Chasing Barry
Against a backdrop of steroids and scandal, Barry Bonds’ chase of Babe Ruth’s home run record produced a firestorm of coverage, but few members of the sports media came to his defense, writes Steve Bloom:
Like Bonds’ assault on Mark McGwire’s short-lived home run record — which he shattered in 2001 — Bonds’ chase of Ruth’s 714 home run mark (the second-highest all-time behind Hank Aaron’s 755) prompted a firestorm of media coverage. Except this time around, the media has largely been unforgiving. ESPN, which has taken to pre-empting its regular programming to broadcast Bonds’ nightly at-bats, has been criticized for relinquishing some degree of editorial control of its Bonds On Bonds reality show to the embattled slugger. [UPDATE: Bloom reports today that the show may go on hiatus.]
Leading the steady anti-Bonds chorus of opinions, columns and general sniping in the nation’s sports pages has been New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica. The day after Bonds tied Ruth on May 20, Lupica wrote: “It should have been a fine baseball day yesterday, even if Bonds only went into second place on the all-time list. It was not. Because it was him … It was history, just the wrong kind, from the wrong guy.”
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