Opinion: Is The Greatest Of All Time, Barry Bonds, Being Shafted?

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Barry Bonds was an All-Star for the San Francisco Giants in 2007. He batted .276 with 28 homers, 66 RBIs, drew 132 walks and posted a .480 on-base percentage. On February 15, 2007, Bonds signed a $19.3 million dollar one-year contract. The Giants signed Bonds to the one-year deal in order for Barry and the franchise to capitalize financially on his pursuit for the All-time home run record. They could also market their hometown player for the All-Star game played at AT&T Park, “The House That Barry Built.”

In December of 2007 the San Francisco Giants cut their ties with the player who is arguably the franchises greatest player. After reaping great benefits from having Barry on his team, Owner Peter Magowan cited the fact that the Giants needed to get younger and start fielding a more efficient offense as main reasons for their decision. In March of 2008 Magowan made some very different comments and moves that raised some eyebrows.

Bonds filed for free agency on October of 2007 and expressed a desire to play in 2008. Barry is only 65 hits short of reaching the coveted 3,000-mark hits milestone. Bonds is 20 runs short of catching Ty Cobb for second place, and 69 runs short of Rickey Henderson to become the all-time leader in the runs category. He needs 38 extra base hits to move past Hank Aaron for the all-time leader.

There was early speculation as to teams that would be interested in signing him though he did not receive an offer from any team. The Tampa Bay Rays acknowledged in February that it had internal discussions about the prospect of pursuing Bonds. St. Louis manager Tony La Russa had interest in Bonds but Cardinals management decided against opening talks. Bonds is clearly not a full time player any longer. At 43 he has slowed in the outfield during recent seasons, but he could certainly be counted on as a platoon player and sit against left handed starting pitching. Bonds could make a potent designated hitter for an American League team.

Barry has a reputation as a clubhouse cancer and an egomaniac. He has been described as “a polarizing insufferable braggart with a legendary ego and staggering ability,” by Jaff Pearlman in his book titled Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Anti-Hero. A popular claim is that Bonds’ toxic personality is keeping him unemployed. It is believed that his reputation and his off field troubles in regards to the BALCO scandal and his unresolved legal situation, have contributed to the lack of any offers from any team for 2008. These are quite understandable, although there are other factors to consider.

The lack of interest led to the players’ union head Donald Fehr to ask for an investigation into collusion by the baseball players' association as part of its annual review of the free-agent market. No official grievance has been filed. MLB commissioner Bud Selig has public his dislike for Bonds and his actions and statements during his home run chase, seemed to attempt to paint Bonds alone as the poster boy for the steroids era. Selig certainly has the means and motivation and opportunity to keep Barry Bonds off of any team:

Means: He’s commissioner and as a former owner he has a lot of clout with ownership.

Motive: Punishing Bonds for breaking his friend Hank Aaron’s record and being a visible reminder of his own failure in addressing performance-enhancing drugs.

Opportunity: With Bonds being a free agent, 43 years old and with both legal and possibly health issues, it’s easier to persuade teams not to take a chance on him.

These provide a smokescreen giving Selig and the clubs plausible deniability Selig has a fierce loyalty to Aaron who finished his career with the Selig owned Milwaukee Brewers in 1976. In relation to the collusion allegations questions this season, Selig calls them baseless, but that could warrant some skepticism due to Selig’s alleged role in the collusion episodes between 1985-1987. Former commissioner Fay Vincent found the owners colluded against players. Bud Selig has never admitted to engaging in collusion in the past, though former commissioner Fay Vincent has cited him as doing just that.

Selig said this in response to this seasons investigation requested by Donald Fehr and the player' union:

“Every club is free to do what they want to do. No club has talked to me about it. Clubs have made individual decisions, based I think on a myriad of factors, I guess. I’m not going to respond to their charges because they’re without basis.” - Bud Selig

Among the myriad of factors that Selig is likely refferring are Bonds’ legal woes. On November 15, 2007, after nearly four years of federal Grand Jury hearings, Bonds was indicted for both four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice as it relates to the government investigation of BALCO. Bonds pleaded not guilty on December 7, 2007 and is free on bond while awaiting trial. The trail has recently been set for March 2009. On January 23, 2008, Bonds filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, asserting that the charges are vague and allege more than one offense in each count, which may violate his constitutional rights. The Federal Government refiled the indictment on February 14, 2008.

I for one believe in the collusion theory. Why do I suspect collusion? How is it that all 30 major league clubs feel Barry Bonds is of absolutely no value to them. The media inform us that Bonds is unemployed due to his own fault. That it's time for baseball to move on, there is too much baggage with him, he's a nuisance in the clubhouse, and he wants too much money. Writers and fans have intimated that he is getting what he deserves after a career of shutting down fans over and over. While some of these allegations might be true, the benefits far outweigh the costs.

Media folks, owners and fans with an ax to grind, claim Bonds’ toxic personality is keeping him unemployed. Critics say the inherent media attention that would follow Bonds and the negative backlash by the media, has kept Bonds out of baseball. Although Bonds has never publicly admitted to knowingly using steroids or has had an official positive test under the MLB testing program, many in the media and players alike label him a cheat. A popular argument they use is his production after the age of say 34 when most players begin to decline. But lets be consistent on the age deal. Hank Aaron averaged 35 homers a year from ages 24 to 34. Then he averaged 41 homers a year from ages to 35 to 39.

