The Bonds Family
While he continues to insist that he is more than capable of helping out a team at the major league level, Barry Bonds appears to have played his last game of professional baseball.
During a recent discussion at baseball’s annual winter meetings, Barry’s agent, Jeff Borris, stated that he felt his client would never play major league baseball again. After finishing 2007 with the Giants, and leading the National League in walks, intentional walks, and on base percentage, Barry has yet to catch on with another team. That offseason, he was indicted by the grand jury for perjury in connection to an investigation linking him to performance enhancing drugs, which he denied having every knowingly used. Borris expressed his exasperation at having trying to find a team for Barry to play on in 2008 to no avail and having the same results when looking to 2009. Acknowledging the fact that his client has not played in two full seasons and is now 45 years old, Borris admits that finding a team willing to take that chance now is near impossible.
One of baseball’s most prolific hitters and feared players of all time, Bonds never figured out how to connect with all those around him, leaving behind a large contingent of former teammates, coaches, media, and fans that simply could not embrace him and his personality. That being said, if this is in fact his retirement, he will leave the game with 1,996 RBI and 762 Home Runs as well as a 7 time National League MVP and 14 time All Star. His final at bat will go down as a fly out to right center field at home in San Fransisco against Jake Peavy and the San Diego Padres.
Barry’s career, legacy, statistics, personality, and connection to performance enhancing drugs will continue to weigh on the game for a period of time. While leaving as one of the game’s best players of all time, he will also test the debates over an era of baseball that the Hall of Fame will either have to embrace and accept or continue to acknowledge and exclude.
Like it or not, Barry Bonds will continue to be the “poster child” for this era, this behavior, and the difficult decisions facing those that are forced to continue to focus on it. In addition, his name will consistently lead to debate as many wonder if teams were simply shy of the baggage that came along with him, or was he truly “black balled” from baseball?
Topics: 45 Years, Avail, Barry Bonds, Base Percentage, Contingent, Exasperation, Grand Jury, Hall of Fame, Home Runs, Jake Peavy, Jeff Borris, Last Game, legend, Major League Baseball, National League Mvp, Offseason, Performance Enhancing Drugs, Perjury, Professional Baseball, Retirement, San Diego Padres, San Fransisco, San Fransisco Giants, Winter Meetings
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Very good story Bill. I grew up loving Barry Bonds even as a Phillies fan, because I simply respected and admired his game. After I found out about the steroid accusations, which even though he hasn’t been fully convicted of, they seem undoubtedly true, I have since become indifferent toward Barry Bonds. The thing that probably upsets me the most about Bonds is that he had the talent to be a Hall of Famer without the steroids. It is hard to say if that would have come true for sure, but personally, I believe that he would have been a 400-400 (homers and steals) guy for his career without “the juice,” and it’s a shame that he resorted to performance enhancing drugs. He may have not put up the numbers to be considered one of the greatest of all time, but he still would have been a Hall of Famer, and he would not have been looked at nearly as negative as he is today and as he will be in the future. I just had to get that off my chest!