The Great Barry Bonds is not the Bad Guy off the field many think he is! (6/07)

As Barry Bonds gets closer to breaking Hank Aaron’s Home Run Record of 755, he will always be in the spotlight regarding performance enhancing products and his claim that he doesn’t get along with many sports writers.  Personally, I have met him once and he was very cordial with me.  I didn’t attack or question him but just talked to him person to person and had no problems.  I didn’t search or inquire about any claims and basically respected him.  I think his accomplishments are incredible and if it is proven down the road that he did use Steroids or other performance enhancing products, that shouldn’t diminish everything.  Many people will say his records are tainted but you cannot take away his awesome ability of the game of baseball.  A few years ago, he hit .370 for the year.  That is a ridiculous average even if he was on something.  I don’t see other players putting up numbers close to what he had done for so long.  I am not trying to say I think it is ok for him or other athletes to use illegal products but give some credit to Mr. Bonds afterall.

All I ever read about Barry Bonds from sports writers is what a bad guy Barry is. What readers don’t know is many sports writers hold a grudge, J.A. Adante of the LA Times, told me he will never write anything nice about Barry because Barry blew him off when A.J. wanted an interview. Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated always has a negative slant on Barry in print and on radio, and has for years. Shouldn’t a good writer be impartial and above that? Rick said Barry is disliked by teammates, not true, I have been around many of his teammates over the seasons. It would have been so easy over the years for his teammates to at least once show Barry up, all they had to do is not congratulate Barry in dugout after a home run, but it has never happened. They really don’t care that Barry has 2 extra lockers and a massage chair he bought himself, some of Rick’s pet peeves.

I see another side to Barry Bonds. I split my time writing for movies and sports, many of your favorite movie and TV actors are rude and moody, yet they turn the charm on for five minutes on Letterman or Leno. Barry is Moody around sports writers but has a great side nobody talks about.  At Dodger Stadium a few years ago as Barry was 67 home runs into his record setting 73 home run season, he was introduced to Farah Fawcett at batting practice and he gave her his bat that he hit HR’s 63 and 64, that bat was worth quite a bit of money, yet he just gave it to her. Barry has always told me he is not very interested in records, and I believe him. I find him frank and honest when answering a question, which sometimes gets him into trouble. After A-Rod had a sizzling April HR record, Barry said he hopes he beats his 73, “Records are meant to be broken, you go A_Rod.” He will tell you that Jim Leland is the best manager he ever played for, because he got the most from the least talented team Barry ever played on. Now I will say I do believe Barry, McGwire, Sosa and many other hitters and pitchers did use steroids, which allowed them to recover quicker from injuries and I think all their records are unfair to the Babe Ruth’s, Hank Aaron’s and Roger Maris’s of the baseball world. Ever notice how little skinny Lenny Dykstra of the 86 World Champion Mets got huge on the Phillies, hit lots of home runs and got the big bucks contract for it. Steroids has had a rippling affect through baseball for some time now, and we should tip our hats to the Ken Griffey Jr’s of the world who although often injured put up huge numbers without their hat size ever growing 

But that said when I am around Barry I see him flash that big little kid smile he has, usually find him laughing and kidding with friends, teammates, his own kids. I think Barry is cold to male sportswriters because they demand time from him off the field, when the game is over he feels that is his time. I also believe Barry has an issue with male authority, his father Bobby Bonds had a problem with alcohol and was a distant father. Barry has often said his mother came to all his childhood games, he never ever saw his father there. And when Barry broke one of his many major records, Willie Mays was there and criticized Barry’s dad for missing the game to attend a charity golf event he was hosting. Barry is a complex guy, fun, funny, moody, frank, not unlike most celebrities. So don’t believe all the negative big bad Barry articles you read.