Boss's Boycott: The Bonds Vanishes

http://edgeofsports.com/2008-05-12-344/index.html

Boss's Boycott: The Bonds Vanishes
By Dave Zirin

The Commissar Vanishes is a coffee table book for only the dourest of coffee tables. The hard-covered volume is a photographic compilation of the way that Josef Stalin systematically erased his chief political opponents, Leon Trotsky and his followers, from the history of the Russian Revolution.

Page after glossy page plainly displays the desecration of memory at the service of dictatorship. It shows before-and-after photos of people either airbrushed to invisibility or crudely vandalized, their faces blacked out with an ugly scribble.

Meet Barry Bonds, the Leon Trotsky of Major League Baseball. In 2007 Bonds broke the most hallowed record in sports, passing Henry Aaron's record for home runs. When he wasn't injured, this maestro of the batter's box packed San Francisco's ballpark, despite a team that stank like cottage cheese left on a radiator. At season's end, the Giants refused to re-sign him, with owner Peter Magowan saying, "We're going in a new direction; that would not be going in a new direction. The time has come to turn the page." That is surely his right, but the page hasn't just been turned, it's been raggedly erased.

All traces of Bonds, the greatest player in baseball history, have vanished from the Bay. The left-field wall no longer carries an image of Bonds chasing Hank Aaron for the crown. There is no marker of where Bonds hit home run number 756. There is no reminder that Bonds ever even wore a Giants uniform.

But it's not just Magowan trying to “disappear” Barry Bonds. He has been blackballed in a blatant and illegal act of Major League collusion, a bosses' boycott. Yes, Bonds' fielding has become painful to watch in recent years, as the seven time gold glover limped around the outfield on knees grinding together without cartilage. But despite the agony of movement most of us take for granted, Bonds still hit 28 home runs in 340 at bats, led the NL in walks, and had an on base percentage of .480. Since 1950, only Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Norm Cash, and Bonds himself have recorded higher OBP's. [Cash’s epic season was an anomaly in an otherwise middling career. That a player could have a brilliant year out of nowhere, used to be one of the charms of baseball. Today they would be accused of sprinkling steroids on their corn flakes.]

Maybe Bonds can no longer roam the outfield, but there are at least a dozen AL teams that could use a designated hitter with a .480 OBP, not to mention a player whose every game would sell tickets and every at-bat would provoke baited breaths and empty bathrooms.

In this case of blackballing so obvious it would shame a Dartmouth frat house, one would think the media would be raising hell. But they have largely been yipping collusion lackeys. Bill Simmons, ESPN.com's Sports Guy, wrote,

"Opening Day came and went without Bonds for the first time in 22 years, and nobody seemed to notice. I didn't think about him for more than two seconds all spring. Did anyone? Can you remember being a part of a single "I wonder where Bonds is going to end up?" conversation? Did you refresh ESPN.com incessantly in hopes of a Bonds update?...Of course not. No one cared. The best hitter since Ted Williams is gone and forgotten. We wanted him to go away, and he did."

There is one problem. Bonds doesn't want to go gently into that good night and is pushing his union to fight back. He has asked the Players Association to file collusion charges on his behalf and the union has served Commissioner Bud Selig with papers. [There is a certain irony here as Bonds was hardly Big Bill Haywood during his career. In 2003, he became the first player in thirty years to not sign the Player's Association's group licensing agreement.]

The Player's Association's efforts on Bonds behalf have also met with high profile derision. Newsweek's Mark Starr wrote "The union approaches new heights of absurdity when it bothers to investigate whether collusion has ended the career of baseball's all-time home run king, Barry Bonds, who can't attract an offer to play anywhere this 2008 season. What the union sees as possible collusion, once an honored practice among ownership, I see as a rare display of common sense."

Bonds, according to Starr, is "widely regarded as a cancer in the clubhouse."

This is moralistic spew. The idea that baseball owners would ruin their own team's chances because they have collectively agreed to "turn the page" is a violation of Bonds' rights and the unwritten social contract they have with fans. And when one considers the absence of saints on Major League Baseball teams, even on the God Squad in Colorado, it is all the more drenched in hypocrisy.

Mike Gimbel, who is a former adviser on player trades and acquisitions to the GM's of the Boston Red Sox and the Montreal Expos, wrote it well.

