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Something you have to realize about Bonds. He already could have been in the GOAT conversation (not saying he was the goat a that time but he deserved to at least be mentioned) for his career before the steroids. He was essentially a speedier Mike Trout who likely would have still finished with 500 or 600+ homers. 35 stolen bags a year. Already the IBB leader. The roids turned him into the biggest cheat code we’ve ever seen in baseball and essentially gave him HOF caliber career number #2, but the roids didn’t make Barry that’s without argument.
And that’s the thing that separates him from a number of other steroid users- I think players like Sammy Sosa and Ken Caminiti would have basically been nothing without the steroids, but Bonds had no need for them… and yet he took them anyway
@@TehStormOGhe still is one of the best ever it just has an asterisk next to his name, but no one can deny roids or no roids he was and will be one of the top 5 best hitters in MLB history
@@coyotelong4349 I don't think Sosa falls into that camp either, I don't think you can say steroids made Sosa anymore than you can say steroids made Big Papi, they've got the same level of steroid evidence against them, but people ignore Ortiz's, and treat Sosa as if he definitely did do them.
You mentioned him not winning a WS, having to be on the right team, etc... crazy thing is that a few years later, in 2010, the Giants won the World Series for the first time since they moved to SF in the 50s, and then won again in 2012 and 2014, almost a dynasty during that period of time. You have to have the right mix of players and coach too.
Secret Base has a series about famous athletes who never won a championship (it's called Untitled). In their episode about Bonds they mention hiw much of a team sport baseball is, Bonds can only field balls hit towards him & is only 1/9 players in the lineup. Then their wham line: "But this caveat has its own caveat--Bonds was a shitty teammate."
Mark Mcgwire and Sammy Sosa are the faces of the roid era. Their race for most home runs in a season really brought the roids into mainstream media. You should definitely react to their race.
Alex Rodriguez(admitted), Roger Clemens(accused and lied to Congress), and Barry Bonds(accused) were bigger stars than Jose Canseco(admitted), Sammy Sosa(accused), Mark McGuire(accused). Jason Giambi and Ken Caminiti were one tier below but admitted to juicing.
@@JH-pt6ih It was never discussed in mainstream media in 1998. Everyone was in love with the HR chase and there was never talk of an asterisk. Perhaps there were murmurs, but the general public thought Mac was a hero.
I know Damo is a big stats guy. If you take a look at his baseball reference page you can see how good he was even before steroids. People generally pinpoint the steroid usage beginning around 1998/1999 (that’s when he basically doubles in size). Before 1998 he had already hit over 400 home runs and won 3 MVPs. The back end stats where he’s age 35+ are where he literally broke baseball. No one really knows for sure how many guys were on steroids or still are. But a lot like cycling, the biggest names took the brunt of the backlash like Lance Armstrong. While hundreds if not thousands probably got away with it.
Lance Armstrong was the ringleader of what is called "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen". He literally threatened teammates with their careers had they chosen not to participate. MLB juicers had no such pull over the rest of the league. Big difference.
I used to say that Bonds & Clemens had legitimate HOF careers before they started juicing & therefore they should be in the Hall (unlike McGwire). I still believe they would have been legit HOFers. Then Selig got elected & if he can get in while overseeing the whole period there's no reason to keep them out IMO
There were two tiers of it really, 1996 when he first started, and 1999 when he started doing it hard. Also yeah Armstrong ran his program like a mob boss, he absolutely deserves the backlash he got for it.
@@s.henrlllpoklookout5069 People say this, and I'd rather just kick Selig out, then again I'd probably kick every commissioner out because they're all the slimiest most rancid guys alive, steroids, collusion, segregation, etc, they oversaw all of it. There might be a couple guys that were decent, but given what the position of commissioner does as just a mouthpiece for the owners, I highly doubt it.
Such a great video by Foolish Baseball. I’m glad y’all are watching it after learning a bunch more about baseball stats so you can truly understand how great he was.
Yeah I hope they react more to foolish, Jon Bois, secret base type videos. The MTC videos are just uninspired in comparison even if they have attractive topical titles. MTC does a lot of quantity with a video every week, but they're really just info dumps that repeat the popular narratives. There no imaginative storycrafting or presentation. Nothing against the guy, don't blame him for the content farm if it works. But watch reactions to quality videos that take months to produce is much better.
If you want more Barry, Jon Bois (maybe on Secret Base I can’t remember) did a video about what would’ve hypothetically happened if he played the entire 2004 season without a bat. Wild journey of a video but very fun!
I would like to think that but Im not so sure. plenty of folks these days hitting over 50 homeruns with no steroids and much better pitching. at some point you have to accept using steroids will affect how you are viewed. would like to see Bonds talk the the home run leaders the last few years that have done that without a metric fuckton of steroids. If you wanna use them fine, but be prepared for controversy.
Many of the same baseball writers who won’t vote for him for the HOF voted for him for MVP 4 years in a row. I don’t really care if a writer has a principled opposition to his induction but many aren’t consistent. I’ll be honest, I’ve been pretty skeptical of the BBWAA after I did a deep dive into certain writers’ voting habits. A deep dive inspired by the election of Scott Rolen over the obviously far superior Andruw Jones. Jayson Stark is a snake, that’s all I’m gonna say about that.
Great video and reaction. I'm a Giants fan - inherited from my dad - so i loved Bonds. And speaking of inheritance - the one thing the video didn't make clear - is that Bonds' contempt for the media was inherited from his father - Bobby Bonds - who played alongside the great Willie Mays in the '60s and '70s. Bonds was like royalty to longtime fans - he was a link to this storied past - when his father and Mays and all the great Giants of that era played together. The Giants fans loved him. Like Barry - his father had a difficult relationship with the sports' media. His father was often portrayed in an unflattering way by the media - Bobby was often portrayed as a "drunk" and "lady chaser." Remember - this was the late '60's and early '70's - and you can't remove the racial element of white journalists covering black players. A young Barry Bonds had to grow up watching the media attack his father. The bottom line - a young Barry was taught by his father to never trust the sports writers around him- and like a good son - he followed his dad's advice. Barry always had a tense and difficult relationship with the sports' media as well - and it affected the type of coverage Bonds' received. Barry was portrayed as the anti-hero. And in my opinion - and you guys touched on it - he was the sacrificial lamb - he had to slaughtered by the team owners so they could all wash their hands of their sins. Everybody knew many of the players were "juiced" - it was an open secret - then when the scandal exploded onto the national scene - the team owners pretended like they had no idea it was going on. Then when Bonds broke the most sacred of baseball records - the all-time HR record - fans just couldn't handle it any more. Something had to be done to appease the masses. The video briefly touched on it - but all of the owners banded together (secretly - because it's illegal - but there's no other explanation) and agreed not to offer Bonds a contract. No team offered him a contract. He was banished from baseball. The fans got their wish and the owners could go on - pretending like they were innocent. And that's why i still love Bonds - because he was so hated by sports' writers and opposing fans alike. But Barry Bonds did something that i never saw anyone else do so well - while playing in another team's stadium - he could shut up 50,000 screaming fans and reduce them to pure silence by hitting a HR - almost as if he had just shoved that baseball right up their rear ends. A beautiful sight to behold. Thanks for your reaction - i enjoyed it.
Really good breakdown! It's generally a prudent move to never trust the media/journalists, especially if you're a pro athlete. One thing I would add is that the owners didn't have to actively collude to blacklist bonds. I think they all felt that he was pure poison and there was no way to spin signing him into a positive. I'm not trying to remove blame from the owners, but I remember that time and any team that would have tried to sign Bonds would have been crucified in the press.
