Why Are They Still Pitching to Bonds?

Barry Bonds has hit 753(insert obligatory asterisk here) home runs. He's two away from tying Hank Aaron's major league record of 755, one of the biggest numbers in sports, after he broke the major league single-season home run record a couple of years ago (another asterisked number). All of this is under the asterisk-provoking shadow of strong allegations that Bonds' performance has been enhanced by the use of illegal, immoral, or otherwise nefarious substances. Rick Reilly at Sports Illustrated recently threw out a couple of zingers aimed squarely at pushing these thoughts while lamenting the impending record-breaking with a couple of inspired suggestions to "fans" in the crowd on the day Bonds makes, um, history:

• Call the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif., and ask to speak to Greg Anderson. He's the convicted steroids dealer - and Bonds' personal trainer and friend - who's spent 10 months in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury looking into possible perjury and tax evasion charges against Bonds. Ask Anderson what he's going to want from Bonds when he gets out. Like, say, Florida.
• Call the Hall of Fame and ask which cap will appear on Bonds’s head in his Cooperstown exhibit—the size 7, the 71/2, or the 8?
• Pull out a copy of Game of Shadows and begin reading aloud how Bonds used steroids, human growth hormone, insulin, testosterone decanoate, bovine steroids and female fertility drugs to help him set this record. And then watch Bonds step on home and point to God.
• Hold up a big sign that says 650, which is about how many home runs Bonds would have if you replaced the homer totals from his juicing years (1999 through 2004) with his prejuice pace of 32 per season.

The last one is most interesting, considering people's performance tends to lag over time, and Bonds is well past his prime.

Anyway, I was talking to my friend Gary about it, after John Kincaid was on the Colin Cowherd show. Kincaid wondered if people would respect Bonds more if he retired at 754, saying that he didn't want to be the guy that broke Aaron's record. Ridiculously, people called in and actually said they would. More on that in a second.

Gary upped the ante with a thought that I've had in fleeting moments, but never really pondered. If you were a pitcher, and Bonds was approaching the record, would you pitch to him?

I said no. I said, even if it meant losing the game I wouldn't. I said, even if it meant elimination from the play-offs, I'd pitch around him. I'd actually show as much contempt as possible, either by pitching behind him, hitting him every time he came to the plate, or maybe even lobbing balls over the back-stop net and into the crowd. I'd walk him. And I'd encourage all of the other pitchers in the league to walk him as well.

And so we were left to wonder why people are still pitching to Bonds. Why give him the satisfaction of making a choice? Why enable him to (allegedly) illegitimately break the record?

On the "would you respect him" thought, the answer is no. Fake magnanimity means nothing to me. And, further, wouldn't doing so be some sort of tacit admission that his achievement is tainted? Does Bonds care enough to take that step? No. And if he does, he's still a turd.