"Bonds has been accused of not telling the truth to a grand jury investigating BALCO [the Bay Area Lab Company, implicated in steroid distribution]. He does not own BALCO and does not distribute steroids on behalf of BALCO. Why was the grand jury investigating Bonds? Weren't they supposed to be investigating BALCO? How did that 'investigation' of BALCO turn into a witch hunt directed against MLB players?"

Good questions. Bonds deserves far better than to be forced into retirement and have his history coarsely expunged. The overriding ethos of the sports world is that of the meritocracy. If you are good enough, then you get to play. Yet a man who can get on base 48% of the time, has been told to go home and a new generation of fans will never see the Mozart of the batting cage. This is about more than a baseball player. It's about people in power deciding on utterly unjust grounds, who gets to take the field, who gets to be heard, and even who gets to be remembered. Somewhere, Stalin smiles.

Dave Zirin is the author of "Welcome to the Terrordome:" (Haymarket). You can receive his column Edge of Sports, every week by emailing dave@edgeofsports.com

Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com.

Favre throws 421st career TD, surpasses Marino

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AnltUz3liPh.wufLpNEwEj9DubYF?slug=ap-favre-tdrecord&prov=ap&type=lgns

Favre throws 421st career TD, surpasses Marino
By JON KRAWCZYNSKI, AP Sports Writer
September 30, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Brett Favre is No. 1 -- with a bullet.

Favre broke Dan Marino's record for career touchdown passes Sunday, zipping No. 421 to Greg Jennings in the first quarter of the game against the Minnesota Vikings.

He hit Jennings on a 16-yard slant for the score with 4:56 left in the quarter, and like most of his touchdown throws through his brilliant 17-year career, this one had plenty of steam on it.

Ever the jubilant celebrator, Favre sprinted to the end zone and hoisted Jennings on his left shoulder. He joined in hugs with his teammates on the sideline, as thousands of Packers faithful who made the trip from Wisconsin cheered loudly.

Even those dressed in purple stood and applauded when the announcement was made, and a taped message from Marino played on the big screen.

"I loved holding the touchdown record for the past 13 years," Marino said. "But if someone was going to break it, I'm glad it was someone like you, who has always competed at the highest level and always played to win."

It's the latest, and possibly the most hallowed record claimed by the league's last true gunslinger. Two weeks ago, Favre broke John Elway's mark for career victories by a quarterback when he led the Packers to a 35-13 win over the New York Giants.

The soon-to-be 38-year-old also holds the marks for career completions and consecutive starts by a quarterback, which hit 241 Sunday, moving him past former Vikings center Mick Tingelhoff into second place on the list for all players.

Former Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall holds the all-time mark with 270 consecutive starts.

Late in the second quarter, Favre broke another Marino record when he threw the 8,359th pass of his career, and is also within shouting distance of Marino's record for yards passing.

Favre tied Marino's record with three touchdown passes in the Packers' 31-24 victory over San Diego last week, including the record-tying 57-yard completion to Jennings that gave the Packers the lead late in the game.

Marino held the record since 1995, but Favre's reign could be considerably shorter. Old No. 4 has acknowledged that most, if not all, of the records he sets in his career will be challenged very shortly by the Colts' Peyton Manning.

But perhaps even more impressive than the numbers Favre has put up is the manner in which he has done it.

Favre entered the league in a different era, when guys like Marino, Jim Kelly, Warren Moon and Steve Young played the game with an aggressiveness and a swagger that is uncommon among today's quarterbacks.

While offenses have moved away from that mentality more toward "game managers," the league's biggest gambler hasn't let go of his high-risk, high-reward style. That mentality has thrilled fans in Green Bay ever since he first stepped onto the Lambeau Field turf in 1992, but it has also earned him his fair share of criticism over the years.

He has been accused of being careless with the football at times, but Favre will be the last one to apologize for entering the game two interceptions shy of tying George Blanda's career record.

Favre was pressured on his first pass attempt Sunday, and he blindly winged a pass far down field for Jennings that was intercepted by Darren Sharper. But Favre was bailed out by an illegal contact call on Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield, and the Packers punted four plays later.