Bonds was a hall of famer before he started using steroids (when everybody else started using steroids). He was the best of the enhanced best and should be in the hall of fame. P.S. You guys should totally watch Ken Burns’ Baseball documentary - at least the 10th Inning, which details the steroid era, strike, and everything else from 1990-2010. Probably a Patreon thing (it’s 2 hours)
Iv watched every inning at least 10 times by now, i absolutely Love this documentary since i was a kid, only fairly recently realized he added more innings which were just as great.
As a side note, the Giants were 6 outs from winning the World Series. Dusty Baker, the then manager of the Giants, was worried his starting pitcher was getting rattled, so he pulled him. The rest is history. Like you mention, there is so many other factors besides star power to win you a championship. I am still bitter about that one....lol. Great reaction by the way.
He is the face because he set the single season record and all time Home Run records, 2 of the more cherished records in American Sports at the time...
Bonds was having a hall of fame career before his steroid use, but he wasn't putting up videogame numbers. Mcgwire and Sosa were stealing the headlines with their chase of the single season home run record, and Bonds wasn't having that. So he joined the party.
Baseball as a team sport is really interesting - in terms of the actual gameplay, most things that take place on the field are far more individual than what happens in other sports, but when you step back to look at team results, you need contributions from everyone to win. So a single individual performance is less impactful on a team's record compared to other sports, even though the game is made up almost entirely of individual performances with relatively minimal "teamwork".
12:27 You hit the nail right on the head, this is why people want to see Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout play for anyone but the Angels. Outside of Trout and Ohtani they got nothing. Ohtani is miles away their best pitcher, and Trout is the best hitter not named Ohtani. Baseball is one of the few sports where if you have a standout star, you're doing something wrong.
I did a paper in my "Sports Reporting" class in college about batting behind Bonds. Historically, the batter behind the best hitter is "protected" by him. Whatever damage they do with a walk or hit, the next better will probably see more strikes. The pitcher has less margin for error if they've given up something to the first hitter. Bobby Bonilla primarily hit behind Bonds in Pittsburgh, and Matt Williams and Jeff Kent hit behind him in San Francisco. All had the best years of their career hitting behind Bonds. Bonds' greatest tragedy is that he already heading for the Hall Of Fame before he into the steroids.
He developed a really great eye which made pitchers either walk him or throw him the pitch he was looking to hit--this had nothing to do with steroids. Also, he was great well before he started taking steroids---he won 2 MVP awards with Pittsburgh early in his career. BTW his Dad was a great player also--Bobby Bonds.
Bonds never tested positive for steroids due to MLB not really testing for PEDs at the time. You would have to look at pictures of him when he joined the Giants and in his final years to see some noticable muscle growth. And as others mentioned, he was already an amazing player during his time with the Pirates and when he joined the Giants. In the 90s, the American League had Ken Griffey Jr and the National League had Barry Bonds. As for if PEDs are still a huge issue in MLB, while it's not a big as it was with BALCO and the Mitchell Report, some players do use PEDs designed to avoid detection but can still be caught. Fernando Tatis Jr was suspended last season because of PEDs.
Yeah a couple of guys have been caught recently, but they also do it much less, even when guys are doing it they're not doing it to the degree Bonds, or McGwire, or Canseco were doing it, like you could visually see the physiological evidence of them doing steroids, they all got fucking thicc. You can't just put on 40lbs of muscle anymore, people are gonna notice. That's why even when guys do get popped, its not guys juiced out of their minds looking like body builders, like, Ramon Laureano is kind of skinny, Tatis isn't that thicc either. Colon was big and sexy before and after his suspension. Clase is also somewhat skinny.
11:39 - not sure if you guys are familiar with the joke about the Angels. They were originally the Calfornia Angels, and then changed to Anaheim Angels, the city they are located in. Anaheim is approximately 25 miles south of Los Angeles, and is outside the borders of Los Angeles county in neighboring Orange County. However, they decided for several years to go by the hilarious name of Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim. Eventually, they dropped the Anaheim to just be the Los Angeles Angels, which literally means The Angel Angels.
The best swing technique wise since Ted William. Griffey is my favorite swing and the most beautiful. But, if I was to teach someone a swing, it’d be Bond’s.
A good follow up video you guys should watch is “The Year of Judge”, also by Foolish Baseball, really great video on how Aaron Judge proved that you don’t need roids to still be a ungodly power hitter.
One other thing about Bonds that really doesn't get talked about with Bonds is that he was also one of the best defensive players of all time. In terms of corner outfielders, he's probably neck-and-neck with Roberto Clemente and Carl Yastrzemski for the best defender in history. He wasn't super flashy, and he didn't have a great arm, but he was probably the smartest fielder in baseball. He was great at positioning himself in the field and had better anticipation than anyone I've ever seen - even when he was slowed by age, he was still quite good with the glove. As far as PEDs go - Bonds was a late adopter. It's generally agreed that he didn't start using until 1999, a decade into the PED era. In spite of not using, he was the best player in the game for that decade. After he started using he was so much better, that it almost made a mockery of the sport. Before Bonds, everyone was mostly happy to let it slide and ride the wave of fun, but when arch-villain number one started using, the tides turned and this was suddenly the biggest issue in the game. It's also worth noting - there were no penalties or rules against PEDs until 2005. The comissioner had sent out a memo saying they weren't permitted, but there were no official rules on the books, no enforcement, and no punishment if one were to 'get caught'.
as far as the first paragraph..."source, myself" never heard a single person ever talk about him being "one of the best defensive players" saying he is neck and neck as the best defender in history is hilarious.
I mean, if you've never heard of Bonds being considered an elite defender, that's not my fault - he has 8 gold glove awards! Alternatively, you can look at defensive metrics - he rates at +175 runs by rfield for his career, which I believe is third among corner outfielders, and top 20 amongst all fielders! If you wanted to say Clemente was a better defender, you probably would be right, but Bonds was damn close!
@@kylek6708 In his earlier years he was, he does have 8 gold gloves for a reason lol. It's that he played way longer then most people do. So the second half of his career he feel off defensely like most people. Sadly most people only remember during those years.
@@bdbd1390 It was the 90s, gold gloves of that era are extremely suspect, not always true that they were undeserved, but they're unreliable and not evidence of anything, Jeter is the worst fielder of all time and has 5 GGs. You need evidence external of gold gloves to prove Bonds was a good fielder
@@alexisborden3191 you can probably say that about most fielders before analytics. Even tho the Jeter thing you said is true. We have no evidence either way before those times really. So for this conversation. He won 8 gold gloves. I was a kid then. You I can't help with the eye test part. He was a Giant by the time I hit high school and past being a great defensive player
As I always jokingly tell people, I hate it how steroids make me have an inhuman eye at the plate, and make it easier for me to get my bat on the ball. Like, yeah, steroids will make you throw harder and hit balls further, but some numbers are absolutely bonkers, even without the bump steroids would provide. It's not like cycling where speed is the only thing that matters and that is directly aided by steroids.
Thing about Bonds is I believe he still could have had around 500 homers and 300 stolen bases without the steroids. He showed incredible plate discipline and even as juiced up as he was, he still had to actually hit the ball. That being said, he cheated to rob Aaron of the home run record.
2002 Was the Closest Barry Bonds of winning the World Series the 5-0 angels Comeback was the dagger to the hearts of San Francisco Giants and they lost in 7 Games
In what is still the highest scoring World Series ever. 85 combined runs (SF 44, ANA 41). It also hurt for the Giants that in Game 7, three Angels rookie pitchers (Lackey, Donnelly & Rodriguez) combined to hold the deadly SF offense to just 1 measly run.
