case of some ass with way too much time on his hands and even more money wanting his name in baseball some way. That Mark Ecko, I hope he catches gonorrhea and dies!

posted by jojomfd1 at 6:13 AM CDT on November 2

"When I retire in five years"

Wha wha what? He has five years left in him? Is that even possible?

posted by Joey Michaels at 6:15 AM CDT on November 2

Thank you Joey Michaels for pointing out the key stupidity in Bonds' statement.

"Five years."

He absoilutely does NOT have it in him, and no team wants him for that long or will take that long down the line. Sorry buddy, you're a washed up cheater.

posted by Jzsteinm at 6:33 AM CDT on November 2

I think he meant five years after he retires. If Bonds thinks he's got another five years in him, that's a big story in its own right.

The owner of the ball's going to mark it up before he gives it to the Hall of Fame, if he hasn't done so already. So the Hall's decision is whether to take it or not, and I think they'd be crazy not to. Fans voted to put an asterisk on the ball. That's a part of this baseball era's history.

Personally, I think there's no way Bonds refuses Hall induction 5-7 years from now if he's voted in. His ego would not let him miss a chance to celebrate his own greatness.

posted by rcade at 6:34 AM CDT on November 2

By the way:
How funny was it, the way Ecko owner made a vote outta it.
Love it

posted by Jzsteinm at 6:39 AM CDT on November 2

If they do mark that ball up unlike they have ever marked anything else in that hall. Then good for Barry Bonds for standing up for something right in baseball this time.

This isn't the Hall of Fames doing. rcade said it correctly above. The person who bought the ball at auction (Marc Ecko) is the one putting the asterisk on the ball and then donating it to the Hall. The Hall can either display it or not. They would most likely rather have the ball in it's original condition, but will take it however it's given.

I think Ecko is an ass for doing this even though I feel strongly against Bonds achievements. I also think Bonds is an ass for even mentioning he might turn down the greatest honor an athlete can be given.

posted by Ricardo at 7:53 AM CDT on November 2

I applaud Ecko for doing it. He gave baseball fans an opportunity to make a statement about the Juiceball era, and "kiss my asterisk" won. Hooray democracy.

posted by rcade at 8:25 AM CDT on November 2

There's no crying in baseball too. Oh wait, there must be crying in baseball. Isn't that what you're doing Barry? ********************************

posted by dbt302 at 8:47 AM CDT on November 2

I applaud Ecko for doing it. He gave baseball fans an opportunity to make a statement about the Juiceball era, and "kiss my asterisk" won.

Yeah, an online vote where you can vote as many times as you want is really democratic.

posted by bperk at 9:15 AM CDT on November 2

uhhh..couldn't the Bonds fans vote as many times as they wanted also?

posted by scottypup at 9:44 AM CDT on November 2

I'm boycotting Bonds FPPs from here on in.

It's the moron dog whistle of the internets.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 9:57 AM CDT on November 2

uhhh..couldn't the Bonds fans vote as many times as they wanted also?

uhh . . . what's democratic about that?

posted by bperk at 9:59 AM CDT on November 2

I'm sure the ball is going to be kept in some kind of glass enclosure, maybe the HOF an display the ball in such a way that the * is not visible.

posted by HATER 187 at 10:00 AM CDT on November 2

uhh . . . what's democratic about that?

It's no different than All-Star Voting. Some people cared enough to vote a bunch of times. Others didn't. The result was a 13 percent win for asterisk.

posted by rcade at 10:39 AM CDT on November 2

Steroids aside, marking the ball is probably wrong. The ball is history and when I go to Hall Of Fame museum - want to see ball without markings. Bonds himself is a HoF'er and should be accorded the respect for playing ability not his personality. Would like to thing of him early in his early career, and to tell the truth, Mays and Mantle come to mind on his ability as a ball player. Based on that I can't blame him for not attending the ceremony.

posted by brickman at 10:56 AM CDT on November 2

It's no different than All-Star Voting. Some people cared enough to vote a bunch of times. Others didn't. The result was a 13 percent win for asterisk.

Giving greater weight to people who have extra time to spare clicking a vote button over and over and over and over is anti-Democratic any way you slice it.

Anyway, I agree with Bonds. Why would he want to participate in this farce? The HOF can't both denigrate his achievements by displaying a ball marked with an asterisk and welcome him into their group for those same achievements.

posted by bperk at 11:03 AM CDT on November 2

I applaud Ecko for doing it. He gave baseball fans an opportunity to make a statement about the Juiceball era, and "kiss my asterisk" won. Hooray democracy.

Only in America would an asshole gesture like this be considered a coup for democracy.

The fans of this generation, who created the juiceball era by their bloodthirst for homeruns, have noone but themselves to blame when someone who bends the rules and doesn't get caught tarnishes "their" records.

posted by dfleming at 11:16 AM CDT on November 2

Sure are reading a lot into "hooray democracy," Bperk.

