Barry Bonds, Sinner or Saint?

News of Barry Bond’s conviction of obstruction to justice has been sweeping the country. The jury had no problem making that clear, however, they could not come up with a verdict on whether or not the baseball slugger committed perjury.

 On December 2003, jurors convicted Bonds of an evasive testimony and obstruction when he gave a rambling answer that had nothing to do with the question asked, which was if his trainer ever gave him a substance that required an injection. His attorney is somewhat pleasant with the outcome but he wants to clear Barry Bonds’ record-breaking name in this entire mess. “Appeals are hard," said Vermont Law School professor Michael McCann, who specializes in sports law. to read more about this click here! 

Barry Bonds watching one of his many home run hits

Being a Sacramento Native, I pretty much had two routes when it came to baseball. Either root for the Oakland A’s on one side of the bay bridge or cheer on the San Francisco Giants on the other. If I chose the A’s my family would probably have disowned me. So i continued the family tradition of being Die-Hard Giants fans. So needless to say I have been a Giants fan my whole life. 

I grew up watching Barry Bonds play whether it was on TV or at Pac Bell park which is now known as AT&T Park. I remember always wanting to sit in the outfield so I can hopefully catch one of his home run balls. I thought his splash hits were amazing,  it boggled my mind how someone can hit it that far. The feeling I got when I heard this news about his obstruction to justice was the same feeling I felt when I found out Santa Claus wasn’t real, very upsetting.  Barry Bonds hit 762 home runs, and you are telling me some of those might have not happened because he was using steroids?!? And that Hank Aaron could still hold the record for most career home runs at 755. Only time will tell what the future holds for this home run slugger and his title.

Money is Everything

It is no surprise to us that professional baseball players make a lot of money, especially the superstars. I’ve always been curious to see how much they make. But I think what would surprise us the most (it surprised me) was how much they actually do make.  

But lets go through the past and see what kind of money baseball players made in 1967. I found this really good website about baseball salaries throughout the years. In 1967, the average player payroll was $19,000. The minimum was $6,000. Every year the average player payroll had a steady increase, it never decreased or flat lined. The pattern seemed to me, was the later the years the larger the increase. Once it hit the new millennium the average player payroll was $1,895,630 and the minimum was $200,000. Now in 2011, the average payroll for a single player is $3, 305,393. The minimum is $400,000 and has stayed at that number since 2009.

It is also no surprise that the the team with the highest pay roll is the New York Yankees. They are almost always a power house in the MLB. Because they can pay the best players what they want so they stay. According to USA Today , their 2011 total team payroll is $202,689,028 and the average is $6,756,300. The  MLB team with the least payroll is the Kansas City Royals. Their payroll comes in at $36,126,000 and the average being $1,338,000. 

According to CBS Sports's top 50 highest paid baseball player list. The number one highest paid player is New York Yankee, Alex Rodriguez. No surprise there. Rodriguez's 2011 salary comes in at a whopping $32,000,000. That means he makes almost as much as the Kansas City Royals combined. Just $4,126,000 short to be exact.

New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez

32 million dollars...that is outrageous. Any normal person would be lucky to even see a million. I love baseball and the entertainment it provides for me. However, I don't think players' salaries should be this high. There are millions of firefighters and policemen risking their lives day in and day out who don't make anything near that amount of money. But that is just how our society is. Entertainers, whether it be in sports, movies, or music are paid a lot more by entertaining than everyday heroes are. I don't agree with it, but that is how it is. But until there is a solution I will continue to watch these millionaires hit home runs and making outstanding plays...'cause that is what they are paid for, right?

Are Die-Hard Fans Going too Hard?

If you aren't a die-hard fan, you most likely know one. Someone who wins and loses with their team even if they have never made it to the playoffs let alone won a World Series. However, recently in the news it seems as if these fans are getting out of control. 
Even if you do not follow baseball you probably have some knowledge about the on-going, never ending rivalry between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Not only does this rivalry exist on the diamond, but also in the stands. At the season opener on March 31, Dodgers came away with a 2 to 1 win over the Giants. Apparently, not being pleased enough with that great win, a couple of bald-headed Dodgers fans began "taunting and swearing" at Bryan Stow and two other people sporting Giants gear. According to Foxnews.com, "Stow was punched in the back of the head. He fell down, bashing is head on the pavement, and was kicked before the attackers ran off." The victim, Stow, is sadly showing signs of brain damage and is currently in critical condition due to this horrible act of violence. 
This is honestly outrageous, I do not understand how something like this can happen. I completely understand being a die-hard fan and occasionally talking some smack. But to hurt another individual just cause he is wearing the opponents jersey, sounds completely idiotic. San Francisco and their fans lose with class and win with class. Other teams and cities should start taking notes. These people that yell and fight other fans are the kids who never made it on their little league all star teams and take it out on innocent people. John Stow in the article states, "We would like to use this as a rallying cry to stop unnecessary violence in our greatest pastime and all other sports, not only here but abroad." To read the full story you can go read it here:  
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2011/04/05/san-francisco-giants-fan-beaten-dodger-game-brain-damage/#ixzz1JQg1zWLf

Another act of violence in the baseball world, came from PNC Park with an altercation between a pair of cops and a drunken Pittsburgh Pirates fan. Scott Ashley, 41, was asked to leave during the game for using foul language and did not cooperate so the police were called to help. 
Ashley struck one of the stadium employees for no reason. According to FoxSports.com, "When Ashley refused, Rende and another officer forcibly subdued by using a Taser and clubbing him with their nightsticks." Some people are saying that the police used an inappropriate amount of abuse on the rowdy fan. Luckily for us, this scuffle was captured on video. 
When I first saw this video I was taken aback by how quick and much the police will bashing him. Ashley did not look like he was about to attack them so I felt like it was an inappropriate way to handle the situation. We did not see or hear everything and I am sure there were some choice words Ashley shared with the police. Here is the video.  Take a look at tell me what you think.