The thing that’s so unfortunate about Barry Bonds is that he was just such a brilliant hitter that you KNOW he still would have been a star without the steroids… He didn’t need them in the slightest, yet he gave into the temptation to take them anyway
To be fair, McGwire and Sosa should probably be the 'Roids Guys. On truth serum, I think Bonds would say the only reason he did it is because he was so much better than those clowns and got sick of how everyone drooled over them.
In American sports there’s 2 storylines for PEDs. On one hand players say they know when all the testing happens. So you have to be an idiot to get caught. On the other hand, some players say they are tested so frequently that cheating is very hard.
The Anaheim Angels of California of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is a laugh out loud moment if you know why they said that 😂 oh shit you guys watched Moneyball? I'd Patreon donate to watch that with you guys for sure. I have to learn how discord and patreon works now I guess
I think bb’s inability to find another team in the twilight of his career has more to do with his inability to get along with teammates than his ped ties. As you guys mentioned, there was plenty of players who had ped ties that were still on teams. However, none of. Those guys had the reputation of being a clubhouse cancer like bonds did. Team chemistry might have more to do with a teams success than the cumulative talent. Trevor Bauer’s inability to find a home in mlb is a good example of this in more modern times.
I think he'd have trouble finding a team anyways but I'd bet Bauer's issue is more the rape and sexual assault allegations than anything, and they're starting to pile up.
This is a good point, in fact didn't bonds just come out and say he did a lot of stupid shit he regrets now? And that wasn't the media exaggerating things, either, some of the stories of bonds the teammate are pretty rough, he did not sound like a fun guy to play with. He was much more albert belle than he was David Ortiz. There is also the jeff Kent incident (although I think Jeff Kent might have been an even bigger asshole then bonds).
@alexisborden3191 yeah Bauer is an entirely different issue. Those are very serious allegations and when you add that to the fact that bauer is a difficult teammate and tends to butt heads with coaching and management it's not worth his talent.
I think it's inappropriate to draw parallels with steroids and bauer's issues. Bauer was accused of sexual assault, bonds took performance-enhancing drugs and was unpleasant to have as a teammate. As far as I know prior to BALCO bonds didn't have any legal issues.
Shohei on roids is something we don't even know we need. PS I think Baseball will gain popularity in England because of the pace. It's a slow but steady gameplay similar to European football. A big HR or run scored feels like a goal scored.
A deeper dive is called for here. This guy needs more context. I asked a friend of mine who played with him in Pittsburgh and he said Barry wasn't "mean" until he got to SF. I'm not sure the steroids didn't rage him out and cost him a lot of HOF ballots.
According to Kirk Gibson, when he was playing for the Pirates next to Barry Bonds, Bonds went up to him in the dugout and said, "I got us here to the playoffs, now you have to take us the rest of the way." Gibson took that to mean that Barry was going to go the rest of the way on cruise control while the rest of his team would "step up". Gibby says he wanted to punch his lights out in that moment. This pretty much sums up why Bonds was considered cancer in the dugout and why nobody was willing to go to bat for him when all the scandals hit. Screw him. I look at him like any super-talented player who ruins his career with substance abuse. He's bad for baseball.
I’m not a huge baseball fan but I was in the 90s and the steroids kinda turned me off. But I’m a hockey and football fan, and I’ve seen what the “steroids” they use do for injury recovery and quality of life improvements after sports and those should not be against the rules. The muscle building ones that are all head swelling absolutely not. The ones that are there for muscle and joint recovery, absolutely.
I've always thought of American Football as the ultimate team sport because while generally there's only 1 tackler and 1 ball carrier, it typically takes all 11 for a play to succeed or be stopped. I admit I may be biased though.
The difference between Bonds and the best hitter in the league today (Mookie Betts) is the same difference between Betts and a average minor league hitter, no exaggeration.
Maybe I'm biased because I'm a Giants fan, but Bonds really was an amazing player and deserves respect. Even without the juice (which most all were juiced up at that time,) he played better than the rest IMO.
There’s a great 30 for 30 about this era of baseball. He didn’t do roids for a long time, only when it became so clear that his contemporary’s were using roids to overshadow him. He changed and then starting killing it.
The steroids era did revitalize baseball for the fans though. McGwire and Sosa and Bonds duking it out was really fun to watch, regardless of the PEDs. As someone who lived in SF during Bonds' hay-day, it was fun to go witness him slam some balls into the pond. Always sucked when he was walked lol. As an A's fan, still enjoyed watching the Giants play.
He got blackballed by the commissioners office because he was juicing in his career and never said anything, but Mark Mcguire lied about it and was still able to find a job as a coach
Barry Bonds represents a group of the most divisive players in the history of MLB. He has become the face of the steroid era, and it is sad. He was already a sure fire HoFer before the "suspected" use, but his ego and jealousy lead him down the path that has now invalidated his whole career. My hope as time goes by and they pass away, they are placed in the museum, but they should never have any of the ben. efits of being a Hall of Famer while alive.
It doesn't matter who the next batter is......We all know whoever he is, he's not going to be Barry Bond, the most dangerous batter in MLB history. It doesn't matter if the next guy is a Superstar. It's NOT Bond, so you have a much better shot at winning.....
….everyone was taking steroids….pitchers, relievers, batters I wouldn’t be surprised if the ball boy was on it as well. But it did produce some wild baseball, memories.
The MLB is super serious about steroid testing and punishments these days. Guys still get caught every now and then but it’s not a big problem in the game anymore. The first positive test is an 80 game suspension. The second positive test is a 162 game suspension(1 full season). The third positive test is a lifetime ban.
Bonds was the best player of all time pre steroids and post steroids, but he was an a-hole. The baseball writers are who vote you in. As PED players get in someday he won’t for some time unless it’s after all the current writers are passed.
For a few years before Bonds, there were other beast of hitters out there, such as Matt Williams, who also played for the Giants ( and now is the 3rd base coach for the Padres). He was on pace to break the single season home run record, but the 1994 strike ruined his chances. Other HOF hitters of note are Mark McGuire, who along with Sammy Sosa, thrilled all of baseball with a season long race to see if they could both break the record, which they both did in 1998, hitting 70 and 66 homers respectively. While both the above guys were great hitters, I don't think any pitcher feared them. Respected them, yes, but not flat out "I don't wanna." As you say, Barry Bonds for 4 years was a monster. So while there may be an asterisk attached to his legacy, the other guys also juiced. I guess its comparable to race cars. If you took a F-1 car and raced it against streets cars, it would be unfair, but against other modified cars, its par for the course.
In 1994, five players were on pace to hit 50 homers: Williams, Ken Griffey, Albert Belle, Frank Thomas, and Bonds. Also, Bonds had a higher slugging percentage than Williams that year. In 1998, even with all the home runs McGwire and Sosa hit, Barry Bonds have a higher WAR than both of them. I think you're underestating how great Bonds was from the year 1990 and on.
He’s the face because he broke those records while playing in that era. But the truth is that a lot of people were in them in that era and the mlb didn’t even test for them at the time. I really feel like the guy should be in the hall of fame because I don’t care how many steroids someone takes that doesn’t mean they can hit a baseball. As a guy who played baseball my whole life I can tell you it isn’t easy to hit. Put the man in the hall of fame… and let Pete Rise in while you at it
Been in San Francisco since 1986. Got the 2001 girlfriend to convert from Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers fan to Giants and Warriors. The rest is history. (So is the girlfriend)
The steroid issue is a lot more nuanced that many would claim/imply. As FB said, the league turned a blind eye to an obvious issue because it benefitted them. Bud Selig, the commissioner at the time is in the Hall of Fame, yet players like Bonds, who were the instruments to his success, are not. Not saying steroid abusers dont deserve any punishment/repercussions, but the whole situation was handled very poorly by most parties involved. And of course current commish Snake Manfred 🐍 is even worse.
