Barry Bonds Baseball
While Barry Bonds is known as an incredible baseball player, it is other things about him which may eventually be what he is remembered for. Bonds won four MVP awards as an outfielder, four years in a row. He played in the 2007 World Series and is one of the most widely known players in the sport. In 2006, he surpassed even Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron in home runs.
Unfortunately, it seems as if Bonds may have had help achieving this feat and there could be an asterisk next to this record. Rumors of steroid use swirled around Bonds and he was not a fan favorite, to put it mildly. Bonds didn’t seem to care much for the fans either and Bonds managed to alienate fans and sportswriters alike. Bonds still holds the home run record at 762, as well as the record for the most home runs in a single season (73). While an accomplished player, Binds managed to burn a lot of bridges and no team in the Major Leagues would sign him on for the 2008 season.
Having already broken many records and his financial future in no doubt, Bonds was investigated in relation to his steroid use as part of the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative case and has been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice for lying about his use of steroids.
This case cast considerable doubts on his career. Obviously, his MVP awards and his other achievements were questioned heavily by the public as well as by the governing agencies of the sport. Baseball fans and baseball team owners now frown heavily on achievements recognized during periods when steroid use has come into play.
The shadow has fallen upon his entire career, a career which began in high school. Binds was approached by the Giants even as he was still attending high school. Although he did not sign with the Giants at this time, he continued playing in college and scored seven consecutive hits in the College World Series. He was also named the All American selection of the year by Sporting News.
Bonds will have his day in court for obstruction of justice charges stemming from the BALCO investigation in March of this year. Bonds still argues that he never knowingly took steroids, but how the case will play out in the courts remains to be seen.
Despite these charges, Barry Bonds has been spending a great deal of his time devoted to children’s hospitals and sick or dying children. His outreach has touched the lives of many children, including some that were not able to survive their disease. He holds the Honorary Chair position for the Macy’s fundraiser known as the Macy’s Tree Lighting Ceremony. This fundraiser helps raise money for UCSF Children’s Hospital Palliative Care Program, a setting for terminally ill children and their families.