After Jeff Dugan fumbled to give the Packers the ball in Minnesota territory, Favre hit Donald Lee on a nice touch pass for 27 yards. Two plays later -- history.

This season, coach Mike McCarthy has reined in Favre a little bit, and it has worked brilliantly so far for the Packers, who started the season 3-0 for the first time since 2001.

And while there is no single record for quarterbacks that carries the significance of Barry Bonds passing Hank Aaron's career home run record, McCarthy said Marino's touchdown mark probably comes closest.

But Favre said he didn't think the touchdown record was getting anywhere near the hype that Bonds' pursuit of Aaron received over the summer. He laughed off any further comparison to Bonds, smiling as he jokingly flexed his forearms to prove he doesn't quite measure up.

AP Sports Writer Chris Jenkins in Green Bay contributed to this story.

Losing his crown, but not his class

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-shaikin8aug08,1,3472298.story?coll=la-headlines-sports&track=crosspromo

Losing his crown, but not his class
Baseball did not deserve his grace, but Hank Aaron helped save the game he loves.
Bill Shaikin

August 8, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO -- For Hank Aaron, that's 755 home runs, and one save. Bless him. Baseball did not deserve his grace. On this night, Aaron saved the game he loved. Never has an athlete served as a better role model than Aaron did Tuesday, 32 years into retirement. He acted selflessly, with dignity and nobility, demonstrating to the commissioner and to all the world one can put aside personal feelings for the greater good.

It might not rub off on Bud Selig, but it rubbed off on Barry Bonds.

There is a time and place for everything, including debates about the legitimacy of Bonds' ownership of the all-time home run record. On the night he set the record, in front of his home crowd, in a moment destined for replays in his mind and on his DVD, Bonds did not deserve to be demeaned.

Selig did not get that, and thank God he was not here. Selig considers Bonds a cheat, a fraud and a suspected criminal. Aaron isn't a fan either.

But, when Bonds tied Aaron's record Saturday, Selig issued a statement that started with the word "congratulations" and included the words "controversy" and "innocent until proven guilty."

As Bonds neared the record, Selig waffled on whether he would attend, making sure everyone knew how torn he was. When he did show up, he did so grudgingly, stuffing his hands in pockets Saturday while the San Diego crowd -- the visiting crowd! -- put its collective hands together to acknowledge history and the moment. This was not an endorsement of Bonds, just respect for the game.

Aaron never waffled. He said he would not attend, and he did not. He did not comment about Bonds' character. He let his actions speak for themselves.

But, with history calling, Aaron decided he needed to say the right words, to do the right thing.

When the Giants contacted Aaron, to ask him to record a congratulatory message, he could have said no, to remain true to his convictions. Or he could have agreed, then mixed innuendo with congratulations, a la Selig.

Bonds dropped his bat, pumped both arms toward the sky, clapped his hands, circled the bases and disappeared into the arms of his son, surrounded by teammates and family. The Giants celebrated, with fireworks and banners, with streamers and classical music.

Dmitri Young, the first baseman for the Washington Nationals, waved some of his teammates off the field so Bonds could enjoy the moment alone. The rest of the Nationals stayed on the field, sharing the moment and gathering near third base to applaud Bonds. Either way, the right thing.

Willie Mays, Bonds' godfather, the first Giants' icon in San Francisco, emerged from the dugout. The two men stood arm in arm, 1,416 home runs between them, first and fourth on the all-time list.

And then Bonds turned, Mays turned, we all turned to the enormous video board behind center field. There was Aaron, suddenly second on the all-time list, larger than life and appropriately so.

"I would like to offer my congratulations to Barry Bonds on becoming baseball's career home run leader," Aaron said. "It is a great accomplishment which requires longevity and determination. Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball, and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years.

"I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historical achievement. My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams."

In the afternoon, several hours before the milestone, Mays sat in an office in the Giants clubhouse, talking about the promise he made to Bonds' late father, Bobby.

"The father told me to make sure I looked out for him," Mays said. "That's what I'm trying to do, to make sure he does the right thing. The last three weeks or so, I think he's done a magnificent job in interviews. He's trying to do the right thing."

And so, after Aaron spoke on the video board, Bonds turned to the crowd and spoke. He did not, as Rickey Henderson did when he set the stolen base record, declare himself the greatest of all time. He thanked the fans, his teammates, his family and the Nationals, then broke down in tears as he thanked his father.

