YES. He's the home run king, regardless of how he got there. Why is there so much hatred for a guy none of you haters know. Not a single one of you people have ever met him and sat down with him in a personal environment. Asking for an autograph and him turning you down doesn't count, neither does seeing him on the street and him ignoring you, that doesn't count either. Who cares who owns what record. What does it matter? Is it your record he's breaking, is it your dads, or brothers? If not then who the hell cares? It is an absolute disgrace of how much stock we put into these athletes. What the hell do I care i####uy wants to risk his health in pursuit of the American dream. Your telling me you wouldn't take a substance that would make you stronger, faster and get you paid not 2X, not 3X, not even 10X what your all ready getting paid, but 20X or more. Your telling me you'd be content with making a league minimum if you knew by taking a substance you could make 500% more. Thats just ridiculous. The answer is obvious.
Getting back to the way Barry is treated, okay I understand he brought some of it on himself, but the utter hatred is totally uncalled for. I bet right now if a head line came across your TV reading Barry Bonds dies in a car accident a lot of you would be happy, hell, probably even cheering. Over what. A stupid fu#k!ng number. Are you serious? This is what your life has amounted too. Hating a guy who plays a sport you would give your left nut for if you had his ability. Is you hatred that deep? You hate somebody so much, a guy you've never met, never had a conversation with, a guy who has done absolutely nothing to any of you so much that you would wish bodily harm. That is absolutely disgusting. So what he's the record holder. Big friggin deal. He's not the only one breaking records unnaturally, so is Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Eric Gange, Gary Sheiffield, Giambi, and who knows who else. BIG DEAL. Okay so some of his behavior with the media and a few fans isn't all that great, but is all of that worth calling this man out every chance you get. Can you imagine what his kids go through, regardless if their father took some illegal substance. Does that give you people the right to cal this man a cheater, a disgrace, a worthless excuse for a man, not even a man a all? Can you imagine if people called your mother or father this, and used vulgar and henous epithets in the direction of your dad? No kid regardless of their parents should be subjected to such hate. It's not like he murdred someone, or #### anyone, or beat the hell out of his wife or girlfriend. But you wouldn't know it from all of the hate spread across all of the media outlets.
This game of baseball is entertainment. That is all it is. Entertainment. Pure and simple. And what kills me is that a lot of the nay sayers are people who never played the game at a high level. They've never experienced the pressure of having to perform at a professional level, and even if you where you certainly have never reached the level Barry Bonds has reached. And if you were a true sports fan a real die hard fan who loved the game and it's players and if you where really one of those kids who grew up playing sports with that special dream then you know as well as I do you would drop everything and I mean everything you have right now if you could be in Barry's shoes in terms of playing Major League Baseball at the highest level and being paid multi millions of dollars. You may say no you wouldn't in public in fear of being shunned from your peers, but you know deep down you would in a second. So why hate? Why hate if you yourself would give up everything to have what he has.
Another point of seen on this whole Barry Bonds issue is "well, what about the kids?" Well what about them? You know people if you hate Barry Bonds stop going to his games. Stop going to your local field in droves with your snot nose kids to see him play even if it is to boo him. You honestly think the owners, coaches, and players care if your there to boo him or not? Are you kidding? Your the ones who just spent close to $75 for tickets, food, parking and goofy souvenior per person. I mean the whole "I hate what beseball has become" thing is such a lame excuse to just complain. If you hate it so much why is baseball stronger then ever, why is are Barry Bond games some of the most watched games in the entire league? If baseball has become such a disgrace then stop watching, stop going and stop giving your opionion on the subject.
Barry Bonds is going to break the record and I couldn't be happier, I really couldn't. As of today he's the best ball player I've ever seen play, maybe one day A-Rod will break Bonds' home run record and maybe even Albert Pujols will get close too, but as of right now my home run king is Barry Bonds. He did what all the other big sluggers did during his time, and you know what I'm not going to sweat the details because professional sports is entertainment, that's all it is.
