Are you rooting for Bonds to break the HR record?

I think Bonds is a tremendous talent and even bigger a-hole. I definitely hope he falls short of 755 and Aaron's record. Hammerin' Hank was a class guy all around. Bonds is the complete opposite. If Bonds does break it, which he probably will if he stays healthy, many will snicker that it was because of steroids. If Bonds breaks it, I hope A-Rod or someone else from today's era breaks it quickly.

Again I haven't seen enough of Barry Bonds to dislike him. I know virtually everyone here hates him (which I'm somewhat still mistyfied about) but I'm rooting for him. I also would like to see someone like A-Rod (as a Yankee of course) to break it later on. I think it's only just to have the single season home run leader (73) also be the all-time home run leader. However, my choice to break 755 would have been Ken Griffey Jr if he would EVER stay healthy. It's a shame this year. He got his 500th and then got injuried again. What's going on with this guy? Old age or what? I'm sure Seattle is happy he's not with them eating up all of their money. You can't help but feel bad for Cincinnati though.

I hate Bonds almost as much as I hate TO. Both are ignorant assholes who should be used as kamikazes in Iraq. I just hope Bonds gets to 700 soon. I'm getting sick of them talking about it for 15 minutes on Sports Center each morning. -Pat

I hope Bonds hits 713 next year and then has a career ending injury (nothing serious, just baseball ending).

I like Bonds and hope he gets to 756. He's arrogant, but so what? Just like TO, he can back it up.

I am not a big fan of Bonds, and I too hope he falls short of the record. Hank Aaron has always been a class act, and even with as much taunting that Barry is getting, Aaron got it far worse during the time that he was edging Ruth. Plus, Bonds is an arrogant prick, which disgusts me even more.

I do not like the fact that pitchers continue to walk him, but at the same time you have to wonder how Barry seems to be getting so much bigger and better in his late years. The same thing happened with Sosa, who hit more than 1/2 of his career HRs in a span of 5 years. Until the cloud of suspicion can be justified, I cannot say that I am cheering for Barry to break the record of records. He will probably break Ruth's number, but I really hope that Hammerin' Hank's record remains intact.

You know what, there is too much haterism in this world.

I could understand hating Ray Lewis, because he's a murderer. Hating OJ, because he's a murderer. Wanting Pete Rose to be banned from the hall of fame for eternally for betting on the game.

Bonds is not the media mogul Babe Ruth was. So what? That sumbitch has God-given talent, and you know what? He's going to break that record, whether anybody likes it or not.

Stop drinking that Haterade, and watch a Major League Baseball record get broken. A historic event.

I'm with Double-J on this one. I think Hank Aaron was arguably the greatest of all time (Babe Ruth?) but the argument against Barry that he's not a nice guy doesn't carry much weight with me. I mean Ty Cobb was a real bastard but he will always be remembered as one of the greatest players in the history of the game. Regardless of how one feels about him Bonds is one of the 10 best probably one of the 5 best to play the game. Go S.F.!

His friend is a murderer. Ray's not. Don't ***** keep talking **** about Lewis all season. It's really ***** me off. When you have the ***** to go up to his face and call him a murderer, then let me know. I will personally be throwing **** and yelling at TO when I see the ******* play against Baltimore this year. I hope Lewis tears TO's ****** ACL. -Pat

(gratuitous profanity edited)

True that!

Are you kidding? The ONLY thing that will stop them from counting EACH homerun from now until 756 is that the season is about to end. Prepared to be sick of it for the better part of the next year.

The only thing I'll be interested in seeing is how some in the media will try baiting Bonds into saying something stupid. He doesn't exhibit the class & humility that McGwire & Sosa did during their '98 chase of Maris.

Man you wanna talk about beating a dead horse, I remember in '98 every morning when I looked at the front page of the sports section, they'd also have a picture of Mark & Sammy and how they did the night before (if they hit any homeruns or not) and how many homeruns they had to date. I remember enjoying it and that'll be the same with Bonds. However I do wish he would hit it already b/c ESPN did the same thing with Griffey when he was waiting for number 500. Just let him hit it & then cover the story. Stop pushing it so much & adding more pressure to the guy. He'll probably just hit it to shut them up!

I want to see him do it as well. Just look at the highlights of Aaron hitting his 715th, it was an incredible moment and I would really like to see something like that again, even if it is with Barry Bonds who most people don't like.

The only problem is, this record may start to lose its meaning very soon. A-Rod will be 30 in July and by that time will have over 400 career homers giving him a great shot at passing Bonds wherever he may finish. Then we have Pujols who will be only 25 at the end of next season and most likely will have over 200 homers by then. My point is it seems very likely that this record will continue to be broken in the next 10-15 years or so which will make it lose its glamour and interest just like Bonds home run chase of McGwire in 2001 had nowhere near as much interest as McGwire and Sosa's chase in 1998.

