From the Sidelines: Like him or not; Bonds is best ever
Sports reporter
I'm not sure Barry Bonds is human.
He's more like the Terminator. He looks human. He acts human. But he does things normal humans cannot.
Terminator destroyed everything in his path. Bonds destroys every baseball in his path.
Forget the numbers: 12 games, four homes runs, seven RBIs since his return. Not to mention his team is 9-3 in games he's played this season, and have climbed to within three games of division leading San Diego.
It's the fact he's done all that after missing 85 percent of the season that is so impressive.
He might not have been sitting on his butt playing X-Box all summer, but he can do all the sprints, and batting practice session he wants, it's not the real thing.
Forget all the bad publicity he's received not only this year but his whole career.
He's not the best teammate. He's not the friendliest guy to the media. And he probably took steroids at one point.
So what. Popeye took spinach and no one seemed to mind.
Seriously though, all the steroids in the world won't let you hit a ball 470 feet like he did Sept. 20 in Washington. Those kind of blasts strike fear in every pitcher not named Nolan Ryan.
Just as it doesn't matter what pitch you throw the guy he'll crush it, it doesn't matter what obstacle you throw in his direction because he'll bat that away as well.
His composure is unbelievable.
OK, so he lost it a little bit in the summer when he told the media they had won and he was quitting.
But he's got it back and on the field he concentrates more than orange juice.
Barring any injuries, Bonds will surge past Hank Aaron in April 2006, for second on the all-time home run list.
Then some time next year when the weather turns cool, Bonds will hit a blast that will pass the immortal Babe Ruth.
You remember Babe Ruth? A man who used to out-homer entire teams. A man who could have been the best pitcher ever, but had to give up because he was a better hitter.
Bonds will pass him in an age where some may say the ball is juiced, but so are the reporters.
Most reporters focus all their time on trying to destroy Bonds instead of reporting the news.
Everyone rooted for Babe Ruth. He was the poster boy for America's Pastime.
Bonds isn't, and that's what makes him the greatest ball player of all-time. Well, that coupled with his jaw-dropping career stats: .300 batting average, 707 home runs, 1,840 RBIs, 2,075 runs, and 2,307 walks.
And counting.
