Poor Barry
- Wade
Gosh, now I feel bad.
While not a member of the media, I've always been part of the group of people that tacitly approved the skewering of the taciturn Barry Bonds. Sure, he gets an unfair shake because he's as far from "media darling" as possible, but so what? You're a multi-millionare. Tough hop. If you really didn't care what the media says about you, how come you keep coming around to say so?
Well, now we've gone and done it. Quoth Bonds:
"I'm tired of my kids crying. You wanted me to jump off a bridge, I finally did. You finally brought me and my family down... You guys wanted to hurt me bad enough, you finally got me."
Aww. Barry. Don't do that. We're sorry. Barry's childlike "I'm taking my chemically-altered body and going home" response makes me wonder what's going on in his head. It makes me think that the growth of said head is due less to steroids than it is due to massive, massive ego. It seems like Barry has been talking too much to Denny Green lately, believing that writers have nothing better to do but sit around and connive ways to hurt the careers of prominent sports figures.
I suppose I could be naive in not believing that certain columnists don't want Barry to jump off of a bridge. But even so... more people hated Hank Aaron for much different reasons, and he didn't throw regular tantrums that made him sound like a six year-old. He carried himself respectfully, quietly, and didn't get all bent out of shape because people had it out for him. And I fully understand that I have *no* concept of what Barry's life is like... but I have to believe that he could mitigate some of the crap that flies his way, the same crap that flies in the way of many athletes, politicians, celebrities...
I think that Barry might think he's both the most popular and most persecuted person in the world. When you surround yourself with sycophants, I guess that's an easy illusion to believe. So Barry, tired of people telling him to jump off bridges, might be done. For good. If so... fine. Hammerin' Hank will keep the homerun record as he deserves.
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