Humility, not hubris. The right thing.

And then, incredibly, Selig issued another clumsy statement.

"While the issues which have swirled around this record will continue to work themselves toward resolution," Selig said, "today is a day for congratulations on a truly remarkable achievement."

Those issues will have their day. Bonds Watch is over, but Steroids Watch is not. Bonds still faces the possibility of indictment, for perjury or tax evasion. The Mitchell Commission will issue its report on how steroids infected baseball -- far beyond Bonds, if the report has any credibility. In courts in Arizona and New York, affidavits could be unsealed, within them the names of dozens of baseball players allegedly involved with steroids.

This was not the day for those issues, as Aaron understood and Selig did not. This was the day for remembering what my mother told me, and your mother told you: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

bill.shaikin@latimes.com

Bonds makes history with 756th home run

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070808/ap_on_sp_ba_ga_su/bbn_bonds756

Bonds makes history with 756th home run
By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer
8-8-7

For one spectacular moment, Barry Bonds and everybody cheering him could forget about the controversy surrounding his chase and appreciate the phenomenal feat: 756.

Nobody in the majors — not Hank Aaron, not Babe Ruth — has ever hit more home runs than the San Francisco star.

On Tuesday night, in his home ballpark, it didn't matter how many of them might have been fueled by steroids or performance-enhancers. Bonds has the title of home run king all to himself, ending Aaron's 33-year reign.

"This record is not tainted at all. At all. Period," Bonds said.

And more than 43,000 adoring Giants fans, including his godfather, Hall of Famer Willie Mays, surely agreed.

Bonds raised both arms over his head like a prize fighter in victory, fists clenched — and then he took off. It was over at long last.

Bonds did it with a shot to the deepest part of the ballpark with one out in the fifth inning against Washington's Mike Bacsik.

Bonds sent the 84-mph fastball arcing high into the night, 435 feet into the right-center field seats. And then, the celebration began in force — fireworks, streamers, banners commemorating the accomplishment, and even a party in McCovey Cove.

Conspicuous by their absence were the commissioner and Hammerin' Hank himself.

Though he was on hand for the tying homer three days ago, deciding to put baseball history ahead of the suspicions plaguing the Giants slugger, Bud Selig wasn't there for the record-breaker.

Instead, he sent two emissaries, Major League Baseball executive vice president Jimmie Lee Solomon and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson. Selig also issued a statement.

"While the issues which have swirled around this record will continue to work themselves toward resolution, today is a day for congratulations on a truly remarkable achievement," Selig said.

Bonds also heard personally from the commissioner with congratulations.

"I was very happy about that," Bonds said.

As for Aaron, he said all along he had no interest in being there whenever and wherever his record was broken. He was true to his word, but he did offer a taped message of congratulations that played on the stadium's video board during a 10-minute, in-game tribute.

"It is a great accomplishment which required skill, longevity and determination," he said.

"Throughout the past century, the home run has held a special place in baseball and I have been privileged to hold this record for 33 of those years. I move over now and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historic achievement.

"My hope today, as it was on that April evening in 1974, is that the achievement of this record will inspire others to chase their own dreams."

A woman who answered the phone at Aaron's home in Georgia shortly after Bonds' homer said that Aaron was asleep.

"When I saw Hank Aaron that made everything," Bonds said. "We've always loved him. He's always the home run king."

With a long, satisfied stare, Bonds watched as the ball sailed over the fence and disappeared into the scrum in the first few rows. Then he raised both arms over his head like a victorious prize fighter, fists clenched, and took off.

"I knew I hit it," Bonds said. "I knew I got it. I was like, phew, finally."

His 17-year-old batboy son, Nikolai, was already bouncing on home plate as Dad rounded third and ran the final 90 feet to make it official. After a long embrace, the rest of the family joined in — his mother, two daughters and wife. And then there was Mays, who removed his cap and congratulated his godson.

Bonds saved his most poignant words for last, addressing his late father, Bobby.

"My dad," he said, looking to the sky and choking back tears. "Thank you."

Bonds had wanted to break the record at home, where he would be assured of a friendly crowd. They were all right, unlike in San Diego where some fans held up signs with asterisks.

