On Opening Day, San Fransisco Giants fan Bryan Stow was beaten in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium. From that beating, he was in a coma for weeks, and is presently in critical condition, heavily sedated to prevent seizures caused by the traumatic brain injury he suffered.
Members of the San Fransisco Giants have stepped up, in a major way, to show their support for Stow and his family. Members of the team have visited him, and Tim Lincecum gave $25,000 to the Bryan Stow Fund, to help cover his medical expenses. But it was one former player who made a surprise, and unreported, visit to Stow that truly touched his family.
On April 22, Barry Bonds went to visit. He stayed for an hour with Bryan, and left behind a signed bat for Stow's children. But he also left something else. Bonds volunteered to pay for the college education of Stow's two children, Tyler, age 12, and Tabitha, age 8.
Bonds has been much maligned over the years. Whether it was due to his standoffish and aloof nature, the steroid allegations, or the recent purgery trial that he went through, people are quick to assume to worst when it comes to Bonds. Yet, when he went and visited Bryan Stow, he did not do so for publicity. He did so because he felt it was the right thing to do. And he, through his actions, is going to provide something much more than any token gesture could - he is going to provide these kids a future.
So rip on Barry all you want. Sometimes, there is more to a person than they let on.
Showing posts with label Barry Bonds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barry Bonds. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The Bonds Verdict
Well, that was a waste of time.
Out of the four charges facing Barry Bonds, he was found only guilty of one - obstruction of justice. Yet, this verdict is confusing as there was a deadlock on the other three charges of perjury. Essentially, what the jury was saying is that they could not determine if Bonds lied to a federal grand jury, but he somehow managed to impede the federal investigation into the steroid scandal. Not sure how that would be mutually exclusive to lying to the grand jury.
In the end, this is a victory for Barry Bonds. Not only does he get some semblance of vindication when he stated that he 'never knowingly used steroids,' but he can now claim that the allegations against him were fabricated by those who were trying to get revenge against him. As if to punctuate this, Bonds flashed a victory symbol as he exited the courthouse yesterday, as he now can rest easy knowing that the federal government really has nothing on him.
It is still possible that the obstruction conviction could be thrown out, should the defense successfully argue that the conviction does not make sense in light of the deadlock on the perjury charges. Either way, Bonds has managed to win yet again in the steroid era.
Out of the four charges facing Barry Bonds, he was found only guilty of one - obstruction of justice. Yet, this verdict is confusing as there was a deadlock on the other three charges of perjury. Essentially, what the jury was saying is that they could not determine if Bonds lied to a federal grand jury, but he somehow managed to impede the federal investigation into the steroid scandal. Not sure how that would be mutually exclusive to lying to the grand jury.
In the end, this is a victory for Barry Bonds. Not only does he get some semblance of vindication when he stated that he 'never knowingly used steroids,' but he can now claim that the allegations against him were fabricated by those who were trying to get revenge against him. As if to punctuate this, Bonds flashed a victory symbol as he exited the courthouse yesterday, as he now can rest easy knowing that the federal government really has nothing on him.
It is still possible that the obstruction conviction could be thrown out, should the defense successfully argue that the conviction does not make sense in light of the deadlock on the perjury charges. Either way, Bonds has managed to win yet again in the steroid era.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
The Different Eras of Baseball
With Manny Ramirez failing a second drug test, and subsequently retiring from baseball, there has been a lot of discussion as to how this will affect his Hall of Fame candidacy. In all likelihood, the BBWAA will climb upon their moral high ground, and refuse to vote him in, claiming that his admission would somehow cheapen and demean the Hall itself. Ramirez, and Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and others, will fall into the same purgatory that Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro find themselves in - not enough votes to get in, and too many to fall off the ballot.
This stance is entirely hypocritical. Because the manner of cheating was an injectable substance, this is considered to be taboo and enough to immediately dismiss the candidate from the Hall? Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton made their careers off of cheating with the spitball and scuff ball respectively. In fact, Perry wrote a book called 'Me and the Spitter', which came out in 1974 - during the middle of his playing career! Yet, both pitchers managed to gain entry into the Hall. Why the double standard?
The steroid era was nothing more than another age in the history of baseball. Until Jackie Robinson broke into the Major Leagues in 1947, there had not been a black major league player since the 1880's. Does this mean that Cy Young, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth were not as great as they are considered to be? They did not have to face Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, and the other stars of the Negro Leagues. But that does not matter - they were amongst the best of their era and competition.
