Could there be a worse face of Major League Baseball than Barry Bonds? (Maybe if Michael Vick played…)
A day after Barry Bonds called him a “little midget man who knows (nothing) about baseball,” broadcaster Bob Costas said he wasn’t upset with the San Francisco Giants slugger and responded with a jab of his own.
“As anyone can plainly see, I’m 5-6½ and a strapping 150, and unlike some people, I came by all of it naturally,” Costas said Thursday in a telephone interview.
Of all the people in the world you say BOB COSTAS doesn’t know anything about baseball?
Have you actually read Bob’s book? It’s all about how Oakland, Minnesota, Florida, Milwaukee, and Detroit will never get into the playoffs. He should stick to announcing. (Can we PLEASE get him to take over for Joe Buck?)
By the way, I’d much rather have Barry Bonds (Zero positive steroid tests) as the face of my league rather than Shawne Merriman. If we’re going to continue to test players, then we actually have to acknowledge when they come back negative.
Let Mr. Bonds have his day.
Alex Rodriguez will hit his 500th homer any day now. He’s 31 years old.
Although I have my own misgivings about Bob Costas, you’re right. Bonds is a complete ass, and always has been.
Barry Bonds is not the face of Major League Baseball.
Bonds said Costas is a midget who knows nothing about baseball because Costas is a midget (I have almost identical height/weight to Costas, and I can attest to being vertically challenged) who knows nothing about baseball. Anyone who says otherwise is condemned to read his crappy book.
I still don’t get why Bonds draws such ire. Notice the outcry when Bonds makes a comment but no such outcry when Curt Schilling opens his mouth and inserts his foot, as he did a few hours ago.
Bonds said Costas is a midget who knows nothing about baseball
I got two words for Barry Bonds.
David Eckstein.
Four more.
Spud Webb, Mugsy Bogues.
I still don’t get why Bonds draws such ire.
I’ll explain. Mr. Bonds does not even pretend to care about anyone other than Mr. Bonds. He distances himself from his teammates in the clubhouse and surrounds himself with sycophants off the field.
A few years back, he achieved some milestone (stolen bases?)late in the season and immediately went on vacation, leaving his teammates to slog through without him.
He’s also a crybaby. When he gets bad press for his antics, he plays the victim.
In short, he’s a great ballplayer but an astonishingly self-centered one.
Actually, Costas thinks he knows a lot about baseball, but when I watch or listen to the guy I cringe. Frankly, I am tired of hearing from guys like Costas who hate any change in the game simply for the sake of hating it because that way he can brag about honoring “traditionalism.”
That being said, what the hell is Bonds gripe? Costas just asked a question. It was Schilling that talked. And Bonds in doing what he did, once again avoided the question and the subject (himself).
The tragedy of Bonds is that it never needed to happen.
Prior to 1998 (when allegedly jealous of Sosa and McGuire he began to juice) Bonds had hit 30/30 four times. In ‘96 he hit 40/40.
At one time Bonds was a five-tool player. He was a great defensive player with both his arm and glove. He could run the bases. He could hit for both power and average.
In 1998 it was guaranteed that Bonds would be remembered as one of the best players in baseball. He had no good reason to juice.
Now, he will be remembered as a cheater.
Talk about you classic (and I mean ancient greek) case of hubris.
Two words for Barry Bonds?
Willie Mays.
Mays does not hold the single season home run record.
Mays does not own the career home run record.
Willie Mays is also the best baseball player of all time.
For what it’s worth, I think Schilling should shut his trap. Every time that guy talks it’s like nails on a chalkboard to me.
CO Dave, as far as “best baseball player of all time” goes… tough not to give the nod to Babe Ruth. Cliche, maybe… but the guy was on a completely different planet as far as hitters go, moreso than anyone else in history, including Mays, Bonds, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron. Not to mention that he was one of the best starting pitchers in the game before he was moved into the outfield.
It’s hard not to argue for Babe Ruth as the best of all time. That guy was hitting bombs when they gave names like Frank “Home Run” Baker to a guy that hit a high of 12 one season.
People often try to diminish what Ruth did by saying he benefited from playing in that era. Only playing against 7 other teams and seeing the same pitchers over and over again, but such criticisms are unjustified. Ruth hit a ton of home runs in cavernous ballparks where balls had to travel 450+ feet just to get over the fence. The balls used weren’t the oversized golf balls they use now.
Like Mambo points out, the guy was also awesome pitcher. He went 89-46 in his pitching career and he was largely responsible for the Red Sox winning the World Series in 1918. The guy had a streak of 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings the World Series, a record that stood until Whitey Ford broke it in 1961.
There’s a great book by Bill Jenkison called, ‘The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs’ which says that with todays field dimensions and rules (before 1931, when balls hit the foul pole, it was foul) Ruth would have had a total of 818 career homers.
He was also, despite his big frame, a terrific outfielder. That description came from Tris Speaker, considered one of the best outfielders of his day.
I have tix for Tues game in LA and I don’t give a rat’s ass what Coatas or anyone else says about Barry Bonds. That said Barry is not his own best friend in the player PR department. But so what. He is an impact player who every team he plays against has to plan their game around. That’s respect. The kind of respect a player truly cares about. Not the only kind of respect players care about however.
I really love the game and am personally enjoying the on field drama.
GO DODGERZ!!
Let he who has PROOF that Barry Bonds’ success is due to steroids raise his hand. Before the steroids flap hit and formerly ‘unaware’ sports wags latched onto the unfriendly Bonds as their chosen scapegoat, Bonds had a reputation for being a fierce workout and diet adherent.
As far as Babe Ruth is concerned, there is no questioning the man’s abilities. However, it must be pointed out that all baseball records before 1947 should have an asterisk, since many of the best players of the era were frozen out of the ‘major leagues.’
Discuss.