Somebody Else's Problem

The first time I saw Barry Bonds play was in the home opener of the 1993 season at Candlestick. I'd heard so many bad things about the guy. The press clearly hated him. But when he came to the plate, you could feel the anticipation in the stadium. It was as palpable as the fog on a Monday night game. And fwack! He hit a homerun in his first at-bat at home. He did that a lot. Saving his most memorable swats for home games. Is it any wonder that Giants fans are so rabid about the guy?

Well, he's somebody else's problem now. Who can deny that he's been a distraction? Who can deny that baseball in San Francisco has become the Barry Bonds show? I love the baseball player that Barry Bonds was, is, and might still become - but the guy? Whether he did or didn't do steroids is almost not the issue - whether he pissed off the media, is not really the issue either. Even though he can be personable to Giants fans and a great community person, that's not the issue at all. Its what he's meant for the Giants as a team that is the issue. And in that case, he's over stayed his welcome by about three years.

Oh sure, there was the record, and all those homeruns. But as self-serving as that became, it really started to lose its luster around 715 homeruns. Not because the media intensity increased, and not because of the questions surrounding the validity of the record, merely because baseball became the sideshow here in San Francisco.

When I found out Barry was leaving, I discovered that I was actually relieved. And then I started to remember what Baseball had been like in San Francisco years ago - when I used to enjoy talking about things like the bullpen, and the new rookie at third base, and what our chances were like against the Dodgers. But somewhere along the way those questions morphed into, Do you think Barry will break the record this year? Will he make it to the end of the season before he's indicted? Should we resign him next season? Those questions have all been answered now. I'm looking forward to asking new questions about new players. I'm really looking forward to life post-Barry Bonds.

He'll always be a hall of famer to me. He'll always be one of the greatest to ever play the game. But, quite frankly, I'm glad he's somebody else's problem now. The Giants need to move on.