bonds # 713
kuhlmann
Posts: 3,326 ✭✭
in Sports Talk
in philly lol. fans were giving him so much cr@p. then he hits 1.
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He deserves all of the crap fans can throw at him and Philly leads the nation in ranking opposing players, and their own if they deserve it.
Still think that Bonds will not pass Aaron, and this is fitting.
Unless perhaps he switches to the AL and hits as a DH for another five years or so. His ego would allow him to do that, but MLB may not.
<< <i>I think beating Ruth should have meaning. I know Bonds will be forever linked with the steroid abuse and all that, but besides that beating out Babe Ruth should hold some water, Babe Ruth has always been the bench mark for the greatest hr hitter ever (although I disagree) so anyone who passes him should get some credit. >>
I respect your opinion, but think that Aaaron should be the benchmark in today's game.
The man did it with class, longevity, and certainly in a time when no other player faced as much adversity in breaking a longtime record.
Hank is the man in my book, along with Clemente.
Hopefully Pujols and some other excellent and upstanding ballplayers will continue this tradition.
Keith
A good feeling for me that we were spared the irony of Bonds breaking Ruths record in the town where the Babe took his last at bat.
Bill Conlin | A blast of Ruthian dimensions
JUST WHEN it was fairly apparent that Babe Ruth's ghost would not suffer the indignity of being passed once again, this time in the same city where he retired 71 years ago, Barry Bonds did what he does. Just to remind us.
What he does better than anybody. Ever. He hits baseballs longer, higher and farther than any human or inhuman ever has. Or will. To say he creamed a 2-1 Jon Lieber pitch and that it cleared a fence in right-center in a third at-bat would be a cheap way to imply it was less than a product of superhuman strength, bat speed and timing.
The Money Pit slide-rulers came up with a 450-foot number for a jaw-dropping launch that made Ryan Howard's celebrated (and generous) 496-foot bomb the last homestand look like a swinging bunt. The McDonald's sign on the third deck well past dead right is the same height as the two flags that fly in dead center over Ashburn Alley. We're talking serious height.
The adjective "Ruthian'' comes to mind.
Until Bonds reached into his memory for the essence that defines great ballplayers - even those accused of ramping up their skills with needles and pills - it was not looking good for him. He had been more burned-out husk than hero this weekend, sullen and silent. As he slimped to the plate last night for what probably would be his final swings here - OK, a slimp is somewhere between a saunter and a limp - I found myself thinking of Babe Ruth.
What, I wondered, as the final geek chorus of "Barry sucks'' and "Cheeeeeeeter'' rained down on the Michelin Man, did the Bambino look like hobbling to the plate in Shibe Park for his final at-bat on May 30, 1935? He grounded out, then announced his retirement between games of the doubleheader. Even after his incredible farewell salvo in Forbes Field 5 days earlier - Nos. 712, 713 and 714 - Ruth was batting a buck thirty, which was about a buck thirty under his weight.
Old. Fat. Injured. Slow.
Willie Mays had all but fat on his dance card when the end came for him in Shea Stadium, where he even took himself out of a game in the middle of an inning after a poor play - a nod to Joe DiMaggio. When asked by sports writers why he had jogged in from center after failing to make what should have been a routine play at the end of his career, DiMaggio replied, "There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time. I owe him my best.''
A lot of kids and bellowing adults probably saw Bonds play for the last time in the town where Babe Ruth hung them up in a dingy visitor's clubhouse. Bonds gave them a memorable home run to remember - hate him or despise him.
Aaron Fultz struck out Bonds for the second out of the eighth inning of the 9-5 triumph, and that's eight straight Phillies wins for those of you paying attention to the actual season. I'm glad the best hitter of our time - juiced or juiceless - moved on with his ego-driven clock frozen one short in his pursuit of a long-dead American hero and a home-run record that seems to be more ceremonial than relevant. Sort of like visiting Valley Forge. Does Avis still run those, "We're No. 2'' commercials? Barry would be only perfect. They could lead into his reality show on ESPN, the best little whorehouse in television.