My admiration for one of the greatest baseball players of all time has raised to an all time high this past couple of days. It isn’t because he is absolutely dominating his competition, it isn’t because he is showing how unbelievably talented he is or how much of a complete athlete he is, but because he is sticking it to all of the people who hated him and booed him and said that he was a bum. I’m talking about a first ballot, no doubter Hall of Fame inductee Alex Rodriguez. What Rodriguez has been able to accomplish amongst some of the worst fan and media treatment ever to be put off on a professional ball player is just…. so incredible. Do you know that Alex Rodriguez has been booed, berated and beaten up publicly for the past full year? Do you know that his teammates have literally turned their backs on him? Do you know that even his bosses; the organization he plays for has left him out to dry? Oh yeah, you guys know, because it wasn’t but 3 or 4 weeks ago that Joe Torre had Alex batting eighth in the lineup, it wasn’t but a few weeks ago that Derek Jeter has in so many words told the public that he no longer cares what happens to Alex, it wasn’t but a couple of weeks ago that the Yankee fans booed him for missing a pop foul on opening day. But do you know what? Who’s laughing now? I’ll tell you who, besides Alex the rest of the country. We can’t believe the kind of treatment he has received by the New York fans. Are you kidding me? I live in St. Louis where Albert Pujols plays and I would love for Alex to play 3rd base for the Cardinals. Are you kidding? How about asking Angel, White Sox, Cub, or hell any other team for that matter if they would want Rodriguez playing for their hometown team. I bet it would be a 100%, unanimous yes. And guess what? They would treat him like a king.
You would think the New York fans would realize what kind of talent Alex Rodriguez is. You would think that New York fans would welcome a superstar of his magnitude. But no, the Yankee fans couldn’t be more oblivious. It’s such nonsense to hear how Yankee fans adore Derek Jeter, but hate Alex Rodriguez. I going to tell you New Yorkers a little secret, Alex Rodriguez is a better baseball player than Jeter. That’s right Alex is better than Derek. Too bad you guys can’t handle your little short stop can’t do what Alex does. Too bad Derek can’t tear the cover of the ball hit 50 home runs, that’s just too bad. But do you know what is really too bad, it’s going to be too bad when Rodriguez is playing for his forth team in 2008. It’s going to be an absolute atrocity that he’ll be playing in a different uniform next season. Way to go Yankee fans. You’ll be responsible and be known for running out the all-time home run king. Way to go, you should be proud.
Oh, wait a minute. Media members don’t think for a single second you guys get off so easy. Your the idiots that play the errors made by Rodriguez over and over and over again so that those images are burned into the minds of Yankee fans and fueling their hatred for him. You guys should be held responsible for the hundreds of segments and putting together a panel to discuss on why Alex is playing bad, or why Alex is choking, or why Alex just can’t win. What the hell are you talking about? Can’t win? Choking? Playing bad? Do you people ever just step back and think about what you’re are saying or writing about? You do realize that baseball is played by a team of 25, with 9 in the starting lineup. Alex is just 1 of 9. Just 1! If he can’t win, neither can the starting pitcher or the 1rst baseman or the outfielders or………ta da neither can Derek Jeter.
Honestly the New York fans aren’t going to change. They are waiting for the other shoe to drop so they can go back to booing him. As for the media, it’s too little too late, trying to stick up for him now is just a waste of our time and it just shows how fake you really are. I can’t wait till he ops out of his contract and becomes a free agent. Because all of you haters in New York are going to be in some serious trouble. Think about it, your top run producing player next season is an ex-steroid user and your next top run producer is a lazy right fielder who is waaaaaaayyy way overpaid. Way to go New York, you should be proud of yourself.
The Devil Rays have become my guilty pleasure when it comes to watching baseball. I know I know that they aren’t a contender and they’ll probably be out of the playoff hunt in late July or early August. But in terms of watching some incredibly talented young ball players it doesn’t get much better.
There are a several players on the Rays who are so exciting to watch. Carl Crawford is easily the best leadoff hitter in the league. Most people would say it is Jose Reyes, but to the contrary Carl Crawford’s numbers in 2006 were 305-18-77-58 compared to Reyes’ 300-19-81-64. Not much of a difference in terms of numbers. But when you talk about what kind of team Reyes has around him compared to Crawford, Carl’s numbers are ungodly. Can you imagine if Crawford played for the Yankee or the Red Sox or even the White Sox? His offensive numbers would be through the roof. Reyes already plays in front of superstars like David Wright and Carlos Delgado, and very solid veterans in Paul La Duca, Moises Alou and Shawn Green. Carl Crawford on the other hand plays in front of at best potential stars in Delmon Young, B.J. Upton, Elijah Dukes, Akinori Iwamura, and Rocco Baldelli. None of these four are close to reaching their full potential the way David Wright and Carlos Delgado have. Crawford also gets a raw deal because he plays in the dreaded Tropicana stadium that rarely attracts more 10,000 fans a game and that he also plays on a team that almost never gets TV time unless they’re playing the Yankees or the Red Sox. But none the less the Devil Rays are a team that I have to watch when they are on TV.
