Barry Bonds deserves a chance to make history

  Christina Teller Though Teller is
roosting in the Bay Area for the summer, you can still e-mail her
at [email protected].

As I walked up to Pac Bell Park on the first of July, I was
filled with anticipation of what the day would hold for my man
Barry. To commemorate his official day, a sellout crowd was on hand
to celebrate Barry Bonds’ greatest accomplishment thus far
““ becoming the 17th major leaguer ever to break the 500 home
run mark.

With his family, including his father, former Giant great Bobby
Bonds, his high school coach and even two members of the opposing
team, Mark McGwire and Bobby Bonilla, on hand, Barry was honored as
a Giant great.

Barry had not only surpassed the 500 mark, but he had also been
on a home run tear since the beginning of the season ““
something that everyone at Pac Bell was well aware of.

How perfect would it have been to see Barry bomb number 40 into
McCovey Cove on Barry Bonds Day?

But the fans knew what was really going to happen. St. Louis
Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa wasn’t going to give him
anything to hit.

Barry had accrued a league-leading number of walks up to that
point of the season, and he reached first base with a walk in his
first three at-bats.

Despite the rousing boos from every person in the ballpark, the
Cardinal pitchers didn’t throw anything close.

Finally Mike Matthews, the Cards’ fourth pitcher of the
day, gave Barry something to work with. His shot fell just short of
the left-field wall, and almost gave the fans what they were
looking for.

Which brings me to my point, how is Barry going to have a
legitimate chance at the record if nobody will pitch to him?

Being the Giants fan and psychology student that I am, I think
about this and analyze it from different angles.

At the beginning of the season, Bonds homered more than once in
several games. He was in the groove and had found a comfort zone
with his swing. Now that he’s being walked almost every time
he’s up, he isn’t having the same chance to take cuts
to keep his swing fresh.

And then comes the question, why won’t they pitch to San
Francisco’s most enigmatic ballplayer?

It’s no secret that the goal of baseball is to win. So
obviously, eliminating any chance for Bonds to knock in a run or
even create some offense will give the opposing team a better
chance to win.

The fifth through seventh spots in the lineup give pitchers even
more incentive not to pitch to Bonds. They just haven’t been
strong so far this season for the Giants, so opposing pitchers have
a better chance of getting an out, or at least not giving up a home
run, when they throw to the guys after Bonds.

McGwire, the last man to challenge and break the home run
record, went through the same routine, notching 162 walks in the
1998 season.

At this point, Barry is still just ahead of where McGwire was in
’98, as McGwire didn’t get 39 or 40 until July 11,
against Houston. Without a home run in 14 games, Barry looks to be
stuck in a bases-on-balls rut.

But back to my original sentimental and spirit-of-the-game
point: Barry is on track to make history ““ doesn’t
anyone in Major League Baseball care?

Obviously not.

Tony LaRussa has been quoted as saying that he’s not
concerned with Barry’s attempt at the record, but more
focused on the pennant race.

But this is history, folks, and everyone seemed to be excited at
the beginning. Heck, ESPN’s SportsCenter even created a
graphic to track Bonds and alert viewers of every new
development.

Sure Barry has to work to etch his name in the record books, but
shouldn’t he be given a chance?

In ’98 McGwire nailed 15 of his 70 home runs in September,
second-most to the 16 he hit during the month of May. McGwire
admitted that what made his September run even more amazing was the
fact that late in the season you face tougher pitching, as most
teams give it all they’ve got before the lights go out on
their season.

McGwire recalled that he saw very few pitches down the home
stretch of the season, but he made the pitchers pay for the ones
they gave him.

And maybe this is Bonds’ only hope for the record ““
working with what he’s given.

Baseball fans know that anything can happen from this point on
in the season. We’re just getting ready for the All-Star
break, and there are still 74 regular-season games to go. So for
fans of baseball history everywhere, I hope that Barry breaks the
record this season.

Even if they won’t pitch to him.