Fortunately, the Bonds carnivale, which lacked only a bearded lady and fortune teller, moves on with its suddenly recharged entourage of roustabouts. Now, having beaten the bratwurst out of Milwaukee, and told every possible variation of the generation-old snowballing of Santa Claus here, the countdown for the Flying Circus is down to two jacks from the penultimate. He's got six games coming to him at home. Seeya, Babe.
Bonds had been 1-for-10 on the road trip after being intentionally walked by Lieber his first at-bat. He was greeted by a banner so long it covered two full sections of the leftfield upper deck: "Ruth did it on hotdogs & Beer, Aaron did it with class, How did YOU do it?''
A little wordy, but an "A'' for effort, punctuation and spelling.
The best banner of the weekend needed just three letters to both amuse and make a statement. A couple of fans covered the far right "GEI'' of the triple GEICO sign on the the upper-deck facing with a sheet bearing the letters "BAL.'' BALCO. Get it? Good. When Barry slimped through the wearying anthem of chants to lead off the fourth, the rampaging Phillies were leading 5-1. The shift was on, meaning Chase Utley was stationed in not-so-shallow right. Good thing. Barry ripped a tracer right through where second basemen normally play. It was his first solid non-batting practice contact of the weekend. He only had to be half-fast while trundling from first to third on Steve Finley's long single to right and jogged home on Mark Sweeney's long sacrifice fly to center.
Just after the home run that made this weekend of the streaking Phillies resurgence worthwhile for the Big Picture people, Winter Olympics short-track gold medalist Apolo Ohno was introduced. Apolo took a bow. It was nice of Jon Lieber to acknowledge Ohno's presence, as well.
Just as the most awesome homer in the brief history of The Bank lifted off, the veteran righthander was heard to exclaim: "OH NO!''
Send e-mail to bill1chair@aol.com. For recent columns, go to http://go.philly.com/conlin.
© 2006 Philadelphia Daily News and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.philly.com
Bonds says Philly fans are not the worst. Gee what happened to the SoCal politically correct fan? -
Philly Inquirer:
"There's nothing to do now but play it out, to endure the public flogging as he gets closer to the top of the all-time list.
"They're supposed to be mature people, too," Bonds said of the fans. "They have to look at themselves, and at their children, too. Some of them bring their kids and say things in front of their kids. If that's how you want your own children to be raised, that's your problem."
Bonds said Philadelphia was "nothing" compared to what he hears and sees at Dodger Stadium."
The Philly fans are just saving up the venom for when the Cowboys with T.O. come to town
in the upcoming NFL season.
<< <i>Bonds said Philadelphia was "nothing" compared to what he hears and sees at Dodger Stadium." >>
The Philly fans are just saving up the venom for when the Cowboys with T.O. come to town
in the upcoming NFL season.
You are so right!
Bring on "Turd O" !!!!!!
<< <i>Bonds said Philadelphia was "nothing" compared to what he hears and sees at Dodger Stadium." >>
The Philly fans are just saving up the venom for when the Cowboys with T.O. come to town
in the upcoming NFL season.
The decibel level of booing will exceed that of a supernova explosion.
<< <i>Bonds said Philadelphia was "nothing" compared to what he hears and sees at Dodger Stadium." >>
The Philly fans are just saving up the venom for when the Cowboys with T.O. come to town
in the upcoming NFL season.
Remember these Chuck Norris Facts
1. When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn't lifting himself up, he's pushing the Earth down
2. According to Einstein's theory of relativity, Chuck Norris can actually roundhouse kick you yesterday
3. There are no such things as lesbians, just women who have not yet met Chuck Norris
That picture is awesome! Is it a real picture? Or did some computer whiz whip that up?
Thats sweet!
Remember these Chuck Norris Facts
1. When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn't lifting himself up, he's pushing the Earth down
2. According to Einstein's theory of relativity, Chuck Norris can actually roundhouse kick you yesterday
3. There are no such things as lesbians, just women who have not yet met Chuck Norris
Must be an L.A. fan...
<< <i>The guy looks like he does take it in the behind actually.
Must be an L.A. fan... >>
Enter (no pun intended) Axtell, the resident L.A. defender (although he actually lives in NoCal).