I couldn't agree with you more Busta. My only beef is that if A-Rod does in fact break the record, I hope he's still with the Yankees. But as you said, Barry breaking this record probably fails in comparision to Aaron breaking the Babes record. Much like Barry breaking McGwire's record failed compared to McGwire & Sosa both breaking Maris' record. Do you guys ever feel that Sammy got short changed on that home run chase by the way??

His friend is a murderer. Ray's not. Don't ***** keep talking **** about Lewis all season. It's really ***** me off. When you have the ***** to go up to his face and call him a murderer, then let me know. I will personally be throwing **** and yelling at TO when I see the ******* play against Baltimore this year. I hope Lewis tears TO's ****** ACL. -Pat

(gratuitous profanity edited) [/b][/quote]Great Job Pee! We know one person who will not get The Newscaster of the Year Award. Then again it would make one heck of a great bloopers reel.

His friend is a murderer. Ray's not. Don't ***** keep talking **** about Lewis all season. It's really ***** me off. When you have the ***** to go up to his face and call him a murderer, then let me know. I will personally be throwing **** and yelling at TO when I see the ******* play against Baltimore this year. I hope Lewis tears TO's ****** ACL. -Pat

(gratuitous profanity edited) [/b][/quote]Wow...I never had anybody call me that many names...I must be a star! A real ass-terix.

I'd feel fine going up to Ray Lewis and calling him a murderer.

When you have the ***** to grow up, let me know. We've got a few more years at the BB.

This is like that show on TV- The Wheel of Fortune.
Can I buy a Vowel?

lol...I bet that Pat's favorite vowels are "A," "I," and "U."

His favorite consonants are "S," another "S," "H," "T," as well as "F," "C," and of course, "K."

"Very mature." :rolleyes:

Way to be a hypocrite.

I find it funny you have been calling people "immature" lately, as if that somehow makes YOU more mature. People who call other people immature in attempts to seem more mature themselves just make fools of themselves. Then you pull stupid bullshit like this. Next time, think before you speak -- you'll just you end up contradicting yourself again.

'thn Lmbrd, sht th fck p, y bd ss!

(no vowels :p )

hy, dbl j, jst sht th fck p!!!11

Shit, sorry. I'm being "immature," again! :rolleyes: :p

People are calling Bonds "one of the greatest athletes of all time". Now, I'm not saying he's not talented, but the guy is obviously a juicer. The fact that he denies it makes him not only a cheater, but a liar. Records are becoming less significant in sports today, because fans are left wondering how much of the players' success is due to their natural ability. For instance, when McGuire broke the record for home runs, I could have spit because he tarnished an achievement that was attained by someone else the right way. Anyway, things like steroids and lighter baseballs take the fun out of sports, and the importance out of records.

True. The steriods issue is always going to be thought of with regards to Bonds and McGwire, but I think even without the 'roids, major league records are being broken regardless.

I mean, look at Ichiro Suzuki.

Not only the steroids, but some of the players are hitting the weights and naturally getting stronger. How many is up for debate.

Other points: 1) expansion has diluted the pitching talent to the level that good hitters are feasting on crappy pitchers. Thirty years ago there were no situational pitchers, set-up guys, etc. There were starters and relievers, period. 2) the newer stadiums are very hitter-friendly compared to 25 years ago and beyond.

700!!!

Okay, he got the 700... good job Barry Bonds. However, in my humble opinion, I think he's got a bigger accomplishment. I had never heard him speak before the other night at his press conference, and I must say, I was very impressed with his diction and pronounciation. Pro baseball/basketball/football players usually speak with such disgusting "ghetto" rapper accents that I can't even tolerate hearing them. "Mad props" to him (and his parents) for his mostly proper speech. The only pro athletes from these 3 sports who speak properly are the ones who are not Americans... the ones who grew up in Paris, Prague, or wherever else. How ironic. :rolleyes:

I personally hope that Bonds DOESN'T break the Hr record.

I hate Bonds always have/always will.

The only thing I don't like is how he shits all over Babe Ruth's record. I mean, he said he never wanted to break Willie Mays (his godfather) record, and how Hank Aarons is like the pinnacle.

But he seems to bash Ruth white and left.

A bit of haterism in his game, eh?

I'm not sure what your point is here.

Diluted pitching should theoretically make it easier for the hitters.

Specialization and "situational" pitchers definitely make it harder for the hitters.

I don't agree about the diluted pitching, BTW. Having 30 MLB teams today with today's population of the U.S. to draw players from is roughly the same as having 16 teams in 1960, with the smaller population to draw from.

Not to mention the fact that we are also getting the best Latin American and Asian players over here as well.

