Barry Bonds is the all-time home run record holder whether you
like it or not.
Enjoying the Moment, for a Moment
Barry Bonds is the all-time home run record holder whether you like it or not.
I stopped worrying about it during the second year of the BALCO scandal, but that’s not to say I didn’t feel a tingle go through my spine Tuesday night.
It wasn’t the deep shot to center field or the trotting out of Willie Mays to celebrate with him that did the trick. What made me actually enjoy the moment, for a moment, was when Bonds took a microphone to thank those who helped him, and closed by thanking his dad.
I lost my father when I was 11 and I think about him every day. Bonds lost his father almost four years ago, and I’m sure it’s the same for him.
There is nothing that gets me choked up more than thinking about the bond between a father and son. Watching and listening to Bonds almost break down when thanking his father for helping him get to this point, pointing to the sky – it was the first time in years that I felt sympathy and admiration for the man.
I interviewed Gilroy’s Frank LaCorte, an MLB pitcher for ten seasons, for an article a few weeks ago and got off topic to ask him what he thought of Bonds and his chase of Hank Aaron’s record. LaCorte answered in his usual straightforward fashion.
“I can’t dog the guy,” he said. “In his peak, and not that long ago, the guy was just a phenomenal hitter. He was as quick as anyone I’ve seen.”
He then dropped one of the most off the wall, but just crazy enough it might be true, comparisons to one of baseball’s best.
“Barry, whether he did steroids or not, I don’t think it enhances his performance,” LaCorte said. “What’s the difference between that and Babe Ruth going to the plate drunk all the time? Babe was an alcoholic. Maybe that was a performance enhancement for him.”
The drunken monkey that was Babe Ruth would be the only person able to answer that proposition, but LaCorte said one other thing that made sense as to why other baseball players have embraced Bonds in his home run quest.
“I’ll see guys I played against and when they see you, you’re like best friends,” he said. “Whether or not they really like you … it’s a real fraternity that people cant get in. It’s a baseball world and that’s it.”
For one brief moment, as Bonds stood atop the baseball world, mentioning his father and the role he played in his life, I felt like we were part of the same fraternity.