My view on steroids has always been, it was what saved baseball in the mid 90s after "the strike" I find it fascinating how during that time home run chases from McGwire, some, and bonds became Americana. Deadly pitchers reignited sand lots, and the sports writers who would have been out of a job were more than happy to carve the stories of the Era. But once the scandals broke, my God those same writers who's careers were saved and loved every minute of it turned on those very same players. Bonds was no hero, but he was without a doubt the best of his generation. And lord knows the crap those who came before were hopped up on. Baseball and drugs, be it performance enhancing or otherwise jave always had a tough relationship. I do think it's much better today with the periodic testing thay occurs.
'Roids were no illegal at the time. So you cannot penalize players for using something that was not banned. Anyone who used 'roids after they become illegal should never be allowed into the HOF.
Bonds was a lock before 2000. He always had a great eye...he led league 5 times in walks, On Base 4 times, slugging 3 times, OPS 5 times, Intentional Walks 7 times, and 3 MVP's, 7 Gold Gloves, and 8 Silver Slugger awards (best hitter at his position)...in first 14 seasons.....oh ya, almost forgot his 460 stolen bases and a home run derby in 1996, and his total WAR 111.7 up to 1999, that would have put him at 18th, just ahead of Rickey Henderson, Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson, and Pujols...at age 34.....all before the year 2000.....with 162.8 WAR, he's 4th behind Babe Ruth, pitcher Walter Johnson, and Pitcher Cy Young....put it in context, Trout is ranked 52 with 85.2 WAR at age 32, Trout would need 26.5 over the next 2 years, with 13.2 a year, he averages about 9 when healthy, and had a high of 10.5 twice (his defense is above average but not elite like Bonds)... he's won 3 MVP, 11 All Star, and 9 Silver Slugger, 4 On Base, 3 Slugging, 6 OPS, and 3 intentional walks, and a .301 batting average in 13 years....and that's why Trout is our generational talent of this era...and he's still got 2 years left until age 34, under contract until age 39 I believe......overall, Bonds was a sure HOF guy.....and the ironic thing is it brought life back to baseball with Bonds, McGwire and Sosa....the kicker is the new Commissioner had the ball juiced since 2020, the players all know, Verlander spoke about it, Trevor Bauer spoke out about it among other things and now he's in Japan for 2 years being banned...the girl set up Bauer, she posted on Instagram the morning after and then extorted him thru the court after he said no, she got her $5 mil and 10 minutes of fame...other like players just got 50 games, Bauer got 3 years...corrupt as hell...enough ranting...lol
You have to be able to hit the ball properly and Bonds was one of the greatest all time hitters, regardless of steriods. He studied hitting for years with his godfather Willie Mays and perfected it. This is when he began to hit all the HRs. If he didnt do the steroid thing he still would have hit all the HRs because he was such a great hitter. The steriods just made the ball go a little further. Again, you have to be able to hit the ball. Somethig else no one talks about is how great Bonds' eyes were at knowing the strike zone. He rarely swung at bad pitches and he frequently would let borderline pitches go that others would swing at. He could read the strike zone better than any other player, so he always chose to swing at very hittable pitches. As a side note, when I saw Bonds come up to bat in real life for the first time he had a presence about him that no other player had, and I also saw Sammy Sosa in the same game. Seeing him in the batters box with my own eyes was incredible.
Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were the face of steroids until Barry Bonds, and all 3 really are the main 3. Barry is probably the face for most now due to how good he was before the roids and after, as well as the media and the Balco case. He was arrogant and so those that thought he was cheating really went after him. More than just cheating but also in a legal sense. As for steroids/PEDs and now - like cycling, people will always look for an edge - be it a new PED or a new way to get away with already banned PEDs. There's the idea of allowing "safe" PEDs so the competition is "fair" to all who use, but that's probably not a thing most fans want. I have no doubt there are players in baseball getting away with cheating right now, but I feel like it's on the lower side, so the sport is probably "winning".
Thank you 🙏 Been a long journey, but with the help of the comments, educational videos, seeing our first MLB game live and our Discord community, we’re well on our way 🔥
I’d put an asterisk next to that HR record, but I’m not vehement about it. I mean, he DID break the record in an era where other people were cheating as well. However, if steroids never existed, I doubt he would’ve broken any records at all.
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Something you have to realize about Bonds. He already could have been in the GOAT conversation (not saying he was the goat a that time but he deserved to at least be mentioned) for his career before the steroids. He was essentially a speedier Mike Trout who likely would have still finished with 500 or 600+ homers. 35 stolen bags a year. Already the IBB leader. The roids turned him into the biggest cheat code we’ve ever seen in baseball and essentially gave him HOF caliber career number #2, but the roids didn’t make Barry that’s without argument.
And that’s the thing that separates him from a number of other steroid users- I think players like Sammy Sosa and Ken Caminiti would have basically been nothing without the steroids, but Bonds had no need for them… and yet he took them anyway
@@coyotelong4349 that's the most frustrating thing about Bonds, he could've been one of the best ever and he ruined it
@@TehStormOGhe still is one of the best ever it just has an asterisk next to his name, but no one can deny roids or no roids he was and will be one of the top 5 best hitters in MLB history
@@TehStormOGhe’s still the best ever.
@@coyotelong4349 I don't think Sosa falls into that camp either, I don't think you can say steroids made Sosa anymore than you can say steroids made Big Papi, they've got the same level of steroid evidence against them, but people ignore Ortiz's, and treat Sosa as if he definitely did do them.
Jon Bois has a great video on Bonds where he works out what Bonds' OPS could be one season without a bat.
You mentioned him not winning a WS, having to be on the right team, etc... crazy thing is that a few years later, in 2010, the Giants won the World Series for the first time since they moved to SF in the 50s, and then won again in 2012 and 2014, almost a dynasty during that period of time. You have to have the right mix of players and coach too.
Secret Base has a series about famous athletes who never won a championship (it's called Untitled). In their episode about Bonds they mention hiw much of a team sport baseball is, Bonds can only field balls hit towards him & is only 1/9 players in the lineup. Then their wham line: "But this caveat has its own caveat--Bonds was a shitty teammate."
@@s.henrlllpoklookout5069 Yup! I remember Bonds and 2nd baseman Jeff Kent fighting each other in the dugout back in the day.
@@technicschic Jeff Kent was a 2nd baseman
@@alexisborden3191 Yeah, sorry for the typo!
The crazy thing about that Giants Dynasty is that they had at most two Hall of Famers on that team: Buster Posey and Bruce Bochy.
“The Anaheim Angels of California of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim” is hilarious
Mark Mcgwire and Sammy Sosa are the faces of the roid era. Their race for most home runs in a season really brought the roids into mainstream media. You should definitely react to their race.
Maybe before Bonds, but Bonds setting fake records has surpassed Sosa and Mac
They were faces afterwards. In 1998, the American public had no idea about steroids in baseball.
@@subterraneanretrogames556 lol - speak for yourself. I think plenty of people knew about and suspected.
Alex Rodriguez(admitted), Roger Clemens(accused and lied to Congress), and Barry Bonds(accused) were bigger stars than Jose Canseco(admitted), Sammy Sosa(accused), Mark McGuire(accused). Jason Giambi and Ken Caminiti were one tier below but admitted to juicing.
