After her 100-meter victory at Randall’s Island Saturday, Marion Jones had said she wanted to let her performances speak for themselves. Barry Bonds – like Jones, accused of taking steroids and implicated in the BALCO scandal – will have to do the same, because he wouldn’t speak for himself.
Bonds was quiet both on and off the field yesterday, hitless in San Francisco’s 7-6, 12-inning victory over the Mets. The 41-year-old left fielder and object of the Flushing faithful’s hatred had an RBI fielder’s choice, a tough day in the field, and was booed lustily almost all afternoon.
There were a host of signs in the stands, from “Barry Tell the Truth, Don’t Cheat Ruth” to “Junk Bonds” to ones that were far less creative, but just as clear. And while the Shea fans’ hatred of Chipper Jones may have been based on respect, their venom toward Bonds was purely chemically enhanced.
The No. 2 home run hitter of all-time was a target of the 48,791 on hand every time he came to the plate, every time he made a play in the outfield and basically every time he gave the crowd a chance.
When Bonds grounded out meekly to Jose Reyes to end the first inning with a runner on, the crowd roared its approval. They cheered again when he grounded out to second to end the fourth, and didn’t even mind when he got hit on the elbow by a pitch in the sixth.
The fans’ greatest joy seemed to come when Bonds dove for Endy Chavez’s slicing ball in the second inning, missed it and allowed the speedy outfielder a stand-up triple. But Bonds got the last laugh.
After Reyes’ error on a potential double play ball, losing control of the flip to load the bases with nobody out in the eighth, Bonds came to bat. He reached down for Steve Trachsel’s 1-2 pitch, and hit into a 3-6 fielder’s choice. He left for pinch-runner Jason Ellison, booed again as he walked off the field.
Bonds refused to speak to the print media before or after the game, brusquely brushing reporters away from his locker. A Giants P.R. rep said, “He did it Friday,” and dismissed the assembled media.
The Mets won’t see Bonds or the Giants again this year unless they meet in the postseason, and presumably nobody will see his canceled ESPN show “Bonds on Bonds.”
But the player himself probably isn’t going as quietly. He’s claiming his son Nikolai is the reason he’d want to come back next year, meaning baseball’s biggest villain may be back for more booing in 2006.