Bonds has always denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.

After doubling and singling his first two times up, Bonds hit a solo home run. Bacsik put his left hand to the back of his head as soon as Bonds connected.

"I dreamed about it as a kid, but when I dreamed about it, I was the one hitting the home run and not giving it up," Bacsik said.

"I didn't really want to be part of history as a bad part, but I am," he said. "I'm OK with it."

Bacsik later spoke with Bonds and got an autographed a bat from the Giants star.

Bonds took his position in left field to start the sixth, then was replaced and drew another standing ovation. The Nationals won the game, 8-6.

A fan wearing a Mets jersey wound up with the historic ball. Matt Murphy of New York emerged from the stands with the souvenir and a bloodied face, and was whisked to a secure room.

Even with Bonds at the top of the chart, fans will surely keep debating which slugger they consider the true home run champion. Some will continue to cling to Aaron while other, older rooters will always say it's Babe Ruth.

"It's all about history. Pretty soon, someone will come along and pass him," Mays said before the game.

Aaron held the top spot for 12,173 days after connecting for No. 715 to pass the Babe on April 8, 1974.

"This is the greatest record in all of sports," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We are all fortunate to witness it. It's awesome. This road to history has been a lot of fun."

Bonds homered exactly three years after Greg Maddux earned his 300th victory at the same ballpark. It's been quite a week of baseball milestones — over the weekend, Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th home run and Tom Glavine won No. 300.

A seven-time NL MVP, the 43-year-old Bonds hit his 22nd home run of the year. Bonds broke Mark McGwire's single-season record by hitting 73 in 2001 and while he's no longer such a force, opposing pitchers remain wary.

Bonds and Giants management bickered in the offseason over contract issues. This big night was the main reason owner Peter Magowan brought back the star left fielder for a 15th season in San Francisco, signing him to a $15.8 million, one-year contract.

Bonds' once-rapid quest for the record had slowed in recent years as his age and balky knees diminished his pace. He hit 258 home runs from 2000-04, but has only 53 since then.

While steroids have tinged Bonds' pursuit, it was race that was the predominant issue when Aaron broke Ruth's mark in 1974. Aaron dealt with hate mail and death threats from racist fans who thought a black man was not worthy of breaking the record set by a white hero, the beloved Babe.

Bonds was destined for stardom at an early age. The son of All-Star outfielder Bobby Bonds and the godson of one of the game's greatest players, Bonds spent his childhood years roaming the clubhouse at Candlestick Park, getting tips from Mays and other Giants.

"I visualized him playing sports at a high level. He was 5 when he was in my locker all the time," Mays said.

In a matter of years, Bonds went from a wiry leadoff hitter with Pittsburgh in 1986 to a bulked-up slugger. That transformation is at the heart of his many doubters, who believe Bonds cheated to accomplish his feats and should not be considered the record-holder.

There are plenty of fans already hoping for the day that Bonds' total — whatever it ends up — is topped. Rodriguez may have the best chance, with his 500 home runs at age 32 far ahead of Bonds' pace.

Bonds said he hadn't yet thought beyond 756. He plans to play in 2008.

"I'll tell you one thing: I'm going to hit a lot better from now on," he said after a champagne celebration in the clubhouse.

756*!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/08/ED26RERN71.DTL&hw=zirin&sn=001&sc=1000

756*!
Dave Zirin
Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Barry Bonds should be basking in the moment. The San Francisco Giants outfielder has just passed Hank Aaron to become the all-time home-run king of Major League Baseball. With 756 home runs, seven most-valuable-player awards and eight gold gloves, he should be trotting into the twilight of his career in a hail of hosannas as the finest ballplayer of his generation. But expect no laurels, parades or calls from President Bush.

Like the gentleman in the White House, Bonds will leave baseball a polarized place with popularity charitably described as microscopic. Games away from the friendly confines of San Francisco have become celebrations of vitriol with fans screaming at pitchers to "throw at his head" and "end his career." Death threats against his family and person have become commonplace. Sportswriters such as Jeff Pearlman for ESPN write articles with leads such as, "Barry Bonds is an evil man. A truly evil man."

He has been turned into Barry bin Laden: The easy symbol for - altogether now - "everything that is wrong with sports."