@@JH-pt6ih It was never discussed in mainstream media in 1998. Everyone was in love with the HR chase and there was never talk of an asterisk. Perhaps there were murmurs, but the general public thought Mac was a hero.
I know Damo is a big stats guy. If you take a look at his baseball reference page you can see how good he was even before steroids. People generally pinpoint the steroid usage beginning around 1998/1999 (that’s when he basically doubles in size). Before 1998 he had already hit over 400 home runs and won 3 MVPs. The back end stats where he’s age 35+ are where he literally broke baseball.
No one really knows for sure how many guys were on steroids or still are. But a lot like cycling, the biggest names took the brunt of the backlash like Lance Armstrong. While hundreds if not thousands probably got away with it.
Lance Armstrong was the ringleader of what is called "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen". He literally threatened teammates with their careers had they chosen not to participate. MLB juicers had no such pull over the rest of the league. Big difference.
I used to say that Bonds & Clemens had legitimate HOF careers before they started juicing & therefore they should be in the Hall (unlike McGwire). I still believe they would have been legit HOFers. Then Selig got elected & if he can get in while overseeing the whole period there's no reason to keep them out IMO
There were two tiers of it really, 1996 when he first started, and 1999 when he started doing it hard. Also yeah Armstrong ran his program like a mob boss, he absolutely deserves the backlash he got for it.
@@s.henrlllpoklookout5069 People say this, and I'd rather just kick Selig out, then again I'd probably kick every commissioner out because they're all the slimiest most rancid guys alive, steroids, collusion, segregation, etc, they oversaw all of it. There might be a couple guys that were decent, but given what the position of commissioner does as just a mouthpiece for the owners, I highly doubt it.
@@alexisborden3191 You'll never be able to convince me that Greg Maddux or Tim Lincecum juiced lol.
Such a great video by Foolish Baseball. I’m glad y’all are watching it after learning a bunch more about baseball stats so you can truly understand how great he was.
Yeah I hope they react more to foolish, Jon Bois, secret base type videos. The MTC videos are just uninspired in comparison even if they have attractive topical titles. MTC does a lot of quantity with a video every week, but they're really just info dumps that repeat the popular narratives. There no imaginative storycrafting or presentation. Nothing against the guy, don't blame him for the content farm if it works. But watch reactions to quality videos that take months to produce is much better.
If you want more Barry, Jon Bois (maybe on Secret Base I can’t remember) did a video about what would’ve hypothetically happened if he played the entire 2004 season without a bat. Wild journey of a video but very fun!
Bonds was the best pure hitter baseball has ever seen. Even before the steroids. He absolutely deserves to be in the hall of fame.
I would like to think that but Im not so sure. plenty of folks these days hitting over 50 homeruns with no steroids and much better pitching. at some point you have to accept using steroids will affect how you are viewed. would like to see Bonds talk the the home run leaders the last few years that have done that without a metric fuckton of steroids. If you wanna use them fine, but be prepared for controversy.
@@kylek6708much better pitching? The 90s pitchers are all on steroids dude lol
@@kylek6708the best pitching era in baseball in the steroids era hands down.
Many of the same baseball writers who won’t vote for him for the HOF voted for him for MVP 4 years in a row. I don’t really care if a writer has a principled opposition to his induction but many aren’t consistent. I’ll be honest, I’ve been pretty skeptical of the BBWAA after I did a deep dive into certain writers’ voting habits. A deep dive inspired by the election of Scott Rolen over the obviously far superior Andruw Jones. Jayson Stark is a snake, that’s all I’m gonna say about that.
Greatest baseball player in history. Don’t @ me
i mean its ok we know youre retarded
Greatest hitter. Never pitched.
@@psymar got em
@@psymarhe didn’t have to pitch lol
greatest "roid' user in history....
Great video and reaction. I'm a Giants fan - inherited from my dad - so i loved Bonds. And speaking of inheritance - the one thing the video didn't make clear - is that Bonds' contempt for the media was inherited from his father - Bobby Bonds - who played alongside the great Willie Mays in the '60s and '70s. Bonds was like royalty to longtime fans - he was a link to this storied past - when his father and Mays and all the great Giants of that era played together. The Giants fans loved him. Like Barry - his father had a difficult relationship with the sports' media. His father was often portrayed in an unflattering way by the media - Bobby was often portrayed as a "drunk" and "lady chaser." Remember - this was the late '60's and early '70's - and you can't remove the racial element of white journalists covering black players. A young Barry Bonds had to grow up watching the media attack his father. The bottom line - a young Barry was taught by his father to never trust the sports writers around him- and like a good son - he followed his dad's advice. Barry always had a tense and difficult relationship with the sports' media as well - and it affected the type of coverage Bonds' received. Barry was portrayed as the anti-hero. And in my opinion - and you guys touched on it - he was the sacrificial lamb - he had to slaughtered by the team owners so they could all wash their hands of their sins. Everybody knew many of the players were "juiced" - it was an open secret - then when the scandal exploded onto the national scene - the team owners pretended like they had no idea it was going on. Then when Bonds broke the most sacred of baseball records - the all-time HR record - fans just couldn't handle it any more. Something had to be done to appease the masses. The video briefly touched on it - but all of the owners banded together (secretly - because it's illegal - but there's no other explanation) and agreed not to offer Bonds a contract. No team offered him a contract. He was banished from baseball. The fans got their wish and the owners could go on - pretending like they were innocent. And that's why i still love Bonds - because he was so hated by sports' writers and opposing fans alike. But Barry Bonds did something that i never saw anyone else do so well - while playing in another team's stadium - he could shut up 50,000 screaming fans and reduce them to pure silence by hitting a HR - almost as if he had just shoved that baseball right up their rear ends. A beautiful sight to behold. Thanks for your reaction - i enjoyed it.
Thank you for the comment! Really appreciate the context 😀 glad you enjoyed the vid!
Really good breakdown! It's generally a prudent move to never trust the media/journalists, especially if you're a pro athlete. One thing I would add is that the owners didn't have to actively collude to blacklist bonds. I think they all felt that he was pure poison and there was no way to spin signing him into a positive. I'm not trying to remove blame from the owners, but I remember that time and any team that would have tried to sign Bonds would have been crucified in the press.
Bonds was a hall of famer before he started using steroids (when everybody else started using steroids). He was the best of the enhanced best and should be in the hall of fame.
P.S. You guys should totally watch Ken Burns’ Baseball documentary - at least the 10th Inning, which details the steroid era, strike, and everything else from 1990-2010. Probably a Patreon thing (it’s 2 hours)
Iv watched every inning at least 10 times by now, i absolutely Love this documentary since i was a kid, only fairly recently realized he added more innings which were just as great.
As a side note, the Giants were 6 outs from winning the World Series. Dusty Baker, the then manager of the Giants, was worried his starting pitcher was getting rattled, so he pulled him. The rest is history. Like you mention, there is so many other factors besides star power to win you a championship.
I am still bitter about that one....lol.
Great reaction by the way.
He is the face because he set the single season record and all time Home Run records, 2 of the more cherished records in American Sports at the time...
Barry bonds should be in the Hall of Fame 💯
Bonds was having a hall of fame career before his steroid use, but he wasn't putting up videogame numbers. Mcgwire and Sosa were stealing the headlines with their chase of the single season home run record, and Bonds wasn't having that. So he joined the party.
Bonds in 4 is an absolute masterpiece IMO. Great reaction guys.