I mentioned a few of the younger prospects earlier and they are another reason why I almost always make time to watch the Rays. You can’t speak of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and not mention Delmon Young. Young has become one of the most anticipated ball players of the past 20 years. He brings the same kind of hype and excitement that Ken Griffey Jr. brought in the early 90’s. Delmon Young has shown enormous potential that made him the #1 overall draft pick in 2004. He played in only 30 games in 2006 which didn’t make him eligible for a MLB rookie. Although Young hasn’t yet reached his full potential and he only played in those 30 games he didn’t disappoint. With a 126 at bats he hit 317-3-10-2. Not bad for being a 20 year-old on one of the worst teams in MLB. This year on the other hand Delmon Young is rookie of the year eligible, and he is easily the front runner for the award. As of Saturday Young was hitting 347-3-10-0. Not too bad for the first two weeks of the season and he is only getting better. Young has the potential to hit 315-25-90-20 in his first full year at the major league level.
Another upcoming prospect who has completely made a turn around in his career is B.J. Upton. Once thought of as the next great SS he got of to a very rocky start and the Devil Rays soon found out he couldn’t play the position. B.J. Upton another one of the Rays’ 1rst round picks spent the next few years jumping from position to position in the minors trying to find a home. Not until the 2007 spring training period did the Rays finally find a spot where Upton can thrive. Upton is now the starting 2nd baseman, taking over for the once promising Jorge Cantu, now B.J. is living up to his potential. He is hitting 394-1-7-1 as of Saturday, April 14th.
No one rookie has surprised more though than Akinori Iwamura. An import from Japan Akinori had a terrible spring time. Most scouts started to question whether or not if he could last in the majors. Well, that question was and has been answered. Iwamura who is 28 years-old had many doubters coming out of spring training, but as of today Akinori is hitting 395-1-3-2 and that’s just scratching the surface.. Not bad for a 3rd baseman nobody thought could play in the majors. Akinori has been on a tear since the beginning of the regular season. Not to mention Iwamura plays a mean 3rd base.
And let’s face it, the Devil Rays haven’t been playing the lame teams, they started out playing the New York Yankees, then the Texas Rangers and then the Minnesota Twins. All teams which have more than reliable pitching staffs and who are contenders in their own right. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays might not win the AL East division but what they will do is provide us, the fans, with exciting baseball. Not only will the Rays hit for average, but they’ll hit home runs and steal a ton of bases. Think about this for a minute. No other team has had more offers from other teams in terms of trades. No other team comes close to what the Devil Rays have in terms of offensive prospects. Can you imagine what Young, Crawford or Iwamura publicity would be if they were playing on a contender? If you haven’t already seen them play or you don’t care much for baseball, I would advise you to take the time out to watch these guys play. Because you might not know it now, but when all of these guys become free agents just watch the money fly.
Josh Hamilton is making a strong argument for not only the comeback player of the year award, but the rookie of the year award too. Like Dan Uggla of 2006 Josh Hamilton was drafted high in the Rule 5 Draft during the winter baseball meetings in December of 2006. Once drafted he was then traded to the Cincinnati Reds where he would have to stay on the big league roster for one full season in order for the Reds to keep him. But first I bet most of you don’t know who Josh Hamilton is. I bet most of you don’t know that in 1999 he was the #1 overall draft pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. I also bet you didn’t know that he almost lost his life to a life threatening drug addiction. That’s right another professional ball player who was addicted to an illegal substance how unusual right? But Josh Hamilton was different. I, myself feel very partial to Hamilton because of my own personal struggles with addiction. I too know how difficult it was to get the large #### off of my back and I too know how difficult it was to try to pick up the pieces.
Josh Hamilton was a phenom outfielder who was bread to play major league baseball someday. He was the most sought after and most highly scouted teenager in the late nineties. He was literally the next Alex Rodriguez in terms of skill and athletic ability. Lou Pinellas said, “Josh Hamilton is the best baseball player in North America.” Hamilton was bound for success and was on the fast track to the big leagues. After Josh was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays he was quickly signed and brought in to play low class A. He was progressing very nicely through his first full year as a professional ball player. But during his first season as a pro he was a little different than the other young players that were also going through their first couple of years. Hamilton didn’t live with the other players on his team he lived with his parents who he bought a RV for. He once said that the reason why he bought his mom and dad a RV was because he wanted to feel like he was still living at home. Also he was a very shy young man and almost never hung out with his teammates who would chase girls and go to the local hot spots for a night out on the town, just like any other kid in their early twenties would do. Even while on the road his parents would travel with his minor league ball club so that he could feel at home at all times no matter where he was. Hamilton’s first year was like he never left home at all. And it showed on the field. But then came his second year. In his sophomore season his parents had decided to return to their home in Raleigh, North Carolina. Then Josh’s life started to change. Never being without mom and dad, and never being left alone he started to make the wrong choices. Choices that seemingly introduced Josh to the world of narcotics. Now no one but Josh can quiet explain how it happened or how he was introduced to his drug of choice, but none the less it happened. He then went on to play professional ball from 1999-2002 while battling his inner demons. But then in July of 2002 he finally succumbed to his personal problems and was officially on a leave of absence from baseball. During which time his bout with heroin addiction had become worse and he was literally wasting away in front of his family and friends. In February of 2004 MLB finally had had enough of Josh Hamilton’s drug problem and suspended him indefinitely. The #1 overall pick’s baseball career was over before it was even got off the ground. Hamilton would go down as one of the biggest busts of all time. But more importantly he was deep in the grips of addiction, and his life was in danger of ending.
