Defending Barry Bonds

Dear Workers World,

I generally agree with most of the articles on Workers World, as I have recently with those addressing issues such as worker’s rights, Bush’s War on Iraq, and the reasons for the tragedy at Virginia Tech. But I cannot agree with your assessment of Barry Bonds or Mike Gimbel’s article. (www.workers.org/2007/us/letter-0426/) I’m actually surprised that you would print such an article, considering so many of your other stances on social issues.

Not too many years ago, Bonds was a man with extraordinary natural talent and physical abilities, but back then he was never built like the Incredible Hulk. Then, almost overnight, he took on the appearance of a man from another world, and the home runs began popping out of the park like popcorn. How did this extraordinary player, a man who was never a very nice person, as many who have known and dealt with him will agree, become such an over-muscled, overpowering, baseball smashing machine so suddenly. Was it drugs? I can’t know that for sure, although I have to suspect that he has done something “unusual” to get the way he is. Sort of reminds many of us of Mark McGuire, who is now generally scorned for his feat of extraordinary power and home run hitting while juiced on steroids, and of Sammy Sosa, also a scorned juicer, who was practically booed out of Wrigley Field the other day.

But if none of this means anything to you, think of this. Hank Aaron, whose record Bonds will most likely break, said of the situation, “I don’t want anything to do with it.” And neither do I. And so, I’ll take Aaron’s take on this any day over Bonds. Aaron is a man of character, who broke Ruth’s record fair and square, with no superhuman substances to help him get there. Bond’s is a hulk, with a bad attitude, who would never be in the place he is in if it hadn’t been for “a little extra help.”

Doug
California

Barry Bonds

Hi Doug,

WW forwarded your message to me.

I’m more than a little surprised by your take on this issue, both in regards to Barry Bonds as well Sammy Sosa, or even for that matter Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro.

I hope that you noticed that it was John McCain, right wing buddy of the former owner of the Texas Rangers MLB team George W. Bush, who lead the attack on MLB players during the congressional witch hunt where, just like Joe McCarthy, he dragged helpless star MLB players before his “HUAC” type committee, purporting to investigate the use of steroids in MLB baseball while using a turncoat player like Jose Canseco to “name names.” The real purpose of that hearing was to give MLB team owners leverage against the MLB players union. The owners, as you are perfectly aware, have been defeated at every turn by the MLB players union, which was born at the height of the civil rights movement in the late 1960s. The phony steroids issue is being used as a way for the wealthy right-wing owners to gain leverage over the union. The fact that the media has praised the union and management, for the first time, of reaching agreements without a strike or lockout is not an accident. It is the result of the weakened bargaining position of the players.

I’d like you to rethink your reference to Barry Bonds having “a bad attitude”. I have a “bad attitude,” at least according to the ruling class and company management. Every WWP organizer has a “bad attitude” in relation to the class nature of this country. A “bad attitude” under the circumstances of class society is usually a “badge of honor.” Union organizers trying to sign up co-workers are always viewed as individuals with a “bad attitude” by management. Any union organizer without such a “bad attitude” would likely be looked upon with suspicion by his or her co-workers!

In addition you have to take racism into account. The media is white-controlled. The reporters are mostly white. Shouldn’t we honor those Black athletes who are “uppity” rather than those who are “nice” and “cooperative” according to the big business media? The slave that accepts their slavery and tries to adapt to their oppression is not the individual that we’d expect to be “role models” for our class. They are the “role models” that the ruling class wants to hold up for the oppressed to imitate. We are obliged to defend players like Barry Bonds and Rickey Henderson, also alleged to have a “bad attitude.” Rickey Henderson was one of the greatest players to ever put on a uniform, yet he had to endure constant criticism of his “bad attitude” and charges of “dogging it” when, in fact, he may have been the best all-around player in MLB history when it comes to being outstanding in every offensive and defensive category. When Rickey Henderson played for the Yankees he was constantly in the shadow of media darling Don Mattingly. Mattingly was a very good player, but immeasurably inferior to Henderson, yet Mattingly was placed on a pedestal by the white media, while the media was constantly critical of Henderson’s “bad attitude.”

One last note:  Barry Bonds has never been accused, let alone convicted, of steroid use but Babe Ruth openly and brazenly violated the law in an effort to hit more home runs. Prohibition was the law of the land but Ruth defied the law by drinking beer because Ruth said that he believed that it made him stronger. In addition, in an effort to give himself more strength, Ruth ate sheep’s testicles. Do you know what a steroid is? It is a form of testosterone. I’ll give you one guess as to what is in sheep’s testicles! Yeah, it’s testosterone.

Please re-think your position.

—Mike Gimbel