The question worth asking is why? Why is a pro athlete being treated as if he has committed crimes against humanity? The first answer given forth by even the casual sports fan is that "he is a cheater," in their eyes, an obvious habitual user of steroids. Sports Illustrated, after selecting an all-time all-star team determined by "a panel of experts" excluded him from the squad because his statistics "are not to be believed." (Their concern for the statistical integrity of Bonds career didn't stop them from including players from before 1947 when the sport denied participation from anyone with dark skin.)

The problem with the argument that his numbers "are not to be believed" is that the man has never failed a drug test. Many players who have failed tests don't garner anything close to the public flogging that Bonds endures.

But whether or not Bonds ever put anything anabolic in his body, there is something particularly disingenuous about putting an entire statistically dubious era on the shoulders of one man.

The "juicing of the game" is not a question of players with syringes in men's room stalls, but an entire industry from owners, to trainers, to fans, to reporters, all turning a blind eye, if not aiding and abetting a process that saw baseball players begin to resemble pro wrestlers.

When New York Yankee Jason Giambi attempted to draw attention to this last month, saying, "What we should have done a long time ago was stand up - players, ownership, everybody - and said, 'We made a mistake.' " The response from Major League Baseball was to announce that Giambi was going to be investigated. As one player said to me, "It's crazy that punishment is an individual issue, but distribution has always been a team issue." They want to keep this a discussion about it being "an individual issue" and no player attracts more individual attention than Barry Bonds.

But steroids alone are not the reason Bonds carries this weight. He has throughout his 23-year career committed the ultimate sin in the eyes of the media, namely he isn't friendly to the media. Bonds' complete lack of interest in filling their notebooks, has made him their foil long before there were any questions about steroids.

There is no question Bonds isn't the most cuddly of players, but once again he is hardly alone in this. When actors are less than press friendly - think Sean Penn - they are branded eccentric artists. But in athletics, if you don't define yourself, you become defined. Barry Bonds has been defined as the enemy, with little regard to who the man is behind the definition.

All of this has created an open-season atmosphere at the ballpark. Seeing the nightly sports highlights of majority white fans letting it all hang out against the most prominent African-American athlete in the sport, has led many to draw their own conclusions about the source of the anti-Bonds rage. According to an ESPN/ABC News poll released in May, African-American fans are more than twice as likely as their white counterparts to want Bonds to break Aaron's record of 755 homers (74 percent versus 28 percent) and nearly twice as likely to think that the slugger has been treated unfairly (46 percent versus 25 percent). Baseball, the national pastime, potentially a source for unity, has instead through Bonds, become yet another staging ground for the divisions that crisscross the land.

The shame of it all is that the sports world is so busy demonizing Bonds, it is missing out on a piece of sports history. In many ways we all are. There is an expression, "Trust the art not the artist." Barry Bonds is an artist with a bat in his hand. But it's hard to concentrate on the art, with a gathering din in the background.

Dave Zirin is the author of the book, "Welcome to the Terrordome" (Haymarket).

This article appeared on page B - 9 of the San Francisco Chronicle

At Hall of Fame, Day Dedicated to Two Icons

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/sports/baseball/30halloffame.html

July 30, 2007
At Hall of Fame, Day Dedicated to Two Icons, Not Controversy
By RICHARD SANDOMIR

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y., July 29 — The induction of Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday was notable for many reasons — among them an estimated record gathering of 75,000 fans — but primarily because no one mentioned Barry Bonds’s race to supplant Hank Aaron as the career home run leader.

Not a word about baseball history at a ceremony that celebrates it.

Aaron, who rarely joins his enshrined peers at the annual induction, was not here, but 53 other Hall of Famers were. Commissioner Bud Selig was here, on a stage in a meadow, welcoming new members into the Hall and posing beside them with their plaques.

Gwynn, his suit soaked with perspiration after three hours in 82-degree heat, told reporters afterward, “What a great day today was.” Pause. “Seventy-five thousand people.” Pause. “Unbelievable.” Smile.

Ripken added: “It’s a great celebration for baseball, a way to step back from the controversy. Maybe we’ll be back to reality tomorrow.”