During World War 2, quite a number of major league players were fighting in the war overseas. As such, a number of players had their career years during that time frame due to an overall decrease in the talent on the field. Hal Newhouser, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992, had his best three years from 1944 to 1946, when the players were just starting to come back to baseball. Yet, he made the Hall of Fame. The lack of talent then was not held against him.
In the 1960's through the 1980's, quite a number of players were hopped up on 'greenies', cocaine, and other various substances. In fact, baseball lore has it where Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter while on acid. The voters have not held the drugs of that era against those playing during that time frame. In fact, prior to their ban in 2006, it was estimated that between 50% to 80% of baseball players were using greenies, yet it was an open secret in Major League Baseball. No one cared. The use of amphetamines has not affected anyone from reaching the Hall either.
So why the uproar over steroids when the other eras had their own issues? Yes, steroids can give an advantage to players, but how much of an advantage is it when roughly 50% of the league is on them? At this point, everyone that played during the mid to late 1990's through present is under a cloud of suspicion, even if there is absolutely nothing tying them to steroid use. Look at Jeff Bagwell, who should have been a first ballot Hall of Famer. However, since quite a number of writers think he was on steroids, despite a lack of any proof or any rumors that he was, he only received 41.7% of the vote.
The steroid era is simply another stage in the evolution of the game, and should be treated as such. Players like Ramirez, Bonds, McGwire, Clemens, and Palmeiro should be judged based on what they accomplished DURING THE ERA THEY PLAYED IN. After all, Manny Alexander was busted for steroids, and they obviously did not turn him into a Hall of Fame caliber player.
These players should be looked at in context of when they played. Aside from their statistics, there should be no other criteria.
This stance is entirely hypocritical. Because the manner of cheating was an injectable substance, this is considered to be taboo and enough to immediately dismiss the candidate from the Hall? Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton made their careers off of cheating with the spitball and scuff ball respectively. In fact, Perry wrote a book called 'Me and the Spitter', which came out in 1974 - during the middle of his playing career! Yet, both pitchers managed to gain entry into the Hall. Why the double standard?
The steroid era was nothing more than another age in the history of baseball. Until Jackie Robinson broke into the Major Leagues in 1947, there had not been a black major league player since the 1880's. Does this mean that Cy Young, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth were not as great as they are considered to be? They did not have to face Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, and the other stars of the Negro Leagues. But that does not matter - they were amongst the best of their era and competition.
During World War 2, quite a number of major league players were fighting in the war overseas. As such, a number of players had their career years during that time frame due to an overall decrease in the talent on the field. Hal Newhouser, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992, had his best three years from 1944 to 1946, when the players were just starting to come back to baseball. Yet, he made the Hall of Fame. The lack of talent then was not held against him.
In the 1960's through the 1980's, quite a number of players were hopped up on 'greenies', cocaine, and other various substances. In fact, baseball lore has it where Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter while on acid. The voters have not held the drugs of that era against those playing during that time frame. In fact, prior to their ban in 2006, it was estimated that between 50% to 80% of baseball players were using greenies, yet it was an open secret in Major League Baseball. No one cared. The use of amphetamines has not affected anyone from reaching the Hall either.
So why the uproar over steroids when the other eras had their own issues? Yes, steroids can give an advantage to players, but how much of an advantage is it when roughly 50% of the league is on them? At this point, everyone that played during the mid to late 1990's through present is under a cloud of suspicion, even if there is absolutely nothing tying them to steroid use. Look at Jeff Bagwell, who should have been a first ballot Hall of Famer. However, since quite a number of writers think he was on steroids, despite a lack of any proof or any rumors that he was, he only received 41.7% of the vote.
The steroid era is simply another stage in the evolution of the game, and should be treated as such. Players like Ramirez, Bonds, McGwire, Clemens, and Palmeiro should be judged based on what they accomplished DURING THE ERA THEY PLAYED IN. After all, Manny Alexander was busted for steroids, and they obviously did not turn him into a Hall of Fame caliber player.
These players should be looked at in context of when they played. Aside from their statistics, there should be no other criteria.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The Barry Bonds Witch Hunt
Finally, after nine years of investigation, the trial against Barry Bonds for lying to a grand jury in regards to his usage of steroids has begun. This witch hunt, perpetuated in part due to his standing on the all time home run list, has been going on for far too long.
