You’ve been called a Bonds ‘apologist’ on more than one occasion, here on MLBlogs.

First, are you a Bonds apologist? Yikes! I dont think so. A lot of his behavior, in and out of baseball, is pretty inexcusable.

So why do you defend him? I feel like I’m defending principles more than I’m really defending him. I certainly dont want to excuse, let alone encourage, his behavior.   

Did Barry Bonds use steroids?  Sure. Of course.

… as did hundreds of other MLBers , beginning in the 1980′s. Barry started in late 1998.

DId he lie to a grand jury and is that a big deal?  Probably, and yes it’s legally significant. But it’s also worth remembering that hundreds of likley PED users were never brought before a grand jury to testify. Again, the alleged perjury shouldn’t be excused. But neither should steroid usage of his peers be swept under the rug.

Why is that, exactly? Why so few investigations? I dont know. Maybe the commissioner’s office will shed some light on that. The office specifically created(1920) in response to the Black Sox scandal , to exclusively "ensure the integrity of the game".  As it is, the press and the FBI have conducted the important investigations to date – not Major League Baseball. It’s possible some players have been investigated that I’m unaware of – but why half a dozen guys are on the hot seat now and hundreds more are not, or were not, is worth an investigation in itself.

Was it race that primarily drove Bonds to be investigated?  No. Bonds’ actions, accomplishments and appearances are plenty ‘loud’ enough to draw investigative scrutiny. And by appearances, I’m referring to the physique, the big head and such…not race.

Is race what drives the public’s loathing of Bonds?  A more complex question, but no, I dont see race as the primary driver. OTOH, race is consistently a subtle ingredient in the way human beings perceive and judge one another. I’m convinced it adds fuel to the existing animosity out there. Barry’s a lightning rod for fans’ wrath for many reasons:

A) His singular, ongoing career accomplishment – most likley aided by PEDs – deeply injects that cancer into both the hallowed lore of the game and fierce debates regarding the greatest players. McGwire was similar in this regard, but his inactivity – and Sosa’s – mitigate public outrage somewhat. Other, still active, predecessors altered the playing field with PEDs well before Bonds. But none in such a forceful, historically compelling way. Bonds didnt necessarily cheat more than many others – but by accomplishing more, he receives more scrutiny.

B) His insufferable personality and arrogant off-field behavior  contribute significantly to the public’s loathing for Bonds.

C) His race further segregates Bonds from baseball’s increasingly non-black fan base.

Yeah, but just because he’s black doesnt mean people hate him for that. I didn’t say that! For ages, clinical studies have confirmed that people, often quite innocently BTW, subjectively ascribe greater virtue to others who look similar to themselves, and ascribe less virtue to others who look altogether different. So, even if you remove malicious racism for argument’s sake, there’s still subtle implications to this kind of ‘effective’ segregation.

As opposed to legal segregation?

Right. Maybe segregation isn’t the best word. But go to Chase Park sometime. Most nights, it seems there’s almost as many black vendors as fans.

Is this stuff too subtle, too ‘innocent’ to be considered racism? Perhaps, perhaps not. At any rate, I dont think what I’ve touched on here is particularly conscious.

Some commenters think it’s too subtle to even be worth mixing into the Bonds discussion at all?   It was already, inevitably, in the mix. Some argue that "race is not a factor" because Bonds is a jerk, or rich, or because he didnt suffer as much as Hank Aaron or Jackie Robinson. I’m fine with the argument that race isn’t paramount here. What I object to are blithe, "color-blind" assertions that race is not a factor at all. 

So it’s not comparable to what Jackie Robinson or Hank Aaron endured? Bonds hinted that he gets racist hate mail every day. I wouldn’t be surprised if he does – nor would I be shocked if he was exaggerating. I do know that baseball’s employed extra security in response to alleged threats on Barry’s life. Is the overall climate as racially contentious as in 1947? Overall? No. Definitely not overall. Just saying so insults Robinson’s memory. OTOH, what’s more racist than a death threat?

I feel similarly about Aaron. Beyond the hate letters, Aaron’s place in history was debated unusually harshly at the time. Many ratings of the era placed him outside the Top Ten All Time Players. Now, you rarely see him below 5 or 6. Some of that discrepancy probably stemmed from racism.

Should Barry Bonds be banned from baseball?

If it’s proven, through drug tests or compelling circumstantial evidence, that Bonds violated existing baseball law warranting suspension/banishment( a la Pete Rose), then definitely, Yes.

I dont think he should be banned from baseball however, for illegally using performance enhancers that baseball didn’t even bother to practically ban from it’s own game, and therefore effectively condoned. Ring him up on federal drug charges and/or perjury, but don’t pretend he singularly dishonored or jeopardized the pristine fabric of baseball by breaking cardinal codes of the game that didn’t exist – or at least weren’t enforced in a meaningful way.

More important than whether he’s banned or not, is that users and non-users are identified, separated, and treated equitably within each group.

Sadly, baseball’s no longer in a position to come close to accomplishing that. They’ve squandered several opportunities to do so in favor of protecting short term financial interests.

Instead, a lineup of low hanging, "rotten" fruit who tainted the game will likely be publicly assembled for judgement. After this largely symbolic purge, one can almost hear Bud Selig solemnly encouraging fans to "move on" from this dark painful time, towards a new and brighter beginning, in, as he still says with a straight face, the best interests of baseball.