Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Shut Up, Barry Bonds!

Ya know….I’m not one of those guys that hates Barry Bonds. I actually root for him. Despite him being a jerk, and a [alleged] steroid user and for a team I really never liked….I root for him. He has the single season home run record and is chasing down Ruth and Aaron for the All Time HR mark. Now, I am 29 years old….so I never saw Aaron or Ruth play….and Bonds, to me, is the biggest and best player in my lifetime. Remember, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle all had their character flaws, too.

But being great and flawed doesn’t give you the right to be stupid. Here is a classic Barry Bonds quote just made two days ago:

“Walking is harder than hitting because you are on your feet all day. I never sit down. I’d go on the bases, stand up, go get my glove and stand out there, except for a few minutes, go and hit, grab my glove, run a base, score, whatever, grab my glove, go out there. That’s hard. That’s not easy. Let somebody do that and see how it feels.”

Um…..I’ll do it!! Pay me $17M this year to “stand around” all day and I think I could manage. Heck, pay me for a year what you make in a week….and I’ll stand there, Barry. C’mon Barry….you can’t be that dumb!!

Ask a waitress if she would like to “see how it feels”, Barry. Or ask a construction worker. Or a salesman. Or a factory worker. Or a janitor. Or a fireman. Or a soldier. Or…pretty much anyone else in the world. I’d be willing to bet that 99% of the world’s population would love to switch lives with you Mr. Bonds. Most of the people I just named, barely make enough money to buy their family baseball tickets and get to go see you “suffer” standing in the outfield.

It must suck to be admired by so many kids….whose parents are away working to support them.

Look. I don’t need a “I’m so lucky to be a ballplayer” statement from you or anyone. But, I also don’t need someone who has never had to really work hard to make ends meet decide that their high-paying-standing-job is so hard on them.

Shut up.

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