I've changed my mind. Bonds breaking McGwire's HR record would be great. (1 Viewer)

[KeithH]

Yep, Joe. Bonds is two away from tying McGwire. Should be an exciting weekend!
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[Tom-G]

When one uses the term "contact hitter" to describe a baseball player, one is usually referring to someone of Tony Gwynn's, or Wade Boggs' ilk, i.e. a hitter that does not hit for a lot of power. Rather, that player has a higher batting average in lieu of home runs. This is not the case with Barry Bonds or Bobby Bonds.
Baseball fans just don't seem to be excited about Barry Bond's breaking the record. It's more attributable to the fact that it's been done already by Mark McGwire and when he broke the record, he demolished it. The "shock-factor" now is rather low. Been there, done that. It's still a tremendous accomplishment. Barry has the chance to hit 75 (!) which just 10 years ago was unconscionable.
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[Edited last by Tom_G on September 29, 2001 at 11:26 AM]

 

[KeithH]

Tom said:

Baseball fans just don't seem to be excited about Barry Bond's breaking the record. It's more attributable to the fact that it's been done already by Mark McGwire and when he broke the record, he demolished it. The "shock-factor" now is rather low.

I agree with you to a point. However, if it were not for the disgusting display of a lack of regard for human life on September 11th, I think Bonds would be getting more attention over the past couple of weeks.
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[Joseph S]

69
and all those games at EnRon. He may hit 75. Poor Rickey hasn't scored and is 4 hits away.

 

[Eric Scott]

Incredible, especially at his age. This kind of recent HR hitting makes me wonder why the Ruth/Maris records stood up so long?

 

[RobertR]

There have ALWAYS been people trying to dilute or diminish the accomplishment of breaking a record. Everyone knows how unjustly Maris was treated (Maris, like Bonds, had his problems with the media) when he broke Ruth's record, and how excuses were made to show that Maris' accomplishment somehow wasn't "real". The "asterisk" was one of the most infamous things baseball ever did.
I think records are made to be broken, and if Bonds does it, good for him. Let his on field accomplishments put him in the record book and the Hall of Fame, even if he does act like a jerk (Ty Cobb, anyone?).
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[Brian Perry]

More amazing to me than the 69 homers is that Bonds has now surpassed Ruth's all-time single season slugging percentage. We'll see if he can keep the lead (.848 vs. .847).
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[KeithH]

Although I really don't like Bonds and do like what McGwire accomplished in '98 (especially with Sosa chasing him all season), there is something that makes Bonds' performance this season very special in comparison to McGwire's. There was a lot of talk in '98 about McGwire taking creatine to the point where many tried to discount his ability. Many tried to make the point that McGwire broke Maris's record with "artificial" muscle and didn't really earn the record. My point here is not to re-open the McGwire/creatine debate. What I am saying is that no one is talking about Bonds taking any performance-enhancing drugs, which is refreshing in comparison to the "cloud" that surrounded McGwire in '98. The only criticism Bonds is receiving regarding his pursuit of 71 home runs is the poor pitching and small parks he sees on a regular basis. The same criticism surrounded McGwire and Sosa in '98. Like McGwire and Sosa before him, Bonds has no control over these matters. He is just going out and doing his job, and doing it quite well.
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[Edited last by KeithH on September 30, 2001 at 04:06 PM]

 

[Brian Perry]

I think the criticism is due to two reasons. First, most agree that Bonds is a jerk. Secondly, his performance this year is so shocking and far beyond what he has done in the past, many people believe there must be something fishy going on (corked bat, etc.). His homer total will probably be around 50% better than his best prior year (and his slugging % increase is similar). It's like someone who typically hits .300 suddenly hitting .450. It feels like baseball's record integrity is being challenged, because jumps like that just don't happen. I'm trying to think of cases in which a veteran player suddenly exceeded his best ever season by a gargantuan margin (50% or so), and I am coming up blank.
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[Edited last by Brian Perry on September 30, 2001 at 09:12 PM]

 

[James RD]

And his best HR year was last year at age 36. He was hurt in 1999 and really began hitting the weights. I have no idea if he is getting any chemical help. But he is huge. It's hard to tell when he's in uniform but his biceps are monstrous. Compare his present physique with that of his Pittsburg days.
The guy is truly a giant jerk but I do admire his talent. However, as someone posted earlier, he is most definitely NOT the best all around player ever. I saw Willie Mays play and Bonds ain't no Willie Mays.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I think the criticism is due to two reasons. First, most agree that Bonds is a jerk. Secondly, his performance this year is so shocking and far beyond what he has done in the past, many people believe there must be something fishy going on (corked bat, etc.). His homer total will probably be around 50% better than his best prior year (and his slugging % increase is similar). It's like someone who typically hits .300 suddenly hitting .450. It feels like baseball's record integrity is being challenged, because jumps like that just don't happen. I'm trying to think of cases in which a veteran player suddenly exceeded his best ever season by a gargantuan margin (50% or so), and I am coming up blank.

Brian,
Brady Anderson hit 50 homers in 1996, when his previously high in homers was 21.
Crawdaddy
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[KeithH]

Brian and Robert, and look at the year Luis Gonzalez is having. Sorry, but where does he get off joining the 50-home run club? I remember some years back (1990?) when Cecil Fielder hit his 50th home run in the last game of the season or darn near close to the last game. Everyone was saying what a big deal it was because no one had hit 50 home runs in a season since George Foster hit 52 in 1977. How times have changed.
By the way, I know that, like Luis Gonzalez, Cecil Fielder and George Foster were not superstars in the grand scheme of things, but Gonzalez has come out of nowhere.
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