The Box Seat

Barry Bonds…The all-time home run hitter

Wayne Box Miller

Sorry haters; you were hoping he would be arrested, hurt, suspended or somehow taken away before last Tuesday’s game. But Barry Bonds is now the all time home run king in baseball (with all due respect to Josh Gibson) and it happened the way he wanted it to; in front of the Giant fans who appreciated him the way some should but refuse to do.

Barry Bond’s talent and work ethic is unquestionably the catalyst behind his success. Add a father who was a major leaguer and a godfather, Willie Mays, who is one of the greatest to ever play the game and you should allow yourself to see why he’s the best ever.

I know I can’t do a Bonds story without the mention of steroids but I guess you can’t talk about Clinton without Lewinsky, amphetamines without baseball clubhouses (how soon they forget) or Rose without gambling either.

My point is who’s perfect? Certainly not you underachievers, en masse who say he’s a cheater. I ask you, whose more of a cheater? Barry who allegedly enhanced his performance or you who didn’t go after your dreams, bust your but or give your all? It’s not Barry; it’s you. You sit back in your righteous recliner and judge Barry as if you gave 110 percent to become a low level manager or an hourly employee.

So stop criticizing Barry Bonds and start on the man in the mirror. He hasn’t achieved much of anything and his deflection onto Barry takes the reflection off himself. If you do that you will start to see your shortcomings and see Barry’s impressive feat: hitting more long balls than any other major leaguer in history.

I wasn’t going to allow my fellow media to deny me the enjoyment of watching this historic event by focusing on everything but the record. I instead encourage my listeners to enjoy it because years from now when the conversation comes up I will be able to talk about it with passion and fervor because I focused on all the positive aspects of the Barry’s pursuit of Hank Aaron’s record.

Speaking of Aaron, he passed the torch onto Barry Bonds last Tuesday night and that didn’t make a lot of media happy, hoping he would give them some fuel for the we hate Barry onslaught. But he showed plenty of class and respect.

Yes, it was different than the hate and racism shown Hank but it was still a bias that should make any American embarrassed.

At the time I wrote this article, Barry still hasn’t failed a drug test of any kind. Wonder if that counts for anything. It would if it was you. That’s the way I see it sitting in the Box Seat.

You can listen to Wayne “Box” Miller on the Prime Time Sports Show Monday – Friday on 1230 WDBZ or online at: www.1230thebuzz.com e-mail me: 1230sports@fuse.net