Thank you so much, we absolutely loved this watch! My favourite Foolish video to date
Baseball as a team sport is really interesting - in terms of the actual gameplay, most things that take place on the field are far more individual than what happens in other sports, but when you step back to look at team results, you need contributions from everyone to win. So a single individual performance is less impactful on a team's record compared to other sports, even though the game is made up almost entirely of individual performances with relatively minimal "teamwork".
12:27 You hit the nail right on the head, this is why people want to see Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout play for anyone but the Angels. Outside of Trout and Ohtani they got nothing. Ohtani is miles away their best pitcher, and Trout is the best hitter not named Ohtani. Baseball is one of the few sports where if you have a standout star, you're doing something wrong.
I did a paper in my "Sports Reporting" class in college about batting behind Bonds. Historically, the batter behind the best hitter is "protected" by him. Whatever damage they do with a walk or hit, the next better will probably see more strikes. The pitcher has less margin for error if they've given up something to the first hitter. Bobby Bonilla primarily hit behind Bonds in Pittsburgh, and Matt Williams and Jeff Kent hit behind him in San Francisco. All had the best years of their career hitting behind Bonds.
Bonds' greatest tragedy is that he already heading for the Hall Of Fame before he into the steroids.
He developed a really great eye which made pitchers either walk him or throw him the pitch he was looking to hit--this had nothing to do with steroids. Also, he was great well before he started taking steroids---he won 2 MVP awards with Pittsburgh early in his career. BTW his Dad was a great player also--Bobby Bonds.
Bonds never tested positive for steroids due to MLB not really testing for PEDs at the time. You would have to look at pictures of him when he joined the Giants and in his final years to see some noticable muscle growth. And as others mentioned, he was already an amazing player during his time with the Pirates and when he joined the Giants. In the 90s, the American League had Ken Griffey Jr and the National League had Barry Bonds.
As for if PEDs are still a huge issue in MLB, while it's not a big as it was with BALCO and the Mitchell Report, some players do use PEDs designed to avoid detection but can still be caught. Fernando Tatis Jr was suspended last season because of PEDs.
Yeah a couple of guys have been caught recently, but they also do it much less, even when guys are doing it they're not doing it to the degree Bonds, or McGwire, or Canseco were doing it, like you could visually see the physiological evidence of them doing steroids, they all got fucking thicc. You can't just put on 40lbs of muscle anymore, people are gonna notice. That's why even when guys do get popped, its not guys juiced out of their minds looking like body builders, like, Ramon Laureano is kind of skinny, Tatis isn't that thicc either. Colon was big and sexy before and after his suspension. Clase is also somewhat skinny.
11:39 - not sure if you guys are familiar with the joke about the Angels. They were originally the Calfornia Angels, and then changed to Anaheim Angels, the city they are located in. Anaheim is approximately 25 miles south of Los Angeles, and is outside the borders of Los Angeles county in neighboring Orange County. However, they decided for several years to go by the hilarious name of Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim. Eventually, they dropped the Anaheim to just be the Los Angeles Angels, which literally means The Angel Angels.
His baseball reference page is just incredible to have a laugh at. So. Many. Bolded. Italics.
The best swing technique wise since Ted William. Griffey is my favorite swing and the most beautiful. But, if I was to teach someone a swing, it’d be Bond’s.
A good follow up video you guys should watch is “The Year of Judge”, also by Foolish Baseball, really great video on how Aaron Judge proved that you don’t need roids to still be a ungodly power hitter.
ill wait another 10+ years before i believe he is clean, not that i think he isnt, but definitely not convinced yet lol
The GOAT of hitters. Don’t listen to the haters. They’ll forget that every pitcher and hitter were juicing at the time…
you cant be a goat while cheating.dont be a retard
Completely untrue generalization, per the specifics of the Mitchell Report. Far from ALL players. He will, however, always be the GOAT of cheaters.
Absolutely false
@@gavinsheridan4680many of them were as there was no rule you couldn’t use steroids
One other thing about Bonds that really doesn't get talked about with Bonds is that he was also one of the best defensive players of all time. In terms of corner outfielders, he's probably neck-and-neck with Roberto Clemente and Carl Yastrzemski for the best defender in history. He wasn't super flashy, and he didn't have a great arm, but he was probably the smartest fielder in baseball. He was great at positioning himself in the field and had better anticipation than anyone I've ever seen - even when he was slowed by age, he was still quite good with the glove.
As far as PEDs go - Bonds was a late adopter. It's generally agreed that he didn't start using until 1999, a decade into the PED era. In spite of not using, he was the best player in the game for that decade. After he started using he was so much better, that it almost made a mockery of the sport. Before Bonds, everyone was mostly happy to let it slide and ride the wave of fun, but when arch-villain number one started using, the tides turned and this was suddenly the biggest issue in the game. It's also worth noting - there were no penalties or rules against PEDs until 2005. The comissioner had sent out a memo saying they weren't permitted, but there were no official rules on the books, no enforcement, and no punishment if one were to 'get caught'.
as far as the first paragraph..."source, myself" never heard a single person ever talk about him being "one of the best defensive players" saying he is neck and neck as the best defender in history is hilarious.
I mean, if you've never heard of Bonds being considered an elite defender, that's not my fault - he has 8 gold glove awards! Alternatively, you can look at defensive metrics - he rates at +175 runs by rfield for his career, which I believe is third among corner outfielders, and top 20 amongst all fielders! If you wanted to say Clemente was a better defender, you probably would be right, but Bonds was damn close!
@@kylek6708 In his earlier years he was, he does have 8 gold gloves for a reason lol. It's that he played way longer then most people do. So the second half of his career he feel off defensely like most people. Sadly most people only remember during those years.
@@bdbd1390 It was the 90s, gold gloves of that era are extremely suspect, not always true that they were undeserved, but they're unreliable and not evidence of anything, Jeter is the worst fielder of all time and has 5 GGs. You need evidence external of gold gloves to prove Bonds was a good fielder
@@alexisborden3191 you can probably say that about most fielders before analytics. Even tho the Jeter thing you said is true. We have no evidence either way before those times really. So for this conversation. He won 8 gold gloves. I was a kid then. You I can't help with the eye test part. He was a Giant by the time I hit high school and past being a great defensive player
Been waiting for this FOREVER!!!!
Been looking forward to this one!!!
As I always jokingly tell people, I hate it how steroids make me have an inhuman eye at the plate, and make it easier for me to get my bat on the ball. Like, yeah, steroids will make you throw harder and hit balls further, but some numbers are absolutely bonkers, even without the bump steroids would provide. It's not like cycling where speed is the only thing that matters and that is directly aided by steroids.
lol all the Super Nintendo RPG music in this video is great.
Thing about Bonds is I believe he still could have had around 500 homers and 300 stolen bases without the steroids. He showed incredible plate discipline and even as juiced up as he was, he still had to actually hit the ball. That being said, he cheated to rob Aaron of the home run record.
2002 Was the Closest Barry Bonds of winning the World Series the 5-0 angels Comeback was the dagger to the hearts of San Francisco Giants and they lost in 7 Games
In what is still the highest scoring World Series ever. 85 combined runs (SF 44, ANA 41). It also hurt for the Giants that in Game 7, three Angels rookie pitchers (Lackey, Donnelly & Rodriguez) combined to hold the deadly SF offense to just 1 measly run.
One of the best profession athletes of all time even with the asterisk. Dude was put on this earth to hit nukes
The thing that’s so unfortunate about Barry Bonds is that he was just such a brilliant hitter that you KNOW he still would have been a star without the steroids… He didn’t need them in the slightest, yet he gave into the temptation to take them anyway
To be fair, McGwire and Sosa should probably be the 'Roids Guys. On truth serum, I think Bonds would say the only reason he did it is because he was so much better than those clowns and got sick of how everyone drooled over them.
