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Recently I wrote a piece calling Barry Bonds the Greatest Baseball Player of all-time. Barry cemented those feeling this past weekend as he literally carried (along with the pitching staff) the Giants to a sweep of the "Zona" D-Backs. Barry is simply doing things a soon-to-be 43-year-old man should not be doing including hitting a baseball 457 feet.
It is most impossible to compare plaers between eras, but you can compare players to others in their era that are in theory playing on the same level field (short of considering league averages and ball park efects). As Babe Ruth dominated his era, so has Barry dominated the 21st Century. At some point Ruth got old and Barry continues on. Is there a HGH residue? I really don't know. I am not sure I really care. Until we have a definitive study that links steroid and HGH use to improved performance (which may be completely impossible since player would either have to fess up to such usage or heresay would have to be invoked), we really can not say what advantages Barry may have had. Although as outlined in the discussion of eras, there is no doubt that Bonds' competition were often on a level playing field with him in steroidand HGH use. He is the greatest of all time and we have the great fortune of bearing witness. All put aside and all being equal, Barry is in a world of his own between the lines with a focus and concentration second to none.
I remember in 2003 when Barry's dad Bobby Bonds was dying of cancer. Although alcoholism and baseball had kept dad and son apart, Barry grew close to his dad in adulthood as Bobby served as the Giant's hitting instructor. In August of 2003, Bobby succumed to cancer at age 57. Barry took five days off to bury his father and mourn. Many people would need so much more time before returning to work and being functional, but maybe the baseball field is where Barry finds his inner peace. The length of Bobby's illness took a toll on Barry and it showed. Still, in his first game back and his first at bat, Barry went yard to the opposite field, a stirring reminder that Barry plays on a higher level than his peers.
Say what you will about Barry the man, Barry the baseball player is the simply the greatest ever.
Several years will need to pass before we can see if an Albert Pujols or Alex Rodriguez may be able tolay the very same claim.
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