Don’t forget the greatness of Barry Bonds

Waleed Elabed
Contributor
He was called the “home-run king” back in the day and is best known for being a seven-time Major League Baseball (MLB) MVP. San Francisco Giants fans would cheer him on as he readied himself on the plate and took a few practice swings with his bat. Back then Barry Bonds was in the media for his outstanding talent, but today Bonds is in the news for a lot more.
After allegations surfaced in 2007 about Bonds using performance-enhancing drugs like steroids at the very height of his career, on April 13, 2011 the MVP was found guilty for obstruction of justice after giving misleading answers to the jury in 2008. While he will face prison time for the first charge, the other three charges – over his alleged use of steroids and needles – turned into mistrials, leading us once again to ask: did he use anabolic steroids?
The majority of the uninformed public would agree he did. He was always among the league leaders when it seemed like every player in the league’s stats were inflated. He made  history by hitting monumental home runs at an alarming rate. That part is fact, anyway you cut it.
But what many are forgetting is how much Barry Bonds has achieved. What about the rookie of the year award in Pittsburgh or the 46 home runs he hit with San Francisco in 1993, before some of the newer designer steroids were invented? Some have neglected the three MVP awards he won in his first seven seasons before any steroid talk; he won four in the next 14 seasons. The 1986 Rookie of the Year was chosen to 14 all-star games and won an incredible eight Gold Gloves.
This icon’s stats and awards speak for themselves.
Lately, steroids have become a focus in baseball, with athletes falling one after the other as people start denouncing these player’s skills. Honestly, can anyone fairly argue that somehow you can hit a slider in at your feet because of steroids? It’s a question of skill sets versus engineered power, but the people arguing it are the arrogant fools who don’t understand the physics of baseball and simply feel good accusing people of cheating.
Barry Bonds’ swing was one of the most eloquent movements in baseball, an undeniably beautiful sight: the smooth bat wiggle, the polished powerful stroke. There was a confidence and an essence about him that was unmatched, which further complemented his hawk-like discipline at the plate. He ran the bases like a steed horse, and hit for average just as well as he hit for power.
We are so quick to disregard that allure because of a misunderstood attitude problem or the possibility of drug enhancement at the twilight of an athlete’s career.
Were Bonds’ numbers inflated because of steroids? The question has yet to be answered, as no jury has convicted Bonds of the charge.
But this shouldn’t let get in the way of the bigger picture. This is a man who played 22 major league seasons and was always a class above.
Yes, steroids do enhance the body, but nobody can question he was one of the best athletes to play the game, and one of the most enjoyable to watch.
While Bonds is set to once again appear in court, there is no sense undermining his greatness on paper and on the baseball diamond. He was one of the few to bless the great game of baseball.