Bonds almost certainly will retire without a ring and ? given the seeming incontrovertibility of Game of Shadows ? may never enter Cooperstown. (Note to Barry: If you're going to maintain your innocence, you might want to avoid doing American Idol sketches that bare your deltoids and trapezius.)
If he never wins a title and is excluded from the Hall, he may wonder along with the rest of us, "What was it all about, Barry?"
There is no questioning the talent of Barry Bonds as a baseball player. But his attitude often appears as dour and selfish. (Haraz N. Ghanbari / Associated Press)
While Bonds may have become the "cream" of the crop, it's "clear" he hasn't dedicated his career to making friends.
As Jeff Kent famously said, "On the field, we're fine, but off the field, I don't care about Barry and Barry doesn't care about me. Or anybody else."
Or as another teammate anonymously pointed out, "When Barry says 'F--- you,' he actually means it."
Nice legacy. Sounds like Barry has a Ty Cobb-type funeral waiting for him down the line.
Dave Justice once told the story of Bonds approaching a table of players at an All-Star event.
"Barry walked in and started talking s---. Within five or ten minutes, everybody at that table peeled off," Justice recalled. "A lot of guys just didn't like Barry. He was cocky, always talking about himself, but we brothers, we have a fraternity. I mean, when was the last time you saw two brothers fighting on the field? But that day, everybody just got up and left. Nobody could stand him."
Willie Mays once said of Bonds, "Sometimes he says things before he thinks. That's why I'm here ? to remind him other people have feelings, too."
To remind him other people have feelings, too. Wow. This was not a reminder Puckett needed. He was particularly aware of the nervousness and insecurity of younger players.
Bonds has been so delinquent in extending a welcoming hand to young African-American players that it prompted Garry Sheffield to call him on it.
"Barry's not black," Sheffield once said. "You're not supposed to look down your nose at the guys coming up. You're supposed to be there for them. Once this generation of black players retires, that will be gone, because too many guys think because they make a whole lot of money, they don't have any responsibilities to the other guys. They think it's OK to look down on the guys who aren't as fortunate."
Bonds, of course, has always looked down on everyone. It was after he ridiculed a coach that his then-manager Jim Leyland exploded at him, screaming, "One player's not going to run this club. If you don't want to be here, get the hell out of here."
And so he did, bolting to San Francisco, where all his surliness has been forgiven by fans enraptured by his production. Now that it seems fairly indisputable that his production in San Francisco was fueled by performance-enhancing drugs, it will be interesting to see if those same fans turn their backs on Barry. Because if the production gets an asterisk, there's not much else to like about the man.
Bonds had great athletic gifts and the red carpet was always rolled out for him.
"It's called talent," he once said. "I just have it. I can't explain it. You either have it or you don't."
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