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Pete Rose was another jerk, albeit a talented one.
But I agree with you that his cheating was limited to betting. Remember that in this country a person is supposed to be presumed innocent till proven guilty. Because Bonds generally doesn't like sports writers, many sports writers are all to anxious to convict him without trial. They've already done that to McGwire, who probably doesn't deserve it. Palmeiro was caught cheating. Sosa may have taken a year off to clean out his system. After all, he was caught using a corked bat. But Bonds (not defending him, mind you) did not grow huge almost overnight a la Juan Gonzalez who went from wiry slugger to King Kong in one offseason. Nor did McGwire who was a big boy from day one. Remember that he came from an athletic family and had a brother who played in the NFL. For that matter, so did Bonds. All I ask is that people qualify their statements until hard evidence is in. It looks like Bonds probably did cheat. But all so called evidence to date is hearsay that comes from people with something to gain.
posted by
notapoet
on August 20, 2007 at 3:57 PM
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It's true that a lot of baseball players
were less than angels. But I make a distinction between Barry Bonds and for example Pete Rose. Yes Rose bet on baseball and that was wrong. But his accomplishments on the baseball field were legit. Not true of Bonds.
posted by
jollyjeff
on August 20, 2007 at 2:33 PM
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Sad to say, Perry is not the only cheater in the Hall.
He just happens to be one of the few who owned up to it. Ty Cobb was banned from managing, but not baseball, after very strong evidence indicated he was involved in game fixing. It was felt that baseball probably couldn't stand another Black Sox scandal. Many a player has used illegal equipment, illegal pitches, been involved in shady behavior, and still earned a spot in the Hall. Today Babe Ruth would have spent so much time suspended for bad behavior and substance abuse he probably wouldn't make it to half of 714. Beloved fan favorite Mickey Mantle was another hard living rule breaker. It was in the hard nosed tradition of baseball going back to the days of Cap Anson to bend the rules to suit. This is the main reason why I have such a hard time pointing a finger at supposed cheaters, particularly Mark McGwire who did not break any rule in existence while he was still playing. I don't like Bonds because he's a self-centered, self-seeking jerk, which puts a damper on my enthusiasm for his immense talent.
posted by
notapoet
on August 19, 2007 at 11:21 PM
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