Bud Selig, in sanctioning the Mitchell Report and subsequent steroid investigations, did so with the possibility of keeping Bonds from surpassing Hank Aaron as the all time home run leader. Aaron is an ambassador for the game of baseball, likable and affable. Bonds, meanwhile, is rather unlikeable, surly, and arrogant. Yet, for all of the effort put into the report, nothing specifically stated that Bonds knowingly took steroids. In fact, Harvey Shields, Bonds personal trainer from 2000 to 2004, stated that "Greg Anderson provided Bonds with a cream to use on his elbow, which Shields said he believed was an over-the-counter 'arthritis cream.'" In addition, in regards to a clear liquid that Bonds was ingesting which he believed was flaxseed oil, Shields said "(I) believed the clear liquid was flaxseed oil. (Shields) claimed to have taken the clear liquid himself, and he said that it tasted like flaxseed oil he had obtained from health food stores in the past."
The crux of the indictment is that Bonds intentionally lied to the grand jury when he said that he never knowingly took steroids. Greg Anderson, the man who the government is claiming provided him with the steroids, refuses to testify against Bonds, to the point of being imprisoned four times for his refusal to co-operate. Yes, Anderson has been friends with Bonds since childhood, but keep in mind that this works both ways. If your trainer that you have known since childhood provided you with substances that he stated were flaxseed oil and arthritis cream, would you have any cause to doubt him? People can claim that Bonds should know everything that he ingested or took, but where is the rationale for this?
The main witnesses for the prosecution have major character flaws as well. Kimberly Bell, Bonds' ex-mistress, used her fifteen minutes of fame to pose naked for Playboy. Steve Hoskins, a former partner of Bonds in the autographed memorabilia business, was fired by Bonds after Hoskins stole money from the business and forged his signature to several items. In fact, Bonds assisted the government in 2003 in their prosecution of Hoskins for forgery. The third witness is Kathy Hoskins, Bonds former personal shopper, who just so happens to be the sister of Steve Hoskins. Not exactly the most credible of witnesses.
In the end, Bonds will end up being vindicated, despite all of the circumstantial evidence supporting steroid use. Yes, his dome may have increased in size to be of Sputnik proportions, but that is not evidence enough to convict him. Bonds may just become the first athlete officially found to be not guilty of steroid use.
Bud Selig, in sanctioning the Mitchell Report and subsequent steroid investigations, did so with the possibility of keeping Bonds from surpassing Hank Aaron as the all time home run leader. Aaron is an ambassador for the game of baseball, likable and affable. Bonds, meanwhile, is rather unlikeable, surly, and arrogant. Yet, for all of the effort put into the report, nothing specifically stated that Bonds knowingly took steroids. In fact, Harvey Shields, Bonds personal trainer from 2000 to 2004, stated that "Greg Anderson provided Bonds with a cream to use on his elbow, which Shields said he believed was an over-the-counter 'arthritis cream.'" In addition, in regards to a clear liquid that Bonds was ingesting which he believed was flaxseed oil, Shields said "(I) believed the clear liquid was flaxseed oil. (Shields) claimed to have taken the clear liquid himself, and he said that it tasted like flaxseed oil he had obtained from health food stores in the past."
The crux of the indictment is that Bonds intentionally lied to the grand jury when he said that he never knowingly took steroids. Greg Anderson, the man who the government is claiming provided him with the steroids, refuses to testify against Bonds, to the point of being imprisoned four times for his refusal to co-operate. Yes, Anderson has been friends with Bonds since childhood, but keep in mind that this works both ways. If your trainer that you have known since childhood provided you with substances that he stated were flaxseed oil and arthritis cream, would you have any cause to doubt him? People can claim that Bonds should know everything that he ingested or took, but where is the rationale for this?
The main witnesses for the prosecution have major character flaws as well. Kimberly Bell, Bonds' ex-mistress, used her fifteen minutes of fame to pose naked for Playboy. Steve Hoskins, a former partner of Bonds in the autographed memorabilia business, was fired by Bonds after Hoskins stole money from the business and forged his signature to several items. In fact, Bonds assisted the government in 2003 in their prosecution of Hoskins for forgery. The third witness is Kathy Hoskins, Bonds former personal shopper, who just so happens to be the sister of Steve Hoskins. Not exactly the most credible of witnesses.