Giving greater weight to people who have extra time to spare clicking a vote button over and over and over and over is anti-Democratic any way you slice it.

Voting systems don't have to be one-person one-vote to qualify as democratic. If you think online polls are cheesy, you can express that opinion without attempting to redefine a word.

posted by rcade at 11:29 AM CDT on November 2

Democracy from the Greek demokratia, from demos "clicks" + kratos "rule."

posted by bperk at 12:24 PM CDT on November 2

display the ball in such a way that the * is not visible.

I agree. Kind of like saying to Ecko, "Thanks for the ball, douchebag."

Barry is the HR king til A-Rod, barring catastrophe, in all likelyhood breaks the record.

Next issue. Over to you, Mortone.

posted by THX-1138 at 12:24 PM CDT on November 2

I'm not sure if you're all aware of this, but there's been some speculation that performance enhancing drugs might have played a role in Barry Bonds' career. Can you believe it? I bet lots of people have opinions on this matter, it should be discussed in some kind of "sports forum"

posted by tahoemoj at 12:30 PM CDT on November 2

The HOF lost credibility with me by excluding Pete Rose. It's a joke. Also when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's homerun record, many idiots were very upset that the record was broken by a black man.

What if some racist fan caught the record breaking ball and wanted to put an asterisk on it with his editorial comments. Would the HOF display it? Of course not but it is the same thing. Some rich guy buys the ball and wants to mark it as an expression of his personal opinion.

How many other record balls should have asterisks like, this record was broken when only white guys were allowed to play, or this record was broken after modern training techniques were available, or this record was broke with the help of othoroscopic elbow surgery that was not available to pitchers before this..... I hope I have made the point that a record is a record and as every one is broken with the passage of time the circumstances have changed. Every new record is made with advantages of the modern age from livlier baseballs, to lower pitching mounds, to career extending surgeries. Regardless the record becomes the new mark to shoot for. Nobody has hit more homeruns than Bonds, his record is phenominal and regardless of the fact that he may or may not be an asshole, until someone surpasses it, he is the record holder and a damn good baseball player.

posted by Atheist at 1:12 PM CDT on November 2

Bonds has been investigated by the Fed. 4.5 years now and they have little to nothing on him. If they had any kind of case they could bring to trial, that's where it would be. The media has already found Bonds guilty "apriori". I have read the book "Game of Shadows" and the part about Bonds might have been titled "Evidence of Shadows",because thats what it is. The Fed. has spent more money investigating Bonds than they did on "Al Capone". We see the results, silence. The media is close to running this country, but they are not there yet. It's time for the Fed. to put up or shut up and the media as well.

posted by Guilty Bystander at 1:38 PM CDT on November 2

re: Five years

Here is the direct quote:

"That's my emotions now. That's how I feel now. When I decide to retire five years from now, we'll see where they are at that moment," he added.

Unless he really mangled his thought, or unless he was badly misquoted, the suggestion here is that he plans on retiring in five years.

posted by Joey Michaels at 2:58 PM CDT on November 2

For Best Comment in a Bonds Thread... and the envelope please!

I'm boycotting Bonds FPPs from here on in.

It's the moron dog whistle of the internets.

What most of you have missed is that Bonds is assuming he is a lock for the HOF. After what happened to Maguire, Bonds will be lucky to get a veterans vote in twenty years.

posted by irunfromclones at 4:16 PM CDT on November 2

The result was a 13 percent win for asterisk.

Or you could say it was a six percent loss. Since launching it into space is highly unlikely to have happened.

posted by jojomfd1 at 4:43 PM CDT on November 2

The fans of this generation, who created the juiceball era by their bloodthirst for homeruns,

Ah yes, I well remember 1995 when fans took to the street and asked for, nay, demanded home runs. Also, that Hideo Nomo throw a no-hitter at Coors Field.

posted by drumdance at 4:54 PM CDT on November 2

You Bonds apologists are pathetic. I'm familiar with the "innocent until proven guilty" defense, however...Bonds has consistently said "I've never knowingly used steroids". He doesn't say that he hasn't used steroids. Get a clue! Defendants use legalspeak to produce a technicality when they can't claim 100% innocence. A real world equivalent would be like me saying I never knowingly got drunk, but if my friend slipped alcohol into my glass of soda it wouldn't be my fault if I consumed it. Sounds stupid, doesn't it? I stagger, slur my speech, lose coordination, but I won't admit to knowingly getting drunk, so I must be innocent. Bonds has a growth spurt and power surge in his late 30's, but he must apparently be a 1 in 30 billion freak of nature, because he never KNOWINGLY used steroids.

posted by whitedog65 at 4:59 PM CDT on November 2

Yet another example of Barroids thinking he is better than the game and anyone who has or ever will play. His head is so swollen he cant even think.

posted by twgibsr at 5:40 PM CDT on November 2

I thought the whole thing funny, what better time what better place, bring all your guns and all your ammo and prove you belong there. HMM, no show, huh, go figure. What the hell the Cubs will sign him.By the way the Cubs blew up the Bartman ball and made it into spaghetti, that worked real well for them.

posted by volfire at 7:21 PM CDT on November 2

I'm going to seem hopelessly naive here, but I really haven't been following Bonds' adventures in chemistry all that closely, so let me ask...