Fast forward two years later to 2006. Josh Hamilton makes one last go at his boy hood dream of playing professional baseball. During his two year hiatus from baseball he went through multiple drug rehabilitation centers. It was like a revolving door for him, he would leave one and a few months later enter another one. He was fighting a losing battle. But something happened, something inside him finally had enough and Josh Hamilton hit rock bottom. Now anyone who has gone through drug addiction will tell you that no matter how hard you try or how many drug rehab centers you go too, it won’t matter unless you’ve hit rock bottom and that you’re ready for a change. And that was it; Hamilton was sick and tired of being sick and tired. So he tried to return, to return to all he knew…..baseball. And now being clean and finding that inner piece that all recovering addicts strive for he hit his stride and was once again being a highly sought after prospect, just like he once was at the age of 18.
After the December meetings and being selected in the Rule 5 Draft, Josh Hamilton had new life. His baseball career was picking up where it had once left off. Going into spring training for the Cincinnati Reds Josh was just another face in the crowd. The hype was gone, the pressure of living up to the huge expectations were gone all that was left was him. CBS Sportsline.com had written that Josh had very little chance at making it through spring training let alone making the 25 man opening day roster. Well Josh did what he was brought up to do, and that was to dominant the game of baseball earning himself a spot on the Reds’ opening day roster. And so the 2007 MLB season began.
Most people once again didn’t think Josh Hamilton would make any major contributions to the Reds’ season, but once again he proved them wrong. Hamilton has been tearing the cover off the ball since finally getting his first at bat in the majors on April 9th. Although he only had a walk in his first game he said that he had to try his hardest to keep the tears away, saying to himself that he had finally did it, finally made it to the major leagues. After no hits in his first game Josh has gone 7 of 22 with a .318 AVG. His numbers as of Tuesday, April 17th are .318-3-7-7-0 with a .444 OBP and a .773 SLG. He has been struggling versus lefties, but Josh has absolutely owned right handed pitching going 5 for 11 with a .455 AVG 3 HR, while also having a 1.364 SLG and a .600 OBP. Not bad for being out of baseball for the past few years. Now I know it’s only been two weeks but manager Jerry Narron has said “Josh has a chance to be a difference maker. He’s got all the tools. There are very few guys like Josh in the game……The power’s there….I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he can do because he doesn’t use the bottom half(of his body) as much as a lot of power hitters do……If we can get him at-bats, I think he’s got the ability to catch up. And when he does get it, it’s going to be real interesting.” Thatisn’t something a manager would say about just any bench player. Josh Hamilton’s only obstacle now is getting his at-bats just like manager Narron said, but when asked about Hamilton taking over his spot in the outfield Ryan Freel said “I know that for the Reds’ sake, for our team, you’ve got to have that guy’s bat in the lineup…..I’m not going to hit 30 home runs. I know there’s people still questioning (Hamilton), saying, ‘Let’s see how this pans out.’ This kids ready.”
Josh Hamilton’s story is near and dear to me. I don’t know if you’re a Reds fan are if you even like baseball for that matter, but what I do know is that this is more about life than it is about baseball. I’ve never found the Hallmark moments all that interesting, but the Josh Hamilton story is one of pain and hope. Most people look at drug addicts as worthless people who make poor choices and probably should be locked up with the key thrown away. But if you know anybody or if you have a loved one or if you yourself are an addict then you know that just isn’t the case. Addiction is a problem that every addict would love to have had never happened. But sometimes some people just aren’t strong enough to ward off the demons inside them. They may be able to hit a baseball 400 feet or throw a 100 MPH fastball, but they aren’t ever prepared for how tough addiction is. Drug addiction should be taken very seriously if you are someone in your family suffers from it. You should also let them make their own decisions too. Forcing an addict is not going to help them it’s going to push them away. Josh Hamilton is a beautiful story that should be shared among all recovering addicts. Josh has shown that it is possible to pick up the pieces and get back on the track that you were once on. He has shown what is possible if you put your mind to it. If there is anybody you can root for this year and in future years Josh Hamilton is the guy. Yes his choices were bad, yes he wasted some prime years of his life, but he is a great story of hope and prosperity and how all it takes is love, strength and hope to conquer.