Their day may have been a way to suspend the reality of suspicions about Bonds’s use of performance-enhancing drugs and the mixed emotions outside San Francisco concerning his attempt to break Aaron’s record.

Or they simply preferred not to let discussions about Bonds ruin a day that they had been anticipating since their election in early January if not much earlier.

They were in for two surprises before their induction began. As they arrived at the Clark Sports Center in a bus with other Hall of Famers, they saw the makings of a huge crowd. “I didn’t know if they were kidding me, but they said, ‘Oh my God, look at all the people on the hill!’ ” Gwynn said.

And, because of the threat of thunderstorms, Gwynn and Ripken were told that they would be delivering the first and second speeches of the program, not the third and fourth, as originally scheduled.

But the storms never materialized, and under sunny skies, they could absorb the turnout with fans applauding and displaying signs like “3000 Miles for 1 Hero” and “My Son Is Named Cal Because of You.”

The fans, more of them from Baltimore than San Diego, were there for two controversy-free athletes who played their entire careers (Gwynn for 20 seasons and Ripken for 21) for one team, despite playing in an era of free agency. Ripken won a World Series with Baltimore and Gwynn’s Padres twice won the National League pennant, but both players were on two last-place teams as well..

Both men had more than 3,000 hits. Gwynn finished with a career batting average of .338. And Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 consecutive games in 1995, sitting at 2,632. “Thanks for Saving Baseball,” read a sign held aloft in an ocean of Orioles orange.

Ripken has said he never projected if his career was Hall worthy, but Gwynn did. In his speech, he said that upon getting his 2,000th hit on his mother’s birthday in 1993, he thought, “If I could get 1,000 more, I had a chance of making the Hall.”

His mother took sick in Cooperstown and could not attend.

“Don’t feel bad about not being here,” he said, hoping she was watching the coverage on ESPN Classic from her room at the Otesaga Hotel.

They have moved on in their baseball lives. Gwynn is the baseball coach at his alma mater, San Diego State, and Ripken’s businesses include running youth camps and amateur leagues. Both have been hired by TBS as analysts.

Ripken said that two weeks ago, a 10-year-old camper offered him a lesson in humility that that his father, Cal Sr., would have loved.

“He said, ‘So, did you play baseball?’ ” he recalled. “I said, ‘Yes, I played professionally.’ ” The boy asked which team, and Ripken told him that he played for the Orioles.

“Which position?” the boy asked.

“Mostly shortstop but a little third base at the end,” Ripken said. “And he began to walk away and he looked back and said, ‘Should I know you?’ ”

Gwynn, who earned the nickname Mr. Padre, offered another lesson, taught by the San Diegan and Red Sox great Ted Williams when they met for the first time at the 1992 All-Star Game at Jack Murphy Stadium

“I had a bat in my hands,” he said. “He said: ‘Tony, how you doing? Give me your bat.’ I gave him my bat and he started picking his teeth with it. And if you’re worth your salt as a hitter, your mind starts to race, it starts to tick, and really what Ted really made me do, he made me think about the art of hitting a baseball.”

Gwynn finished his speech without tearing up, but Ripken choked up as he talked about his daughter, Rachel, and son, Ryan; he wiped his eyes while thanking his wife, Kelly. Then he executed a nifty Ripken-to-Ripken exchange, lifting a rose out of a jacket pocket, then asking for help from his son, who took an identical rose from his jacket pocket and handed it to his mother.

“My life in baseball,” Ripken said, “has been one giant blessing.”

As dirt piles up, fans may yet wash hands of it all

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/justice/rockets/5000331.html

July 26, 2007, 7:45AM
COMMENTARY
As dirt piles up, fans may yet wash hands of it all
By RICHARD JUSTICE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Your place has been taken by thugs and crooks and cheats.

At least that's the way it has felt the last few weeks as our sports world seems to have spun out of control. One instance of bad behavior has been followed by another and then another.

Dog torture. Point shaving. Steroids. Guns. Brawls. Strippers. High-speed chases. Are these isolated examples of a few bad apples? Or is something else at play?

Thanks to the likes of Barry Bonds, Michael Vick and Tim Donaghy, even the fun and games are no longer fun and games. We're pelted by scandal, endlessly and relentlessly.