There were plenty of marginal pitchers 45 years ago, just as there are plenty today.

Don't get me wrong because I love Babe Ruth and think he was the greatest ballplayer to have ever lived, but how many of his home runs ended up over the short fence of right field in Yankee Stadium? (A lot). That short field (296' down the line) was designed especially for him when they built Yankee Stadium.

"The House That Ruth Built"

Also, I'm not sure when they changed the rule, but there was a time when what would be considered a grounds rule double today was a home run.

Edit: (Rule changed in 1931): "A fair ball which bounces through or over a fence, or into the stands, is considered a ground rule double instead of a home run." (MacMillan Baseball Encyclopedia)

Interestingly, and I didn't know this, in 1926 a rule was made which stated "A ball hit over a fence in fair territory, where the fence is less than 250 feet from home plate, is a ground rule double, rather than a home run."

I didn't say that this rule was ever changed, so I presume that it remained in effect for the duration of the time that there were still stadiums with fences less than 250 feet from home.

I'm not sure what your point is here.

Diluted pitching should theoretically make it easier for the hitters.

Specialization and "situational" pitchers definitely make it harder for the hitters.

I don't agree about the diluted pitching, BTW. Having 30 MLB teams today with today's population of the U.S. to draw players from is roughly the same as having 16 teams in 1960, with the smaller population to draw from.

Not to mention the fact that we are also getting the best Latin American and Asian players over here as well.

There were plenty of marginal pitchers 45 years ago, just as there are plenty today. [/b][/quote]We completely disagree then. Of course diluted pitching makes it much easier for hitters. And you're right, there were lousy pitchers 45 years ago. But expansion has watered down the league, especially when it comes to pitching. If there weren't 30 + teams, some of these knuckleheads wouldn't even be in the big leagues.

Once you get past the 1st 3 starters on any given team, the odds are high that the #4 & #5 pitchers suck. And saying that there are 3 quality starters on most teams IS a stretch. Look at the Diamondbacks of 2001 - they won a World Series in what amounted to a 2 man staff - Johnson & Shilling. Granted the better teams who make the playoffs regularly don't fit this mold, but teams like Cleveland, Detroit, Tampa, Philly, Texas, etc. are launching pads for good home run hitters.

Diluted pitching certainly would make it easier for the hitters. I just don't believe that the pitching is any more diluted today than in the past.

Few teams in the past had more than two (maybe three) quality starters, just like today.

And Arizona wasn't the first team to win a championship with only two front line starters.

I didn't do the research here, but I'd bet that combos like Spahn & Burdette and Koufax & Drysdale won a higher percentage of their teams games than Johnson & Schilling did.

And there were plenty of home run "launching pads" -- both stadiums and teams -- in the old days, too. Teams like the Pirates, Athletics, Phillies, and Washington Senators were consistently horrible for 30-40 year stretches.

Ebbets Field (Brooklyn) immediately comes to mind, and there were probably more stadiums with short fences in the old days than there are today.

Hey Plaw
You obviously know a lot about baseball and its history. Who are some of your all-time favorites (either players or teams) that you have seen or played during your lifetime?

I'm not old enough to have seen Koufax, Mantle, or Aaron play in person. For me growing up, I always liked the play of George Brett, Mike Schmidt, Nolan Ryan, Mark McGwire, Ozzie Smith, and Johnny Bench to name a few.

Well, my first conscious memory of baseball was 1955.

I was six years old, living in Brooklyn less than two blocks from Ebbets Field, and I could actually here the crowd noise from my bedroom window during a night game.

In 1955 the Dodgers finally beat the Yankees in the World Series, and people were wild in the streets. Made quite an impression on me, even though I didn't really understand the game.

But I was raised to hate the Yankees, and when I started to understand the game in 1957, I rooted for the Braves, who beat the Yankees in the Series that year.

I was a huge fan until my late teens, and used to go to a lot of games at both Yankee and Shea Stadiums, so I saw pretty much all of the great teams and players in person in the 60's.

If I had to pick a favorite team now I guess it would be the Mets, but I have a hard time rooting for them when they are as terrible as they are today and with such a clueless organization behind them.

I am absolutely pulling for Bonds to break the record. When he breaks the record it doesn't minimize what Ruth and Aaron have done, it just is one of those things that happen over time. Even if Bonds ends up with 800 homers, there will be scores of people that believe that Ruth is still the greatest home run hitter of all time, the same way they do now even though Aaron holds the record.

Same is true in football. Emmitt Smith is the record holder, with Walter Payton second. I am convinced that the greatest running back of all time is Jim Brown. It doesn't matter to me that he no longer holds the record. Or coaching - make me GM of a team and let me pick my coach out of all the coaches in history and I'll take Vince Lombardi any day. Others may have more wins than he did, but in my mind he was the best ever.