Barry Bonds just ran out onto the field before the Phillies-Giants game, where he and other past Giants stars threw out the first pitch. When he appeared: a loud ovation from the crowd. I looked to the Twitter feed and this is what I see from Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times:
I think the Giants have a perfectly good clue. They’re clued in to the fact that their fans got 15 years of some of the most phenomenal baseball that has ever been played from Barry Bonds. They’re clued in to the fact that, however PED-aided that performance was, the fans still enjoyed it and now remember it fondly. They’re clued in to the fact that hardly any of them give a rat’s kiester about a perjury prosecution that, the longer it drags on, the more it appears to be a persecution. They’re clued in to the fact that even those who disapprove of Bonds for his legal and ethical issues surely can’t be bothered by him throwing out a simple ceremonial first pitch. They’re clued in to the fact that pretending their past stars who have been tainted with PED associations don’t exist is silly, and unlike the Yankees and Cubs, aren’t going to scrub those players from team history. Or at least try to.
Baker is a guy who, though I often disagree with him, certainly never shies from grappling with the big issues in the game. And for that I respect his work. But in this instance, I do wish he’d remember that it is just a game, those big issues notwithstanding.
People enjoyed watching Barry Bonds hit. Who are we to take that away from them? Or even to want to?