After years of coddling athletes, after allowing them to think they don't have to play by the rules others play by, are we getting what we deserve?

Once upon a time, you looked to the sports pages to escape the sewer of everyday life. No more.

If you saw the look on NBA commissioner David Stern's face Tuesday, you learned everything you need to know about sports in 2007.

Stern might be the most brilliant man in sports — brilliant and thin-skinned and condescending. That David Stern was nowhere to be found Tuesday. This one was frightened and humbled as he faced reporters to discuss charges that Donaghy, who recently resigned as an NBA referee, had bet on games, including perhaps some in which he officiated.

The FBI apparently believes Donaghy made calls to manipulate either the outcome or the point spread. These charges cut to the heart of everything sports is supposed to be. One of the reasons we go to games is because we believe anything can happen. David can slay Goliath.

Suspension of belief

If we find the outcomes of some games have been fixed, if some games were nothing more than staged events for a scared loser, fans will be a long time believing in the NBA again.

Stern is hoping and praying the FBI finds Donaghy to be a lone wolf who got himself into trouble with gambling debts and did what mobsters ordered him to. If it turns out Donaghy is part of a larger conspiracy, if he names the names of other refs and perhaps even some players, the NBA will have taken a crippling hit.

It's a really bad week when Donaghy isn't the most repulsive player on the stage. That honor belongs to Vick.

I have trouble working up any rage for the Atlanta Falcons quarterback because I simply can't wrap my mind around what he's accused of doing. I can't comprehend any human being is capable of such things.

A federal felony indictment places Vick in a key role in a Virginia dogfighting ring. If you can swallow that much of the story, brace yourself. It gets much worse.

Who's the animal?

Vick and his thugs also are charged with torturing dogs, with hosing them down and then electrocuting them, with throwing them to the ground again and again until they died.

Wait, there's more. Vick's case has opened a door into a sickening NFL subculture.

''I would bet you that every player in the NFL knows someone who has been to a dogfight," Tampa Bay cornerback Ronde Barber told a reporter this week.

One fool is one fool too many. But Barber doesn't seem to be alone. Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time rushing leader, joined the chorus of supporters for Vick last weekend when he said the government was picking on Vick.

''Granted, he might have been to a dogfight a time or two, maybe five times, maybe 20 times, may have bet some money, but he's not the one you're after," Smith said. ''He's just the one who's going to take the fall — publicly."

Sure. Vick's only sin was going to a few dogfights and cheering as one dog mauled another. And maybe he tortured the losing dog a few times. No big deal — right, Emmitt?

What kind of world do these people live in? Are they so out of touch that they think anything they choose to do is fine because they're special?

Statements like Smith's will do nothing to counter the widespread belief that the NFL is populated by thugs. Nothing could be further from the truth, but still.

One day, it's another Cincinnati Bengal getting arrested for driving under the influence. The next, there's Tennessee Titans cornerback Pacman Jones, who has been banned from the NFL for an assortment of incidents.

Bonds a relative boy scout

If things keep going as they are, Bonds is going to look like a good citizen. All he allegedly did was take illegal performance-enhancing drugs on his way to becoming baseball's all-time home run king.

Bonds has 753 home runs, two behind Hank Aaron, and should pass him sometime in the near future. Bonds thus becomes the poster boy for an era in which a large number of players took steroids.

As the players union fought testing, as owners focused on economic issues, the most sacred page of baseball's record book is now a joke. Bonds won't be out of the headlines even after he breaks the record. The New York Daily News reported that Bonds probably will be indicted for perjury and/tax evasion this fall.

Tipping point?

Funny thing is, for all the sermonizing about the damage done to sports, fans don't seem to care. Baseball is going to break its all-time attendance record for the fourth straight season, and almost no one believes the NFL will suffer in any substantive way from players getting into trouble. The NBA was already a marginalized sport, so evidence of point shaving likely won't hurt the league much more than it was already hurt.

But while Bonds, Vick and Donaghy have yet to be convicted of anything, there's a sense that things are coming apart, that sports in this country has reached some sort of tipping point. Maybe fans really will get tired of the dirt. Maybe they'll turn the channel and stop buying tickets. Only then, when the TV cash isn't there and the luxury suites are empty, might there be more urgency about cleaning it up.

richard.justice@chron.com