I note on ESPN's Page 2 today, Patrick Hruby suggests that Barry's "real" homerun total is about 616 because of the juice. Purely arbitrary, of course. To my mind, however, one doesn't hit 500 or 600 or 700 homeruns in a career without some athletic ability. I’m sure the juice helped in some fashion, but Schadenfreude causes us to minimize the efforts of anyone who approaches the summit of Mount Olympus.
I was alive when Henry Aaron was chasing Babe Ruth and to hear people talk, you would have thought the apocalypse was imminent. Part of it, of course, had to do with Henry’s skin tone, but most of it, I think had to do with reality intruding on our picture of the idyllic past. Henry, played it just right and recognized his role in the drama.
Barry's problem is not the juice. It's his personality. For those of us who grew up wishing we could someday play major league ball, only to see our dreams dashed in little league or junior high, his attitude vexes us. He doesn't seem to have the reverence for the game which we have and wish all major leaguers had.
That's the difference between Barry and Mac/Sosa. The latter two saw themselves as part of something bigger and acted the part. They saved baseball because of it and that’s why people don’t complain about them the way they do about Barry.
Yet, Barry doesn't care; About the game or the fans.
In truth, I don’t begrudge him his taters or his attitude. We forget sometimes that our heros of yore were not saints. Ty Cobb was a mean, racist bastard. Most of the ball players of the twenties and thirties were philanderous drunks. We just choose to ignore those facts because of the passage of time.
We all need to face up to the fact that our idols in the Church of Baseball have feet of clay. We, the true believers, are responsible for maintaining the purity of the worship.
Cheers.
R. Sherman
P.S. Albert’s the real deal. I obviously can’t say for sure, but I doubt he’s cheating. Go Cards!
I was alive when Henry Aaron was chasing Babe Ruth and to hear people talk, you would have thought the apocalypse was imminent. Part of it, of course, had to do with Henry’s skin tone, but most of it, I think had to do with reality intruding on our picture of the idyllic past. Henry, played it just right and recognized his role in the drama.
Barry's problem is not the juice. It's his personality. For those of us who grew up wishing we could someday play major league ball, only to see our dreams dashed in little league or junior high, his attitude vexes us. He doesn't seem to have the reverence for the game which we have and wish all major leaguers had.
That's the difference between Barry and Mac/Sosa. The latter two saw themselves as part of something bigger and acted the part. They saved baseball because of it and that’s why people don’t complain about them the way they do about Barry.
Yet, Barry doesn't care; About the game or the fans.
In truth, I don’t begrudge him his taters or his attitude. We forget sometimes that our heros of yore were not saints. Ty Cobb was a mean, racist bastard. Most of the ball players of the twenties and thirties were philanderous drunks. We just choose to ignore those facts because of the passage of time.
We all need to face up to the fact that our idols in the Church of Baseball have feet of clay. We, the true believers, are responsible for maintaining the purity of the worship.
Cheers.
R. Sherman
P.S. Albert’s the real deal. I obviously can’t say for sure, but I doubt he’s cheating. Go Cards!
2 comments:
I am a fan of Pujols. Hell, I wish they'd clone him and we could have a version of our own. Is his free agency period up next year, cause the Giants are going to have a lot of money next year to sign a new player or players?
I only bring up this subject because of all the attention that is being lavished on Bonds right now - he's going for 715, dontchaknow? - and here comes Pujols into town on pace to break Barry's record. I was just wondering that with these two guys in the same stadium at the same time and chasing the same type of publicity, can the same questions start to get asked? For my sake, and baseball's sake, I hope not. I'd like to think that all non-Cardinals fans won't even entertain the notion (well, maybe a few Cubs fans will start thinking it during the rivalry games ;). But I think it would be naive to suggest that people won't eventually start to ask the exact same questions and start harboring the exact same doubts... unless it really is just a Bonds thing.
I will be at the game tonight with my son, and I for one, hope to see Pujols launch one into the big glove in Left/Center behind the bleachers and Barry to drop one in the drink.
(Given that the LAST Barry HR I saw in person was number 700, with my son, gives me great hope that I will witness yet another milestone).
That said, Barry's personality does play a large role in this. He's always been prickly, but many fans forget that Mays was just as prickly back in the day, and was NOT well-liked by the SF media when the Giants first moved west. In fact, there was greater love for Cepeda and McCovey because they broke in as SAN FRANCISCO Giants, not New York Giants like Mays.
But, we should not judge one's athletic ability based on whether he chooses to talk to a beat writer or not - for all the impartiality that "journalists" claim to have, they're probably just as sensitive as the ballplayer (perhaps even more so - knowing how many journalists think they're better than us because they have "access"). So who helps set the tone for whether we should like or dislike someone?
I am a fan of Barry the ballplayer, juice or not. I am NOT a fan of Barry the person.
Again, I'd like to find out who else was juiced, and frankly, which pitchers were juiced. How has Clemens escaped suspicion? Why aren't we talking about Sosa or Mac or Sheff?
The focus is on Barry because he's the only one who is approaching these marks - and that's fine, but if this truly was the steroid era, then I want to know the truth about ALL players, ALL positions over the past decade.
I've said it before - Barry is simply the best of the juiced era.
BTW - I don't think the juice helps you understand pitch selection from the batter's box.
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