In the end, Bonds will end up being vindicated, despite all of the circumstantial evidence supporting steroid use. Yes, his dome may have increased in size to be of Sputnik proportions, but that is not evidence enough to convict him. Bonds may just become the first athlete officially found to be not guilty of steroid use.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Obscure League Leaders
Every so often, when researching statistics in baseball, one happens to come along a season or a player that makes you wonder exactly what happened at that time frame. While looking into various statistics on an outfielder named Gavvy Gravath who played from 1908 until 1920, I noticed that he had several seasons with an extremely high adjusted OPS+. In 1913, his adjusted OPS+ was 172. He then followed this season by producing seasons in 1914 and 1915 with an OPS+ of 161 and 171, respectively. As such, I got curious as to where these ranked as the highest over the course of a season.
For those that don't know, adjusted OPS+ is OPS adjusted for the park and the league in which the player played, but not for fielding position. An OPS+ of 100 is defined to be the league average. An OPS+ of 150 or more is excellent and 125 very good, while an OPS+ of 75 or below is poor. OPS is determined by adding on base percentage and slugging percentage. As such, in the sabermetric community, it is regarded as an extremely useful tool to determine the value of a hitter.
When looking over the leaders in OPS+ for a season, the top three marks are held by Barry Bonds, which should not come as a surprise. In fact, most of the top ten is filled by Bonds, Babe Ruth (five through seven) and Ted Williams (eight and nine). However, in fourth place, is a player by the name of Fred Dunlap, who in 1884 posted an OPS+ of 258. This record actually stood until 2001, when Bonds passed it with a mark of 259. Here is a link to the list from baseballreference.com: http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/onbase_plus_slugging_plus_season.shtml
Dunlap, nicknamed 'Sure Shot' due to his strong throwing arm, was 25 in 1884. That season, for the Saint Louis Maroons of the shortly lived Union Association, he managed to hit .412 with a .448 OBP. He led the league in hitting, OBP, slugging (.621), home runs (13), hits (185), and runs (160). These statistics were compiled over 101 games, in an era when the mounds stood fifty feet from home plate and an overhand throwing motion was considered legal for the first time. Still, this was nominally a part of the dead ball era, so these statistics were extremely impressive, especially for a second baseman.
With a sport such as baseball, where the history of the game is as much of the present and future than with any other sport, it can be quite enlightening to go through and look through some of the season leader lists. Prior to Bonds constant intentional walks and power surge, it seemed quite unlikely that this record would have been broken, yet no one realized that it existed. For all those that state that DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak is unapproachable or that there will never be another .400 hitter, there's no guarantee. It did take 118 years for someone to pass Fred Dunlap after all.
For those that don't know, adjusted OPS+ is OPS adjusted for the park and the league in which the player played, but not for fielding position. An OPS+ of 100 is defined to be the league average. An OPS+ of 150 or more is excellent and 125 very good, while an OPS+ of 75 or below is poor. OPS is determined by adding on base percentage and slugging percentage. As such, in the sabermetric community, it is regarded as an extremely useful tool to determine the value of a hitter.
When looking over the leaders in OPS+ for a season, the top three marks are held by Barry Bonds, which should not come as a surprise. In fact, most of the top ten is filled by Bonds, Babe Ruth (five through seven) and Ted Williams (eight and nine). However, in fourth place, is a player by the name of Fred Dunlap, who in 1884 posted an OPS+ of 258. This record actually stood until 2001, when Bonds passed it with a mark of 259. Here is a link to the list from baseballreference.com: http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/onbase_plus_slugging_plus_season.shtml
Dunlap, nicknamed 'Sure Shot' due to his strong throwing arm, was 25 in 1884. That season, for the Saint Louis Maroons of the shortly lived Union Association, he managed to hit .412 with a .448 OBP. He led the league in hitting, OBP, slugging (.621), home runs (13), hits (185), and runs (160). These statistics were compiled over 101 games, in an era when the mounds stood fifty feet from home plate and an overhand throwing motion was considered legal for the first time. Still, this was nominally a part of the dead ball era, so these statistics were extremely impressive, especially for a second baseman.
With a sport such as baseball, where the history of the game is as much of the present and future than with any other sport, it can be quite enlightening to go through and look through some of the season leader lists. Prior to Bonds constant intentional walks and power surge, it seemed quite unlikely that this record would have been broken, yet no one realized that it existed. For all those that state that DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak is unapproachable or that there will never be another .400 hitter, there's no guarantee. It did take 118 years for someone to pass Fred Dunlap after all.
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