The Pen is Mightier Than the Needle, Right Barry?

Submitted by Zack Barangan on Wed, 03/08/2006 - 3:16am.

Barry Bonds' baseball career is over. And I can't really say that I feel bad about it. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm reveling in the fact. After all, this is the guy who called a press conference just to accuse the media of ruining his life, with his teenage son sitting right next to him wearing a look of genuine sadness that he probably practiced all week to get just right. Throughout his whole career, Bonds has been the guy that places himself above the game. He's surly to the media, rarely greets fans and has a sick sense of humor.

Call me sadistic, but it's things like this that really do show the power of the media and freedom of speech. Guys like Bonds, who think themselves untouchable, always deserve to get thrown down into the fiery pits of media oblivion. It happened to Sen. McCarthy, it can happen to Barry. And, c'mon, isn't it just hilarious to know that these two skinny white guys with glasses single-handedly ended the career of one of the most disliked athletes since Ty Cobb?

Don't mess with journalists, Barry.

Your conclusion is correct, but for much different reasons.

Why is it that you think such terrible things about Bonds The Person? Why is it that Gene Wojciechowski writes today that Bonds was a jerk as a high schooler? Why is it that no athlete has been so roundly despised by the press as Bonds?

Mike Tyson is a convicted rapist. But the press loves him because he gives great soundbites.

Bonds, because of what he saw the press do to his father, has been wary of creating a relationship with the press his entire career. That makes it harder for journalists covering him, his teams, his sport, to do their jobs. They don't like things that make it harder to do their job. They've got deadlines to meet and need quotes to fill out their stories. If an athlete they need to speak to isn't speaking, they're pissed. And that shows up in their writing. It shows up in profiles. It shows up in their interviews.

And the populace reads it and takes it as their own. Nevermind that none of us has met Bonds, that whether he gives a reporter two choice quotes a game has any effect on us whatsoever. The reporter hates him, we pick up on it, and we hate him too.

That's why you don't mess with journalists. And it's something none of us, as aspiring journalists, should be proud of.

Interesting that you say Bonds' career is over. I think he will play this year. I think he'll hit 30+ homers too. He has made a second career of denying attacks on his career, records and personal life. I don't see why it would stop now.

I think you give "the populace," too little credit. Despite what they read, and what journalists say about him, they can see on television, and what they see on the field. They can form their own opinion without having read a single news column.

When's the last time you heard of any of his teammates compliment him on anything but his prodigal athletic talent?

How about when he called out young pitcher Carlos Zambrano (through the media might I add) for celebrating his striking out of Bonds'? I believe the quote was "I'll teach him to respect me." Gimme a break who is this guy The Rock?

I've heard too many first hand stories from Giants fans about how Bonds will not sign autographs for fans, let alone even speak to them. Fans in Pittsburgh hated him too. I've seen him stare a pitcher down after a home run too many times. And now? It's becoming very apparent that Bonds is a juicer. A cheater. So yeah, the press can give any slant they want to a story, but very rarely can they make something out of nothing. Bonds is just too willing to play the villain.

And if journalism isn't a medium to express the truth as well as your thoughts in writing for millions of people to read and connect with, what is it for?

When you confuse "your thoughts" for "the truth" there's a big problem. That's not journalism.

It's not any athlete's job to sign autographs, to speak to the press, or even be a nice guy. In every other arena, we're champions of people who keep their personal and professional lives separate. Does it matter if your grocer goes out for drinks with the cashiers after work? Does it matter if your mailman signs the 'get well' card floating around the job? Of course not. They're just people like you and me.

Why is it so terrible for a guy to just want to do his job and go home? Why is it so terrible to see it as coming to work, doing a job, and going back to the kids?

"They can see on television, and what they see on the field."

What do they see? A guy playing baseball. So he thinks he deserves respect; he's only greatest player of his generation. So he stares down pitchers; yeah, and Jordan never showed up guys... certainly never looked at the announcers and shrugged his shoulders as if to say "I guess I'm just too good."

And if you want to start hating cheaters, especially in baseball where even today players are popping speed like it's a TicTac, you better be ready to pare down your "favorite athletes" list to a half-dozen guys riding the bench.

No one ever questioned Barry's talent. However, it is an athletes job to sign autographs and have at least halfway decent PR. Athletes regularly get suspended, chastised and fined for things like missing an autograph session or giving the finger to people in the stands. The fans run this game. It's their money that's going into the athlete's pockets. Baseball, or any sport for that matter, is nothing without fans. It's a ridiculous notion, in this day and age, to think an athlete can simply go out and play the game and go home. It's just not that simple anymore.

Being an athlete is the same as being a celebrity. Every day you have millions of people's eyes on you. It's not nearly the same thing as being a grocer. Last time I checked, there weren't any Little League Checkout teams. What I'm saying is: it was in Barry's best interest to put out an "acceptable" public persona. As fake as that may sound.

And yes, it's not in their job description to be a nice guy. But if you're not a nice guy you have little right to shout conspiracy every time the media writes something bad about you.

You only get reprimanded for missing autograph sessions when they're required by the team. When you say you hear first-hand accounts of fans not getting autographs or being looked at, that sure doesn't sound like team-sponsored sitdown sessions. That sounds like people hanging around batting practice or the parking lot.

So being an athlete is like being a celebrity. I don't ask my celebrities to be liked by the people they work with. If somebody goes on the set, does their scene, and goes back to their trailer, who cares? Does that really tell you anything about who they are, other than they value doing their job and going home? Does that give you any justifiable reason to assume you know who they are, that they're jerks or any of the far less printable words people say about Bonds?

As for the rest, I didn't realize you preferred being patronized. It's the same problem I have with the criticisms of Terrell Owens (he likes Bonds and TO; he's crazy)... apparently everyone would rather have athletes lie, blatantly give opinions that are different than what they believe, than tell the truth. Give me a break. If Bonds doesn't want to sign an autograph that will inevitably end up on eBay, I'd rather him walk away than be forced to fake a smile and sign.

And the "we pay their salaries" argument is ridiculous. Is there anything more pathetic than the guy who gets pulled over and yells at a cop about his tax dollars paying the cop's salary? To say that we're entitled to anything is to grossly misunderstand the transaction. Yes, we pay for tickets. Tickets to watch guys play baseball. Why on earth would you then say that because we pay to see baseball, we should expect more than that? If you pay to go to an autograph session, do you expect a baseball game too?

Now we're talking about baseball on here? Crap. I'm lost.

I think that the fact that the media hate Bonds is unrelated to the fact that Bonds has now been exposed as a steroid user. Anytime someone breaks that many records and is that good, they are bound to be investigated. The suspicions that Bonds used steroids started with teamates and fans and the media just picked up on the topic. Even if Bonds was liked by the press he still would and should have been caught doing steroids. I agree that Bonds's career is coming to an end. He may play another year or two but either he won't be as good or he just won't be respected and watched by fans in the same way.

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The Pen is Mightier Than the Needle, Right Barry?

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