How is Sosa a roids guy but Ortiz isn't? They both have the same evidence, the 2003 test published by the New York Times in 2009
In American sports there’s 2 storylines for PEDs. On one hand players say they know when all the testing happens. So you have to be an idiot to get caught. On the other hand, some players say they are tested so frequently that cheating is very hard.
Pretty much any player over 30 between 1996 and 2004 did some kind of PED.
Also the higher percentage to walk it off comes from the fact that if he hit, it would mean it would be 8-7 not the 8-6 scenario Bonds was in.
You guys should check out the video about bonds numbers in 2004 if he didn’t swing the bat a single time the whole year
You walk him.... All day..... Everyday, Everytime, the entire series!!!
The Anaheim Angels of California of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is a laugh out loud moment if you know why they said that 😂 oh shit you guys watched Moneyball? I'd Patreon donate to watch that with you guys for sure. I have to learn how discord and patreon works now I guess
Haha Of course, Moneyball hammered the Patreon Poll 😂 Field of Dreams winning the next film too. Seems the Baseball Films do really well 😅
@@DNReacts Done and done, my first ever Patreon subscription!
I think bb’s inability to find another team in the twilight of his career has more to do with his inability to get along with teammates than his ped ties. As you guys mentioned, there was plenty of players who had ped ties that were still on teams. However, none of. Those guys had the reputation of being a clubhouse cancer like bonds did. Team chemistry might have more to do with a teams success than the cumulative talent. Trevor Bauer’s inability to find a home in mlb is a good example of this in more modern times.
I think he'd have trouble finding a team anyways but I'd bet Bauer's issue is more the rape and sexual assault allegations than anything, and they're starting to pile up.
This is a good point, in fact didn't bonds just come out and say he did a lot of stupid shit he regrets now? And that wasn't the media exaggerating things, either, some of the stories of bonds the teammate are pretty rough, he did not sound like a fun guy to play with. He was much more albert belle than he was David Ortiz. There is also the jeff Kent incident (although I think Jeff Kent might have been an even bigger asshole then bonds).
@alexisborden3191 yeah Bauer is an entirely different issue. Those are very serious allegations and when you add that to the fact that bauer is a difficult teammate and tends to butt heads with coaching and management it's not worth his talent.
I think it's inappropriate to draw parallels with steroids and bauer's issues. Bauer was accused of sexual assault, bonds took performance-enhancing drugs and was unpleasant to have as a teammate. As far as I know prior to BALCO bonds didn't have any legal issues.
Another 🔥 reaction
Easily the most feared hitter in the history of baseball
Waiting on those BIG XII teams. Spin that wheel.
The documentary "Screwball" has pretty much all the info you need on peds in the MLB since the steroid Era.
He is the best baseball player of all time and its not close
the second guys percentage to walk off was based on a 8-7 score vs bonds stats was based on an 8-6 score
Also I think Mark McGwire is the face of the steroids era personally
And sosa. I’d love to see a reaction video about their duel.
Shohei on roids is something we don't even know we need. PS I think Baseball will gain popularity in England because of the pace. It's a slow but steady gameplay similar to European football. A big HR or run scored feels like a goal scored.
A deeper dive is called for here. This guy needs more context. I asked a friend of mine who played with him in Pittsburgh and he said Barry wasn't "mean" until he got to SF. I'm not sure the steroids didn't rage him out and cost him a lot of HOF ballots.
Note: A single scores two in bases loaded situations most of the time
I think walking Bonds in that first situation is a particularly silly choice of at bat to show for this video
According to Kirk Gibson, when he was playing for the Pirates next to Barry Bonds, Bonds went up to him in the dugout and said, "I got us here to the playoffs, now you have to take us the rest of the way." Gibson took that to mean that Barry was going to go the rest of the way on cruise control while the rest of his team would "step up". Gibby says he wanted to punch his lights out in that moment. This pretty much sums up why Bonds was considered cancer in the dugout and why nobody was willing to go to bat for him when all the scandals hit. Screw him. I look at him like any super-talented player who ruins his career with substance abuse. He's bad for baseball.
He's arguably the most dominant team sport athlete in 30 years.
Life long dodger fan here. I remember the Gagne Bonds . They had respect for each other, but the fans hated the players.
i didn't know teams have cans root for them!
@@mbdg6810 lol
I never saw anyone dominate the game of baseball like Barry Bonds did and probably never will in the future.
I’m not a huge baseball fan but I was in the 90s and the steroids kinda turned me off. But I’m a hockey and football fan, and I’ve seen what the “steroids” they use do for injury recovery and quality of life improvements after sports and those should not be against the rules. The muscle building ones that are all head swelling absolutely not. The ones that are there for muscle and joint recovery, absolutely.
I've always thought of American Football as the ultimate team sport because while generally there's only 1 tackler and 1 ball carrier, it typically takes all 11 for a play to succeed or be stopped. I admit I may be biased though.
The difference between Bonds and the best hitter in the league today (Mookie Betts) is the same difference between Betts and a average minor league hitter, no exaggeration.
Definitely helps that his Godfather was Willie Mays and his daddy Bobby was an All Star. He was already Baseball royalty
He's the greatest for his bodies ability to metabolize anabolics.
Highly recommend the video "What If Barry Bonds never used a bat?" if you're looking for more of the goat.
Yup that's the beauty of baseball the entire team has to be good but you also need stars. It's also so rich they play on diamonds.
Maybe I'm biased because I'm a Giants fan, but Bonds really was an amazing player and deserves respect. Even without the juice (which most all were juiced up at that time,) he played better than the rest IMO.
There’s a great 30 for 30 about this era of baseball. He didn’t do roids for a long time, only when it became so clear that his contemporary’s were using roids to overshadow him. He changed and then starting killing it.
The steroids era did revitalize baseball for the fans though. McGwire and Sosa and Bonds duking it out was really fun to watch, regardless of the PEDs. As someone who lived in SF during Bonds' hay-day, it was fun to go witness him slam some balls into the pond. Always sucked when he was walked lol. As an A's fan, still enjoyed watching the Giants play.
Barry never failed a test
Have y’all seen moneyball? It’s all about how baseball is a team sport and that on base percentage is everything
We have yes! We reacted to it on our Patreon 😀
12:33 Spot on. Just ask the Yankees & Angels fans over the last 20 years.
He got blackballed by the commissioners office because he was juicing in his career and never said anything, but Mark Mcguire lied about it and was still able to find a job as a coach
Even as a certiefied Bonds hater, i do love this video, its definitely one of Foolish Baseball's best offerings.
My favorite player of all time.
Barry Bonds is the greatest baseball player that's ever lived.
Barry Bonds represents a group of the most divisive players in the history of MLB. He has become the face of the steroid era, and it is sad. He was already a sure fire HoFer before the "suspected" use, but his ego and jealousy lead him down the path that has now invalidated his whole career. My hope as time goes by and they pass away, they are placed in the museum, but they should never have any of the ben. efits of being a Hall of Famer while alive.
Love you chap's, but that was a dig at the ol lord😂
Prior to bonds being on roids he was still arguably the best player in baseball.
It doesn't matter who the next batter is......We all know whoever he is, he's not going to be Barry Bond, the most dangerous batter in MLB history. It doesn't matter if the next guy is a Superstar. It's NOT Bond, so you have a much better shot at winning.....
