by River Addington

Created on: August 01, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

When I was younger and watching Major League Baseball for the first time, I remember a faster, smarter Barry Bonds. Barry Bonds used to be a respectable player and a future first ballot Hall of Famer. In his early years, it might have been hard to imagine him as the future Home Run King. He was not a monstrous individual, but neither was Hammerin' Hank Aaron. After his move to San Francisco, Barry Bonds became a different player. Jealous of the success of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, he began cheating with performance enhancing drugs.

While no one can prove it, the pictures show the truth. The Barry Bonds of 1992 and the Barry Bonds of 2002 are barely comparable. The first was a player with integrity, the second was a player with biceps. I miss the days when being a great player meant hitting thirty home runs and stealing thirty bases. That's what qualifies as "most valuable player" in my mind and in the minds of fans everywhere.

Do I believe that fans hate Barry Bonds as much as the media portrays? Yes, and you'll be able to see it when the Giants play the Dodgers this week. Hate will be boiling over in Dodger stadium, just as it is in the Midwest and in Atlanta. Hammerin' Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth were respectable Home Run Kings, but Barry Bonds is a liar and a cheat. We, as baseball fans, can only hope that his reign as Home Run King will be short-lived. Personally, I hope that the next one is a player that plays his heart out, like the Barry Bonds that played for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Learn more about this author, River Addington.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.