Is There a Bigger Jackass Than Barry Bonds?

[The Stranger]

I've heard this debate off and on for the past few years on sports talk radio: Bonds or Ruth?

In truth, this is an unanswerable question. Both were dominant in their own eras.

I could argue that because Ruth had more home runs than some teams had home runs in certain seasons, and was a dominant pitcher, that he is a better baseball player than Bonds.

Or I could argue that because baseball has been studied and coached for decades since Ruth's retirement, there is better training and nutrition now, along with international recruiting and development, that Bonds is the better player. And the steroid issue is irrelevant to this debate IMO, because if nobody used them back in the old days, and most of the players use them now, both players are on a level playing field with their competition.

I am in awe watching Barry Bonds play baseball today, just as baseball fans were in awe watching Babe Ruth play back in his day.

Like with most arguments, if someone already has their mind made up, he will not be persueded out of his opinion on this one.

I still nominate Hannity for biggest jackass though.

[sublime]

i don't have much to add to this thread except that barry is my favorite player and that i met him once and he was nice to me. and i think he's one of the top players ever and that we should all be grateful to have watched him play and be amazed by what he does on the field instead of bickering over this issue.

"this" issue?

cmon' chris. this is pretty big stuff, considering he is going to move past a really great man and break a huge record.

[Justin A]

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Lots of other great baseball players were major league jackasses. Ty Cobb probably tops the list, but Ted Williams, Rogers Hornsby and Mickey Mantle surely deserve honorable mention.

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Mickey Mantle? From what I've read he was a good dude, especially to his younger teammates. Joe Dimaggio would seem to fit the bill better than Mantle.

[Clarkmeister]

[Bulldog]

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A few things.

1) Dennis Martinez and Lee Smith were both very good, near hall of famers.
2) It's not just Barry Bonds facing non-white pitchers. It's Bonds facing non-white defenders (quick, name some of the best defenders of all time. Ozzie Smith. Pudge Rodriguez. Willie Mays) and, by comparison, non-white hitters. How much more impressive would Bonds's accomplishments be without guys like Mays and Aaron before him, and guys like Pujols and Beltre in his own league? It's much easier to dominate a league that isn't drawing from its whole talent pool.

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i can argue just as easily that although there are obviously some talented non white players, there is also an overabundance of below average players in general who wouldnt be in the league if there were 16 teams instead of 30. this dilluted talent pool allows bonds to accel.
how impressive would bonds' numbers be if he didnt do juice? very. but he wouldnt have approached mays, ruth, and aarons hr totals, thats pretty obvious.

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Diluted talent pool? You have to be kidding. There are 6 billion people on the planet. I think we can find 700 MLB ballplayers out of that pool.

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Exactly. Versus 400 out of less than a billion then.

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Not true. Unlike today, many players back then were exluded from playing. Also, today baseball is played in parts of the world where it was never played back then. The pool of players was much, much smaller then.

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You are saying "not true" but I think you are agreeing with me. What is smaller than "less than a billion"? I didn't try to come up with an exact number that'd cause a tangential argument, when I could make my point the way I phrased it.

[Bulldog]

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I wonder what that guy would look like if he hired a personal trainer and worked out faithfully for 18 years.

[BeerMoney]

Yes, there are bigger JackAsses that Bonds. Has he ever physically abused anyone other than a baseball? Has he been convicted of major crimes that hurt others?

What did he do? He started cheating when he saw others around him doing it and there were no consequences.

So the guy gives a press conference and says "I'm not going to let you pull me down!" He doesn't give standard cliches that other players give. Now everyone hates him.

I would think poker players would like people like this.. A player who says/does what he wants.