Barry Bonds: In Defense of the Offensive

September 11, 2003
By: Dave Zirin

 

Has any athlete been punished for their greatness more than Barry Bonds? He is reviled in print, television, internet, and the moment he steps outside the friendly confines of the Bay Area. In an era where athletes are excused almost every transgression, Bonds exists outside of grace, forever unforgiven. This hit home last week in terrible fashion. Bonds returned to the lineup in Arizona following the death of his father after a long bout with cancer. The Arizona fans, in a dispicable move, lustily booed Bonds anyway. Bonds answered their jeers by hitting a 423 foot home run off of Randy Johnson, a pitcher who gives up homers to lefties about as often as Britney Spears attends NOW meetings.
Barry Bonds has been playing through a veil of tears, having had to watch his father Bobby slowly die. But he has been positively cinematic over the last month, slugging game winning homers and extra-inning hits. He was even hospitalized last week for an irregular heart beat and exhaustion, having according to team doctors,