To quote Keith Jackson, "Whoa Nelllie". The biggest jerk ever, I agree. The greatest player ever, I don't think so. As you can tell, I don't like him. Haven't since day one. He was a hell of a ballplayer and put up the numbers. I just don't consider him the greatest ever. Most of the pundits say Ruth was the greatest ever. Personally, I think Willie was the best I saw. I also liked Mantle & Clemente. Roberto might have been in the discussion if his life hadn't ended so tragically.
Bonds on steroids was unquestionably the best player ever, by a massive margin. Nobody had ever been nearly as dangerous a hitter as he was, not even close. I mean that guy was a fucking destroyer. Without roids he still makes the hall.
I would agree with that, I think he has to be in the hall of fame. It wasn't just players that benefitted from steroids, teams, owners, Selig, and MLB itself benefitted. And if tons of players were using, that's all tje more reason to put Bonds in.
No they should keep Bonds etal out for the same reason Pete Rose is excluded, they committed one of baseball's deadly sins. The writers didn't vote in Biggio, Piazza and others so the writers themselves could be the story.
You're right. Can't stand him personally, but there's no denying what he did on the field. He usually only saw one hittable pitch per at bat and when he got it, he got it.
Correct. Every pitch to bonds was terrible he was walked or almost walked every at bat and on the very rare occasion he got a pitch he massacred it. If he were pitched to like an ordinary player he would hit a home run like once or twice a game.
Emphatically agree that Biggio & Piazza should have been first-ballot-ers. Biggio was one of the toughest and most consistent players that I've ever watched. The fact that he was never the "super star" is what made him great. He quietly went about his business, was the ultimate teammate, and never peaked too high at any point. Dude was just insanely consistent, and to me is the embodiment of what a baseball player should be. Piazza should be in for the reasons that martin listed. Most catchers make it to the majors strictly on defensive ability, but Piazza was an anomaly with his great hitting. I think Barry Bonds would have been a better player without steroids. His speed, agility, and overall athleticism took a serious hit when he became a juice-monster. What made Barry great was his combination of power & speed. His power numbers were always consistent before he juiced, and had he not juiced, he would have had greater longevity and he may have still broken the HR record. And who knows how many more bases he would have stolen. But by the time he was putting every other pitch into SF bay, he could barely field a flyball. That said, he's a colossal douche and I'm glad he'll never get in.
