Quote:
As Barry Bonds nears his record 756th home run, he's stockpiling quite a collection of souvenirs -- bats, balls, helmets and spikes, pieces of baseball history perfectly suited for the Hall of Fame.
Whether he'll donate any of them to Cooperstown, however, is in doubt.
"I'm not worried about the Hall," the San Francisco slugger said during a recent homer drought. "I take care of me."
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I don't like Barry. I think he has cheated his way to the records and has shown nothing but spite for the public, the media, and many teammates.
But he is one heck of a baseball player. An amazing eye for the strike zone and a smooth swing. A player any team in baseball would want when they needed an HR.
Ty Cobb was a far worse individual and he is in the Hall. But then again, he played in a time when players were paid paltry salaries. When players didn't play for the wealth, but played for the joy of playing.
I don't think Barry will ever be hurting for money. Nor will his kids or grandkids ever need to worry about money. For Barry to keep every piece of memorabilia because, "I take care of me." is an affront to the game of baseball.
Baseball became a business a long time ago. Players and owners have reminded the fans for years that it a business. But kids don't play little league because it is business. The don't pretend it is the bottom of the 9th and hitting the Joe Carter-esque home run to win the World Series because they are thinking about business. They are playing because it is a game. They grow up to become fans of the game. They want to see immortalized the players and moments that represent the history of the game. And the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is the repository of those memories of the game. The business owes its existence to the game.
Please Barry, you keep the business. But let the fans have the game.