Bonds evokes mixed emotions in Siouxland
By Dominic Genetti | Posted: Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Champion or cheat?
As Barry Bonds gets closer to breaking Major League Baseball's career home-run record -- maybe even today -- Siouxland ballplayers and fans are divided on his placement in the record books given allegations that he has used steroids and performance-enhancing drugs.
But drugs or not, locals say, breaking Hank Aaron's record of 755 career home runs, set in 1974, would be quite an accomplishment.
Explorers manager Ed Nottle has been in baseball for 48 years, and he said Bonds, along with Ken Griffey Jr., are two of the greatest all-around players of all time.
"Whether you think he's (Bonds) a steroid user or you don't, those numbers are breathtaking," Nottle said. "I think everything he's accomplished is unbelievable. It shows you how great a ballplayer he is."
Reserving judgment on the allegations about Bonds, Explorers coach Billy Williams said Bonds is the greatest player in the game of baseball.
"The things that are happening to him right now, as of right now, has not been proven," Williams said. "I don't know whether Barry took those things or not. If he did, he took them at a time when it was not illegal to take, and in all probability he should've left things the way it was if it come out to be that way."
"You either have it or you don't," said Jack Voss of Sioux City, an Explorers fan who opposes the use of steroids. "To a certain extent, in my opinion, talent is talent and you can enhance that talent with equipment or enhancement drugs, and I don't believe in those."
'Greenies' preceded steroids
Although steroids have been the talk of baseball for quite some time, Williams said players took pills known as 'greenies,' an amphetamine, to play the game decades ago, when he was playing professionally with the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Pilots (Milwaukee Brewers).
"It was years and years ago, in 1952 and '53. I don't know who come out with it, but we all did use the 'greenies'; There was no secret about it. Then the steroids things come along and everything gets blown out of proportion and there's names now getting linked to steroids, but you don't hear anything about it. All you hear is Barry Bonds, Barry Bonds, Barry Bonds."
As a result of steroid use in baseball, however, Major League officials began to randomly test players at the professional and minor league levels in 2003.
Explorers outfielder Jason Tuttle spent time as a player in the Milwaukee Brewers organization and underwent random testing.
"They just showed up and you had to take a (urine test)," Tuttle said. "I was tested seven times in one year. I've known guys that have done it, I know guys that got caught with it," Tuttle said.
From the player's perspective, Tuttle said, steroids are a distraction for fans and players alike.
"It kind of takes their mind off the game," Tuttle said. "Instead of focusing on the game of baseball and how people play it, instead of seeing the highlights of the game, its always, 'What if he's on steroids?' 'What if he's on drugs?'"
Steroids aside, Williams and Nottle said a player's ability comes down to the hand and eye coordination required to hit a baseball.
"You can get a guy that can lift 500 pounds in weights but can't hit a baseball 10 feet," Williams said. "If you don't have the hand and eye coordination, you're just not going to do it."
Other Explorers fans didn't have a strong opinion on the matter.
Don Korl, a Sioux City resident, said Bonds is a good player and that his alleged steroid use has yet to be proved. But he said the chase after Hank Aaron's record doesn't set him on fire. "It's just another record being broke."
The asterisk question
When and if Bonds breaks Aaron's record, the question of steroid use could net him an asterisk next to his name in the baseball record books. An asterisk would indicate the possible use of steroids when breaking the record.
Asterisks came into play on baseball records in 1961 during Roger Maris' race to break Babe Ruth's single-season home-run record. Any record broken after 154 games was kept as a separate record until 1991.
Jerry Tuttle, Jason's father and an Explorers fan, opposes the asterisk.
"I don't think they never should've done that to Roger Maris, and I don't think they should do that to Barry Bonds," Jerry Tuttle said. "I think it is an amazing feat, really, to hit that many home runs. You have to have a long career and stay fairly healthy, and it's probably the greatest achievement in baseball, as far as I'm concerned."
Assuming Bonds breaks the career home-run record, it would be the first time since 1960 that a player has held both the single-season home-run record and the career home-run record. The last to hold both records was Babe Ruth in 1960. Ruth held the single-season home-run record with a total of 60 and the career home run record with 714.
However, in this day and age of baseball, is being the leader of two home run records good for the game? Explorers outfielder Jorge Moreno believes the glory is more personal for Bonds.
"For baseball, I don't know, but for himself it's good," Moreno said. "He proved himself, he proved to people he can play baseball. He can do the best he can and play hard."
Williams said he doesn't see any significance with Bonds breaking the record. He said records are made to be broken.
"When Barry Bonds breaks the record, someone will come along and break his record, and that's just the way it's going to happen," Williams said.
Nonetheless, Nottle believes the steroids issue has cast a shadow on the national pastime.
"I think the powers that be, be it the owners, be it the commissioner, that lack of not doing anything about it for so long has tarnished baseball," Nottle said.
What's in an asterisk?
During the 1961 baseball season, the American League added two new teams in Minnesota and Washington, D.C. To accomdate the two teams, the American League added eight extra games to the schedule, establishing the 162-game season. During the same season, Roger Maris was in a home-run chase with New York Yankees teammate Mickey Mantle to break Babe Ruth's single-season home-run record. Since Ruth set the record with 60 home runs in a 154-game season, then-baseball commissioner Ford Frick, a fomer ghostwriter for Ruth, said any record broken after the 154th game on the schedule would be held as a separate record and indicated by an asterisk.
Roger Maris hit homer number 61 on October 1, 1961, the last game of the season. The asterisk stood until 1991 when commissioner Faye Vincent eliminated it allowing records to be broken in the 162-game span. Roger Maris died on Dec. 14, 1985.
