March 26, 2005

In the Batter's Box

with Eric LeBlanc

Is Bonds cashing it in?

The iron curtain finally fell on Tuesday.

Barry Bonds has had enough.

No one expected this. After years of tirades, defiance, grumpiness, rudeness and at times even hatred, San Francisco's Grouchy Giant sat down with reporters this week and bared his soul after a third knee surgery in the past six months.

"I'm tired of my kids crying. You wanted me to jump off a bridge, I finally did," said Bonds. "You finally brought me and my family down. ... So now go pick a different person."

Is this the end of the road for Barry? Now that this injury has taken him out for perhaps half of the season, will he come back?

Something was missing from Tuesday's press conference. Barry had no passion. He had none of the arrogance or the smug superiority that he has pushed on the public for the past few years. Instead, what we saw was Barry giving up.

But could he give up when he is so close to Hank Aaron and just steps away from his biggest target, Babe Ruth? He is only 12 home runs away from the Babe. And with all of the comments that he has made in the past couple of years about wanting to make people forget about Ruth, it would be hard to imagine him stopping short.

But in the conference, Barry said he was tired. He said he was tired 14 times, in fact. And tired and playing baseball don't go well together.

Bonds has always been a stalwart of confidence; a man who could endure the toughest criticism and dish out the harshest responses. But Tuesday, Bonds looked more like the burdens that he has mostly brought upon himself have taken their toll. He was a man wanting to escape the spotlight that he has always begrudgingly embraced.

Could Father Time finally be catching up to Barry? Have the BALCO investigation and the pursuit of a hallowed record under a cloud of suspicion finally hit home?

Maybe Rickey Henderson and Julio Franco are truly the only freaks of nature that can continue to be position players well into their forties. Maybe it was foolish of everyone to think that Bonds could keep going for a few more years. The clock ticks on every slugger as they enter their late thirties. They may have stellar seasons at 37, 38, 39 and sometimes even at 40. But something always happens whether it be an injury, a breakdown of skills or what I think has happened to Bonds; a loss of passion for the game. And when a player loses his passion for the game, that is the time to walk away.

Those of you who have been faithful readers of my column will know that Bonds has never been my favorite player. But Tuesday's conference served as a reminder to all of us. No matter how rude this guy can be to the media and the fans or what steroid he used, he is still human. He still has a family and a son he loves very much. No matter how cocky he may be on the field, he is still someone's father. He is still someone's husband. And he is still someone's son. It's easy to forget that when presented with the prickliness of Bonds' personality.

Even so, it’s hard to feel sorry for the guy. He brought this on himself with the way that he has treated reporters, fans and kids the past several years of his career. It’s hard to feel sorry for a guy who refuses to go to a children’s hospital to sign autographs. It’s hard to feel sorry for a guy who ignores young kids when they ask for his autograph.

Interviews with his teammates and his manager seem to indicate that Bonds was just frustrated at the knee surgery and that he will be back before mid-season.

I’m not so sure about that. The fact that he had his son at the conference and the column that he posted on mlb.com tell a much different story. This time, we may have seen an honest Barry.

Eric LeBlanc is not tired of writing this column...yet. Ask me in 20 years when I start to close in on the all-time column records at (985) 758-2795 or by e-mail at EricL@heraldguide.com.