Is there a good place I could visit that gives a time line of what the specific rules regarding HGH and Steroids were in place at the time that Bonds allegedly used them?

posted by Joey Michaels at 8:50 PM CDT on November 2

posted by budman13 at 9:01 PM CDT on November 2

"The Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990 became law on November 29, 1990, when former President Bush signed the Omnibus Crime Control Bill." taken from steroidlaw.com

Joey Michaels, is this good enough for you? Specific Rules? How about SPECIFIC LAWS! Law supercedes any rules of any businesses in the United States. Don't give me that crap about "but if its not in the rules of baseball". You cant break THE LAW just because your job does not specifically have rules written against a specific conduct. Just ask Ken Lay or Jeffrey Skilling... the ENRON guys. Oh wait, Lay died b4 prison time. Just ask Jeff.

posted by bigrotty at 9:21 AM CDT on November 3

Just like "cheating" on your taxes,if THE MAN doesn't catch you,there is no crime.all the speculation about his head,his body,whatever is not enough for a conviction.if something that didnt even exist,when the law was made,how is it illegal?if there is no way to detect it,how is it banned?baseball had rules against gambling clearly posted in the club house for X years.if they didn't want people taking that stuff,allegedly,they should have had rules.like it or not,Barry Bonds played by the rules as they were written.oh yeah,comparing Bonds to ken lay is just plain stupid.lay knowingly financially raped untold thousands of people.how many people lost their pensions because a baseball player more home runs than usual?

posted by mars1 at 1:49 PM CDT on November 3

"What if some racist fan caught the record breaking ball and wanted to put an asterisk on it with his editorial comments. Would the HOF display it? Of course not but it is the same thing."

Actually it's not, but you go ahead and run with that.

posted by mr_crash_davis at 3:58 PM CDT on November 3

"Just like "cheating" on your taxes,if THE MAN doesn't catch you,there is no crime".

With thinking like that, I guess there is no RAPE if the victim does not report it. Nor is there a MURDER if the body of the victim is never found. I fear for your children if this is the kinda crap you feed them as they grow. When they are in jail cause you said "just don't get caught" maybe you'll rethink things.

"baseball had rules against gambling clearly posted in the club house for X years.if they didn't want people taking that stuff,allegedly,they should have had rules."

You are absolutely right! Why it's clear to me now. All baseball had to do was put a post-it in all the locker rooms informing the players that using STEROIDS is against the law. Right next to all the other post-its explaining how MURDER, RAPE, ROBBERY, ARSON, BATTERY, DUI, and COCAINE POSSESSION are all against the law. You know, on the bulletin board in the LAW library that each clubhouse has.

"oh yeah,comparing Bonds to ken lay is just plain stupid"

I agree. Apparently your small intellect cannot comprehend that I was not comparing BONDS to LAY. I was comparing how one cannot break LAWS even though there are no specific rules set by your boss or corporation against such conduct. But with your thinking, what LAY and SKILLING did would have been OK if only they did not get caught because, and I again quote from your post "Just like "cheating" on your taxes,if THE MAN doesn't catch you,there is no crime"

You made this too easy for me.

posted by bigrotty at 6:30 PM CDT on November 3

Bigrotty. No need to bold everything you write. Thanks.

posted by justgary at 6:44 PM CDT on November 3

justgary. you wanna discuss the topic or just type somethin that means nothing? Your welcome.

posted by bigrotty at 8:30 PM CDT on November 3

/waits for the lightning bolt to strike from Mt. Olympus

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 9:10 PM CDT on November 3

I brought popcorn YYM, want some?

posted by tommytrump at 9:22 PM CDT on November 3

I got some pop for all!(Soda for you backwards folks)

posted by jojomfd1 at 7:11 AM CDT on November 4

Wait, what about gary's welcome?

posted by yerfatma at 7:48 AM CDT on November 4

Barry hasn't been caught doing anything! I will bet that 99.9% of all pitchers are taking some type of steroid. Ask to older pitchers who are close to 40 and stll throwing in the 90's. But we don't want to talk about that.

posted by Awwgood at 3:42 AM CDT on November 5

I will bet that 99.9% of all pitchers are taking some type of steroid

It is ignorant, off the cuff statements like these that keep ridiculous media whores in jobs today. Just to look for an athlete who may have done this or that. Do you have proof of even 1% of pitchers today using PED's? By the way let me congratulate you Awwgood, I can't remember the last time someone managed to Troll up 7 different threads in one day. You managed to do it.

posted by jojomfd1 at 7:16 AM CDT on November 5

I got some pop for all!(Soda for you backwards folks)
Hey, I resemble that remark!

posted by dviking at 9:25 AM CDT on November 6

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