As Barry Bonds gets closer to breaking Major League Baseball's career home-run record -- maybe even today -- Siouxland ballplayers and fans are divided on his placement in the record books given allegations that he has used steroids and performance-enhancing drugs.
But drugs or not, locals say, breaking Hank Aaron's record of 755 career home runs, set in 1974, would be quite an accomplishment.
Explorers manager Ed Nottle has been in baseball for 48 years, and he said Bonds, along with Ken Griffey Jr., are two of the greatest all-around players of all time.
"Whether you think he's (Bonds) a steroid user or you don't, those numbers are breathtaking," Nottle said. "I think everything he's accomplished is unbelievable. It shows you how great a ballplayer he is."
Reserving judgment on the allegations about Bonds, Explorers coach Billy Williams said Bonds is the greatest player in the game of baseball.
"The things that are happening to him right now, as of right now, has not been proven," Williams said. "I don't know whether Barry took those things or not. If he did, he took them at a time when it was not illegal to take, and in all probability he should've left things the way it was if it come out to be that way."
"You either have it or you don't," said Jack Voss of Sioux City, an Explorers fan who opposes the use of steroids. "To a certain extent, in my opinion, talent is talent and you can enhance that talent with equipment or enhancement drugs, and I don't believe in those."
'Greenies' preceded steroids
Although steroids have been the talk of baseball for quite some time, Williams said players took pills known as 'greenies,' an amphetamine, to play the game decades ago, when he was playing professionally with the Cleveland Indians and Seattle Pilots (Milwaukee Brewers).
"It was years and years ago, in 1952 and '53. I don't know who come out with it, but we all did use the 'greenies'; There was no secret about it. Then the steroids things come along and everything gets blown out of proportion and there's names now getting linked to steroids, but you don't hear anything about it. All you hear is Barry Bonds, Barry Bonds, Barry Bonds."
As a result of steroid use in baseball, however, Major League officials began to randomly test players at the professional and minor league levels in 2003.
Explorers outfielder Jason Tuttle spent time as a player in the Milwaukee Brewers organization and underwent random testing.
"They just showed up and you had to take a (urine test)," Tuttle said. "I was tested seven times in one year. I've known guys that have done it, I know guys that got caught with it," Tuttle said.
From the player's perspective, Tuttle said, steroids are a distraction for fans and players alike.
"It kind of takes their mind off the game," Tuttle said. "Instead of focusing on the game of baseball and how people play it, instead of seeing the highlights of the game, its always, 'What if he's on steroids?' 'What if he's on drugs?'"
Steroids aside, Williams and Nottle said a player's ability comes down to the hand and eye coordination required to hit a baseball.
"You can get a guy that can lift 500 pounds in weights but can't hit a baseball 10 feet," Williams said. "If you don't have the hand and eye coordination, you're just not going to do it."
Other Explorers fans didn't have a strong opinion on the matter.
Don Korl, a Sioux City resident, said Bonds is a good player and that his alleged steroid use has yet to be proved. But he said the chase after Hank Aaron's record doesn't set him on fire. "It's just another record being broke."
The asterisk question
When and if Bonds breaks Aaron's record, the question of steroid use could net him an asterisk next to his name in the baseball record books. An asterisk would indicate the possible use of steroids when breaking the record.
Asterisks came into play on baseball records in 1961 during Roger Maris' race to break Babe Ruth's single-season home-run record. Any record broken after 154 games was kept as a separate record until 1991.
Jerry Tuttle, Jason's father and an Explorers fan, opposes the asterisk.
"I don't think they never should've done that to Roger Maris, and I don't think they should do that to Barry Bonds," Jerry Tuttle said. "I think it is an amazing feat, really, to hit that many home runs. You have to have a long career and stay fairly healthy, and it's probably the greatest achievement in baseball, as far as I'm concerned."
Assuming Bonds breaks the career home-run record, it would be the first time since 1960 that a player has held both the single-season home-run record and the career home-run record. The last to hold both records was Babe Ruth in 1960. Ruth held the single-season home-run record with a total of 60 and the career home run record with 714.
However, in this day and age of baseball, is being the leader of two home run records good for the game? Explorers outfielder Jorge Moreno believes the glory is more personal for Bonds.
"For baseball, I don't know, but for himself it's good," Moreno said. "He proved himself, he proved to people he can play baseball. He can do the best he can and play hard."
Williams said he doesn't see any significance with Bonds breaking the record. He said records are made to be broken.
"When Barry Bonds breaks the record, someone will come along and break his record, and that's just the way it's going to happen," Williams said.
Nonetheless, Nottle believes the steroids issue has cast a shadow on the national pastime.
"I think the powers that be, be it the owners, be it the commissioner, that lack of not doing anything about it for so long has tarnished baseball," Nottle said.
What's in an asterisk?
During the 1961 baseball season, the American League added two new teams in Minnesota and Washington, D.C. To accomdate the two teams, the American League added eight extra games to the schedule, establishing the 162-game season. During the same season, Roger Maris was in a home-run chase with New York Yankees teammate Mickey Mantle to break Babe Ruth's single-season home-run record. Since Ruth set the record with 60 home runs in a 154-game season, then-baseball commissioner Ford Frick, a fomer ghostwriter for Ruth, said any record broken after the 154th game on the schedule would be held as a separate record and indicated by an asterisk.
Roger Maris hit homer number 61 on October 1, 1961, the last game of the season. The asterisk stood until 1991 when commissioner Faye Vincent eliminated it allowing records to be broken in the 162-game span. Roger Maris died on Dec. 14, 1985.
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SC Resident wrote on Jul 24, 2007 8:02 PM:
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