….everyone was taking steroids….pitchers, relievers, batters I wouldn’t be surprised if the ball boy was on it as well. But it did produce some wild baseball, memories.
I don't care what he was on. Barry Bonds is the greatest player of all time.
After Bonds retired the Giant won the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014
The MLB is super serious about steroid testing and punishments these days. Guys still get caught every now and then but it’s not a big problem in the game anymore. The first positive test is an 80 game suspension. The second positive test is a 162 game suspension(1 full season). The third positive test is a lifetime ban.
Bonds was the best player of all time pre steroids and post steroids, but he was an a-hole. The baseball writers are who vote you in. As PED players get in someday he won’t for some time unless it’s after all the current writers are passed.
Foolish is an absolute goat
For a few years before Bonds, there were other beast of hitters out there, such as Matt Williams, who also played for the Giants ( and now is the 3rd base coach for the Padres). He was on pace to break the single season home run record, but the 1994 strike ruined his chances. Other HOF hitters of note are Mark McGuire, who along with Sammy Sosa, thrilled all of baseball with a season long race to see if they could both break the record, which they both did in 1998, hitting 70 and 66 homers respectively.
While both the above guys were great hitters, I don't think any pitcher feared them. Respected them, yes, but not flat out "I don't wanna." As you say, Barry Bonds for 4 years was a monster.
So while there may be an asterisk attached to his legacy, the other guys also juiced. I guess its comparable to race cars. If you took a F-1 car and raced it against streets cars, it would be unfair, but against other modified cars, its par for the course.
In 1994, five players were on pace to hit 50 homers: Williams, Ken Griffey, Albert Belle, Frank Thomas, and Bonds. Also, Bonds had a higher slugging percentage than Williams that year. In 1998, even with all the home runs McGwire and Sosa hit, Barry Bonds have a higher WAR than both of them. I think you're underestating how great Bonds was from the year 1990 and on.
He’s the face because he broke those records while playing in that era. But the truth is that a lot of people were in them in that era and the mlb didn’t even test for them at the time. I really feel like the guy should be in the hall of fame because I don’t care how many steroids someone takes that doesn’t mean they can hit a baseball. As a guy who played baseball my whole life I can tell you it isn’t easy to hit. Put the man in the hall of fame… and let Pete Rise in while you at it
Been in San Francisco since 1986. Got the 2001 girlfriend to convert from Chicago Cubs
and Los Angeles Dodgers fan to Giants and Warriors. The rest is history.
(So is the girlfriend)
Foolish Baseball makes some excellent videos, particularly if you like stats.
He’s brilliant. I thought this video was one of the best baseball videos I’ve seen. It had me completely gripped start to finish
The steroid issue is a lot more nuanced that many would claim/imply. As FB said, the league turned a blind eye to an obvious issue because it benefitted them. Bud Selig, the commissioner at the time is in the Hall of Fame, yet players like Bonds, who were the instruments to his success, are not. Not saying steroid abusers dont deserve any punishment/repercussions, but the whole situation was handled very poorly by most parties involved.
And of course current commish Snake Manfred 🐍 is even worse.
My view on steroids has always been, it was what saved baseball in the mid 90s after "the strike" I find it fascinating how during that time home run chases from McGwire, some, and bonds became Americana. Deadly pitchers reignited sand lots, and the sports writers who would have been out of a job were more than happy to carve the stories of the Era. But once the scandals broke, my God those same writers who's careers were saved and loved every minute of it turned on those very same players.
Bonds was no hero, but he was without a doubt the best of his generation. And lord knows the crap those who came before were hopped up on. Baseball and drugs, be it performance enhancing or otherwise jave always had a tough relationship.
I do think it's much better today with the periodic testing thay occurs.
'Roids were no illegal at the time. So you cannot penalize players for using something that was not banned. Anyone who used 'roids after they become illegal should never be allowed into the HOF.
Bonds was a lock before 2000. He always had a great eye...he led league 5 times in walks, On Base 4 times, slugging 3 times, OPS 5 times, Intentional Walks 7 times, and 3 MVP's, 7 Gold Gloves, and 8 Silver Slugger awards (best hitter at his position)...in first 14 seasons.....oh ya, almost forgot his 460 stolen bases and a home run derby in 1996, and his total WAR 111.7 up to 1999, that would have put him at 18th, just ahead of Rickey Henderson, Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson, and Pujols...at age 34.....all before the year 2000.....with 162.8 WAR, he's 4th behind Babe Ruth, pitcher Walter Johnson, and Pitcher Cy Young....put it in context, Trout is ranked 52 with 85.2 WAR at age 32, Trout would need 26.5 over the next 2 years, with 13.2 a year, he averages about 9 when healthy, and had a high of 10.5 twice (his defense is above average but not elite like Bonds)... he's won 3 MVP, 11 All Star, and 9 Silver Slugger, 4 On Base, 3 Slugging, 6 OPS, and 3 intentional walks, and a .301 batting average in 13 years....and that's why Trout is our generational talent of this era...and he's still got 2 years left until age 34, under contract until age 39 I believe......overall, Bonds was a sure HOF guy.....and the ironic thing is it brought life back to baseball with Bonds, McGwire and Sosa....the kicker is the new Commissioner had the ball juiced since 2020, the players all know, Verlander spoke about it, Trevor Bauer spoke out about it among other things and now he's in Japan for 2 years being banned...the girl set up Bauer, she posted on Instagram the morning after and then extorted him thru the court after he said no, she got her $5 mil and 10 minutes of fame...other like players just got 50 games, Bauer got 3 years...corrupt as hell...enough ranting...lol
That is the thing with those guys, they didn't have to cheat (A-rod etc.)
You have to be able to hit the ball properly and Bonds was one of the greatest all time hitters, regardless of steriods. He studied hitting for years with his godfather Willie Mays and perfected it. This is when he began to hit all the HRs. If he didnt do the steroid thing he still would have hit all the HRs because he was such a great hitter. The steriods just made the ball go a little further. Again, you have to be able to hit the ball.
Somethig else no one talks about is how great Bonds' eyes were at knowing the strike zone. He rarely swung at bad pitches and he frequently would let borderline pitches go that others would swing at. He could read the strike zone better than any other player, so he always chose to swing at very hittable pitches.
As a side note, when I saw Bonds come up to bat in real life for the first time he had a presence about him that no other player had, and I also saw Sammy Sosa in the same game. Seeing him in the batters box with my own eyes was incredible.
Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were the face of steroids until Barry Bonds, and all 3 really are the main 3. Barry is probably the face for most now due to how good he was before the roids and after, as well as the media and the Balco case. He was arrogant and so those that thought he was cheating really went after him. More than just cheating but also in a legal sense.
As for steroids/PEDs and now - like cycling, people will always look for an edge - be it a new PED or a new way to get away with already banned PEDs. There's the idea of allowing "safe" PEDs so the competition is "fair" to all who use, but that's probably not a thing most fans want. I have no doubt there are players in baseball getting away with cheating right now, but I feel like it's on the lower side, so the sport is probably "winning".
Wait how do you guys know how baseball works? I’m literally amazed. I don’t know the first rule of Cricket. Well done
Thank you 🙏 Been a long journey, but with the help of the comments, educational videos, seeing our first MLB game live and our Discord community, we’re well on our way 🔥
I’d put an asterisk next to that HR record, but I’m not vehement about it. I mean, he DID break the record in an era where other people were cheating as well. However, if steroids never existed, I doubt he would’ve broken any records at all.
most guys who juiced had no punishment at all. Greatest hitter of all time and should be in the HOF