Spring Break
Enough of Bonds: It's time to focus on rising stars
James Mason
Issue date: 6/2/06 Section: Sports
When Barry Bonds passed Babe Ruth over the weekend, every baseball fan should've rejoiced. We should have rejoiced not necessarily because Bonds' 715 is as legitimate as the Babe's 714, which it is, but because now we can go back to watching baseball again. No more SportsCenter updates, no more newspaper coverage in towns that have nothing to do with Bonds.
While most of the media was focusing on Bonds, Major League Baseball is enjoying a renaissance of sorts on the bats and arms of its young players, much like what's going on in the NBA. What's best about Bonds passing Ruth and his impending retirement in the next couple of years is that we can finally start to put this steroids era to rest. It's a shame that the hitters of this era will have to face constant scrutiny about the legitimacy of their records, while the pitchers of this era continue to get a free pass and nobody seems to care about the segregation that took place in baseball before Jackie Robinson.
I respect Bonds, but I'm just as tired of him as everyone else. Its time for the young guys to shine. There are a ton of guys in Major League Baseball that have promising futures and are already starting to live up to the hype. As the old blood of the steroid era begins to fade away, the game has enough young stars to carry the league for years to come.
The National League has plenty of these young stars by itself. There's a young guy by the name of Ryan Howard who's ripping the cover off the baseball this season. He also happens to play for the Phillies. The 26-year-old Howard is hitting .294 with 18 home runs and 47 RBIs through Tuesday.
He also has a couple of teammates whom you might have heard of and who will carry this team for years to come. Chase Utley, the Phillies' 27-year-old second baseman, has already established himself as one of the best clutch hitters in baseball. Through Tuesday, he's hitting .315 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs. He's performed well in pressure situations, too: with two outs with men on base, his average is .385 and his OPS is 1.141.
While most of the media was focusing on Bonds, Major League Baseball is enjoying a renaissance of sorts on the bats and arms of its young players, much like what's going on in the NBA. What's best about Bonds passing Ruth and his impending retirement in the next couple of years is that we can finally start to put this steroids era to rest. It's a shame that the hitters of this era will have to face constant scrutiny about the legitimacy of their records, while the pitchers of this era continue to get a free pass and nobody seems to care about the segregation that took place in baseball before Jackie Robinson.
I respect Bonds, but I'm just as tired of him as everyone else. Its time for the young guys to shine. There are a ton of guys in Major League Baseball that have promising futures and are already starting to live up to the hype. As the old blood of the steroid era begins to fade away, the game has enough young stars to carry the league for years to come.
The National League has plenty of these young stars by itself. There's a young guy by the name of Ryan Howard who's ripping the cover off the baseball this season. He also happens to play for the Phillies. The 26-year-old Howard is hitting .294 with 18 home runs and 47 RBIs through Tuesday.
He also has a couple of teammates whom you might have heard of and who will carry this team for years to come. Chase Utley, the Phillies' 27-year-old second baseman, has already established himself as one of the best clutch hitters in baseball. Through Tuesday, he's hitting .315 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs. He's performed well in pressure situations, too: with two outs with men on base, his average is .385 and his OPS is 1.141.
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