Comments on: Bonds http://www.fascinationplace.org/2007/08/08/bonds/ Michael Rawdon's webjournal Sun, 25 Jul 2010 22:37:50 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Subrata Sircar http://www.fascinationplace.org/2007/08/08/bonds/comment-page-1/#comment-4830 Subrata Sircar Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:10:17 +0000 http://www.fascinationplace.org/2007/08/08/bonds/#comment-4830 I pretty much agree with what you've written above. I was happy to see it happen, because I think it could have been great for baseball. I'm a little unhappy that baseball continues to use Bonds to destroy itself, but that's a long-lost cause. I do have a quibble about one of your facts. All "illegal" drugs (i.e. including anabolic steroids) is covered in a blanket amendment to baseball's collective bargaining agreement dating from the early 90's. (Admittedly, it was intended to impose occupation-related penalties for recreational drug use, as part of The War On Drugs, but they did make virtually all the performance-enhancing substances were outside of baseball's rules before Bonds and others are alleged to have begun using them.) THG is a slightly more complicated case, in that the medicinal drug laws in the US are required to specify formulations and such, so THG was briefly legal. (My understanding is that it was invented/discovered, developed and distributed, then the drug laws were changed in 2003 to cover designer drugs and chemically-identical-to-within-X-tolerance substances, then a test was developed and away we went.) There's little doubt in my mind that Bonds did take steroids knowingly, looking specifically to pack muscle onto his frame. Given his results - and the dangers of steroid use by adolescents, where the effects are much less predictable and controllable - I can understand and appreciate why people would like to prevent him from being a role model. Persecuting him, refusing to celebrate his achievements, and turning him into the poster boy for the War On Steroids doesn't seem like a good way to get that - or indeed, anything useful! - done. What's the lesson that kids are going to take away from this? That if you don't care how people see you, you can beat the system? That steroid use can't be controlled in MLB, because Bonds is clearly using and no one can do anything about him - or it? The only thing this controversy will affect is Bonds' Hall of Fame candidacy, since that's a reputation thing, and he didn't have a good relationship with the voters to smooth over the relentless attacks. Six or seven years from now, it will be interesting to watch: there's a sizeable group of people for whom the Hall of Fame with Bonds in it is a farce, and there's another sizeable group for whom the Hall of Fame without Bonds is a joke. Bonds is the greatest player I'm likely to see play in person. I'm happy to celebrate his achievements and use them to tie myself closer to the things about baseball that I like. I pretty much agree with what you’ve written above. I was happy to see it happen, because I think it could have been great for baseball. I’m a little unhappy that baseball continues to use Bonds to destroy itself, but that’s a long-lost cause.

I do have a quibble about one of your facts. All “illegal” drugs (i.e. including anabolic steroids) is covered in a blanket amendment to baseball’s collective bargaining agreement dating from the early 90’s. (Admittedly, it was intended to impose occupation-related penalties for recreational drug use, as part of The War On Drugs, but they did make virtually all the performance-enhancing substances were outside of baseball’s rules before Bonds and others are alleged to have begun using them.) THG is a slightly more complicated case, in that the medicinal drug laws in the US are required to specify formulations and such, so THG was briefly legal. (My understanding is that it was invented/discovered, developed and distributed, then the drug laws were changed in 2003 to cover designer drugs and chemically-identical-to-within-X-tolerance substances, then a test was developed and away we went.)

There’s little doubt in my mind that Bonds did take steroids knowingly, looking specifically to pack muscle onto his frame. Given his results – and the dangers of steroid use by adolescents, where the effects are much less predictable and controllable – I can understand and appreciate why people would like to prevent him from being a role model. Persecuting him, refusing to celebrate his achievements, and turning him into the poster boy for the War On Steroids doesn’t seem like a good way to get that – or indeed, anything useful! – done. What’s the lesson that kids are going to take away from this? That if you don’t care how people see you, you can beat the system? That steroid use can’t be controlled in MLB, because Bonds is clearly using and no one can do anything about him – or it?

The only thing this controversy will affect is Bonds’ Hall of Fame candidacy, since that’s a reputation thing, and he didn’t have a good relationship with the voters to smooth over the relentless attacks. Six or seven years from now, it will be interesting to watch: there’s a sizeable group of people for whom the Hall of Fame with Bonds in it is a farce, and there’s another sizeable group for whom the Hall of Fame without Bonds is a joke.

Bonds is the greatest player I’m likely to see play in person. I’m happy to celebrate his achievements and use them to tie myself closer to the things about baseball that I like.

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