The guy who’s about to break Hank Aaron’s all-time career home run record is going to skip the Home Run Derby?
In his hometown? What a jerk.
I'm not a Barry Bonds supporter but even he could see past his thick head that tonight would have made for a great moment for him to celebrate his "achievement" with the fans who have supported him.
This isn't about the Home Run Derby. This is about a baseball player breaking the most famous record and receiving adulation for it.
But, if Barry wants to be a jerk about it I'm not surprised.
He's wasting a golden opportunity.
Bonds is old and would get hurt after 5 swings and then would never break the record. It takes a lot out of players in the Home Run Derby. I’m not at all suprised that he isn’t in it.
He’s too old. When was the last time you saw a 40 year old in the slam dunk contest or NHL speed skating contest. He will recieve plenty of adulation for his accomplishments (if his gigantic head doesn’t explode first)
He said the reason he is not going to do it is that there is too long a wait in between At Bats. He said if the Derby was shorter, he would have done it. But at his age, he didn’t want to heat up, cool down, heat up…and risk injury. Many players feel this way.
I agree, he (and Griffey) should give the fans what they want.
But the derby is too long, and players do have to wait around too long. I am not a Barry fan, but I certainly feel the greatest player of my era needs to be there to put on a good show.
He’s always been a jerk and he always will be. Barry should have jumped at the chance to do this in San Francisco, but did he? Nope. He should go back home, stick another HGH needle in his ass and go away forever.
he’s a big jerk and I will never personally recognize his record. Hank Aaron will be the Home run king until A-Rod or Ken Griffey Jr. breaks it.
Up front, statistically, I like Bonds, as a person, I do not.
As with many arguments, he is not passing Aaron in achievement, but merely a # which people are focusing on for unknown reasons.
That out of the way.
If Sam Beckett (quantum leap) lept into Bonds and had to act like him, I wouldn’t do the home run contest either.
The commissioner and the guy I am passing don’t want to celebrate this ‘changing of the guard’, then why the heck would I help MLB market and make money off of me.
We attack Barry, in the press, on the internet and to me, he should be attacked. He is damm lucky is so skilled at baseball, other wise what would he be doing?
However, given Barry is the way Barry is, why support a contest for the fans, the same fans that criticize you.
I bet, the only reason he is going to the all-star game is that there is an incentive clause in his contract.
If MLB didn’t want him to break the record, they could have by NO ONE signing him this year.
But that didn’t happen.
Eh, I could care less about Bonds being in the home run derby, whether it was his idea or not.
I want to see someone who loves the game, not the money, who respects the fans or at least can fake it better.
He’s actually smart for skipping it. The Derby is long and tiresome and he’s not exactly 25 again. He is focusing on winning games that count and hitting his home runs that count.
And just for the record, hitting home runs takes ALOT more then sheer power to accomplish. It takes skill. Ever wonder why some of today’s great hitters don’t hit home runs very often? Kenny Lofton was never a home run hitter. Neither was Paul O’neil. Does anyone question them? No. Ken Griffey Jr. has hit his fair share of home runs over his career and does anyone question him? No. It takes technique. So for all the stupid people who never played sports, shut up, you do not know what you’re talking about. It looks alot easier than it is. But that’s why you watch from home and they get paid millions of dollars to do it.
Besides why should he put on a show for the fans that ridicule him nonstop and say he should have an asterisk beside his name in the record books?
Barry Bonds deserves this record. Maybe he isn’t that nice of a guy but it’s still an accomplishment worthy of the record books.
I dont see how he is a jerk for not entering the HR derby. Hes old and just like any other old player who would be trying to break a HR record, why risk getting hurt in an event that means nothing to him and his teams success. This is most likely the last year he will play baseball anyway.
He’s been an a-hole from day one. Why change now. This is the ultimate finger to the fans.
Look the homerun derby is something almost nobody wants to do. It screws up your swing and often guys that are in it struggle to get hits after it. Barry doesnt want to risk the chance that he falls into a slump.
i hope he gets cancer before he can break the record.
If he doesn’t want to participate it’s his right.