Wrapping Up

Jason Michael Barker

Today begins what is something of an "extra" week of Major League Baseball. Extra in the sense that the regular season should have ended last Sunday, but not extra in the sense that these really are regularly scheduled games, just, er, rescheduled.

It really does seem like an extra week in the American League, where there really isn't much left to play for. Sure, there's that battle for second place in the Central between Minnesota (my, how the mighty have fallen) and Chicago (my, how the once mighty fell only to become somewhat mighty again). Outside the Midwest, everything else has been decided: Seattle in the West, Cleveland in the Central, New York in the East and wildcard Oakland.

Fortunately that's not the case in the National League, which features no fewer than three pennant races -- Braves by two in the East, Astros by one in the Central, and Diamondbacks by two in the West. All this begs the question: Do any of these teams really want to win their divisions?

In the West, the Diamondbacks and Giants are each 6-4 in their last ten, and while Arizona has been unable to pull away, San Francisco hasn't been able to mount any sort of charge. You have to wonder if Barry Bonds' pursuit of the home run record is some sort of a distraction, even if you wouldn't know it by his numbers -- Bonds hit an incredible .365/.565/1.000 with 12 homers last month, despite getting approximately one good pitch to hit per game. And no, that slugging percentage isn't a typo.

The one team that does appear to want to win is St. Louis, who on the strength of winning eight of their last ten and five in a row have crept to within a single game of the Houston. The Astros have lost thee straight and would seem hell-bent on giving their lead away, though truth be told whichever team loses the Central will wind up winning the wildcard anyway, so perhaps it doesn't matter much.

Then there's this whole Barry/Rickey thing.

It should tell you something about the sports media that Barry Bonds is having one of the top three offensive seasons of all time (Babe Ruth, 1920 and 1921) yet some people still think players like Sammy Sosa, Luis Gonzalez or Albert Pujols should win the NL's MVP award. Those three guys are having great seasons, to be certain, and perhaps in any other year we would have a debate on our hands. But not this year.

It isn't hard to find baseball fans who simply don't like Barry Bonds, despite the fact that they've never met the man nor has he ever done anything to them, despite perhaps playing well against their favorite team. People just don't like Bonds, even if they can't quite put their finger on why.

I was sitting at the Mariners-Athletics game Saturday evening when I happened to overhear a conversation taking place in the row behind me. The guy says to his friend: "My brother-in-law, he lives down in the Bay Area. One of his buddies works for the Giants, he's the equipment manager. And he tells my brother-in-law that Barry Bonds is the biggest asshole he's ever met." The second guy says: "Yeah? Did he have any examples of why, anything specific?" "Uh, no," answers the first guy.

Just like that, Barry Bonds is an even worse guy than he was five minutes earlier, through no fault of his own.

Here's a guy who has carried the Giants for nine seasons, and who carried the Pirates for three years before that. He's never done anything wrong -- he didn't spit on an umpire like Roberto Alomar, he didn't chase down kids in his truck or throw a baseball into the stands like Albert Belle, he didn't abuse a woman like Al Martin or Bobby Chouinard -- and yet he's been vilified 100 times over in the press because he didn't give an interview now and then. Every time I have heard Bonds give an interview, he's come across as warm, genuine and intelligent.

Although the same cannot be said for Rickey Henderson, it should tell you something else about the sports media that he's pursuing one of the most important records in baseball history -- runs scored -- and also chasing the illustrious 3000-hit mark in relative obscurity. Baseball writers and fans alike are quick to criticize players who are out for personal glory, yet the runs scored record is perhaps the most team-oriented record around. Henderson himself said so last week, when he mentioned that there is no way he would be where he is today if he didn't have teammates to drive him in.

Rickey Henderson is competitive, self-confident and perhaps a bit brash. He's also the greatest lead-off man of all-time, and probably the third-greatest leftfielder in history behind Ted Williams and Barry Bonds. He's good, and he knows it. Yet because he's not all that charismatic or well-spoken with the media, Henderson is labeled as a selfish, self-centered jerk.

I know of another superstar athlete who's competitive, self-confident and a bit brash at times -- perhaps you've heard of him. His name is Michael Jordan, and yet because he is charismatic and well-spoken, he has been labeled "the ultimate competitor," though he too is good and knows it.

At some point, I hope people can stop listening to what the media tells them to think -- i.e., Barry and Rickey are jerks -- and take a minute to formulate their own opinions. And hey, that goes for this article too. I'm just a guy writing about baseball on a website, so don't take my word for it.

Barry Bonds and Rickey Henderson are two of the greatest players I've ever seen in my life, and they're probably two of the greatest you've ever seen, too. Years from now, when the time comes for such things, I'll be happy to tell my kids that I watched them play the game and set records. Hopefully that's where the story will end, because I'd hate to have to try and explain why the media and some fans didn't like or appreciate two of the greatest ever to play the game.

about the author

Contrary to reports, Jason Michael Barker is not a jerk to his teammates, nor is he a clubhouse cancer. Ask about these silly creatine rumors when you write to jmb@strikethree.com

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