How to feel about Barry?
Every single time I see Chuck Klosterman’s name show up on ESPN.com, I have to take time out of my day to read through his latest ramble on sports with more pop culture and historical references than you knew were possible. Today, he posted his take on how he feels about Barry Bonds passing Babe Ruth - The Breaking Point. Here is a snipet:
“It’s hard to feel good about that (Bonds passing Ruth sometime this season). Bonds is a self-absorbed, unlikable person who has an adversarial relationship with the world at large, and he has (almost certainly) used unethical, unnatural means to accomplish feats that actively hurt baseball. His statistical destruction of Ruth is metaphoric, but not in a good way. It’s an indictment of modernity, even for people who don’t give a damn about the past or the present.
“Unethical and unnatural” yes, but not illegal (per the rules of major league baseball at the time). This whole travesty has to do with the MLB ignoring the enemy of the spirit of the game, steroids. Almost encouraging their use with their “Chicks Dig the Long Ball” campaign, they tried to sweep it under the rug while the NFL was trying to combat the problem and rid themselves of it. As unlikable, unethical, and self-absorbed as he is, Barry was exploiting a mile-wide loophole left by Major League Baseball.
And then they go and force their players to participate in congressional hearings, thus setting them up for perjury charges down the road. But don’t even get me started on that…