They cite the greatest evidence against him as coming from the book Game of Shadows, written by Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada. The authors included passages of illegally obtained grand jury testimony that should have been sealed and confidential by law. Facing jail time the authors steadfastly refused to divulge their sources. On February 14, 2007, Troy Ellerman, one of Victor Conte's lawyers, pled guilty to leaking grand jury testimony. Through a plea agreement, he will spend two and a half years in jail.

Barry Bonds' agent Jeff Borris in New York for the All-Star Game said Monday he doesn't expect any team to place a bid on Bonds' services this summer. He said it was "pathetic" that the home run king couldn't find a place in the game.

"I'm not optimistic that any team will approach me regarding Barry before the (July 31) trading deadline. I've talked to every club numerous times, and the answers have always been pretty consistent. There hasn't been a field manager that hasn't told me they would like to have him in the lineup. I get very generic responses like, 'It's not a good fit.' There's nothing concrete, or that's believable." – Jeff Borris

The fact is there are plenty of teams that could use a good left handed hitter at this point in the season, but none of which have made an effort to go after Bonds. Bonds will also have a huge advantage playing in the American League, because he can serve as the designated hitter. This way he runs a far smaller risk of injury and almost guarantees that Bonds will remain healthy for the remainder of the year. He's a had a lot of time off, and asking Bonds to come back for the second half of the year would be no problem for him despite all of the nagging injuries he's had to put up with throughout his career.

Bonds has the potential to provide a spark of energy in the clubhouse, as well, despite the fact that he is seen as a nuisance to most clubs. Bonds' bat in the lineup could give any team instant power and more runs, which will provide more energy and enthusiasm in any clubhouse instantly. Any club struggling for offense now and looking for an extra push to take pressure off its pitching staff would gain a lot of energy in its clubhouse with Bonds.

Bonds also has the ability to act as a leader in any clubhouse. A 22-year veteran with a new lease on his career could lend plenty of baseball experience and knowledge that would be beneficial for any young players to watch. There is no question that a team could use Bonds in its clubhouse as a leader to help develop younger players.

The final reason that signing Bonds would be a great decision is he'd likely come cheap. Bonds would be a great deal for the remainder of the season, around $5 million or less at this point just to be grateful to play. That is a steal for any team looking to push itself into the playoffs and compete for a pennant. Where Bonds could sign and what team would be a great fit can be easily explored.

There was recently some talk about Bonds joining the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona lacks power and a regular left fielder with the injury to Eric Byrnes. Barry would be a natural fit there, being that he played college ball at Arizona State, and he could ride into retirement in a popular retirement community. Once this was reported however, the Arizona Newspapers and the team itself were bombarded with negative reactions and that scenario died quickly.

The New York Yankees desperately needs a bat to take the place of Hideki Matsui, who is on the DL - Johnny Damon as well. Bonds could take some pressure off their pitching staff, which is struggling to carry the team. As far as off field troubles, they recently resigned a repeat DUI offender and a felon who posted an ERA above 6.00 the last three seasons and he has been contributing: Sidney Ponson. Yankees G.M. Brian Cashman to his credit did not outright dispel the notion of signing Bonds; it does not seem to be an option now that the Yankees have obtained Richie Sexson from Seattle.

Bonds holds Major League career records in home runs (762), walks (2,558), and intentional walks (688), Bonds also leads all active players in RBI (1,996), on-base percentage (.444), runs (2,227), games played(2,986), extra-base hits (1,440), at-bats per home run (12.92), and total bases (5,976). He is 2nd in doubles (601), slugging percentage (.607), stolen bases (514), at-bats (9,847), and hits (2,935), 6th in triples (77), 8th in sacrifice flies (91), and 9th in strikeouts (1,539), through the 2007 season. He has won a record seven M.V.P. awards.

Bonds is the lone member off the 500-500 club, which means he has hit at least 500 home runs and stolen 500 stolen bases in a career. In 1996 (42HR, 40SB) he became the second of only four players in baseball history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a single season. The others are admitted steroid user Jose Canseco in 1988, Alex Rodriguez, in 1998 and Alfonso Soriano in 2006.

In what has clearly been a Hall-of-Fame career, writers and Hall of fame voters hold his future to that club in their hands. Many have publicly stated that they would not vote for him, even though it’s not been proven that he has used performance enhancers. Others say that they will vote for him because it was indicative of the era he played in.

If the book game of shadows is to be believed, it alleges that Bonds began using steroids in 1999 after becoming envious of Mark “I’m not here to talk about the past” McGwire and Sammy “I don’t speak a de english” Sosa and their Summer of ’98 home run tour. A close inspection of Barry Bonds’ career numbers made him arguably a Hall-of-Fame player prior to 1999:


.289 Batting Avg., 1,364 Runs, 1,917 Hits, 411Home Runs, 1,216 RBI's, 445 SB, .494OB%

Clearly Barry Bonds is one of the top Major League Baseball players of all-time, perhaps the greatest. It's a shame he is being shut out of the game he has done so much in.