Barry the beneficent

wordygurdy · **Posted:** Sun Jun 05, 2005 10:55 am

Member No. 1 remarked in one of these threads recently that he didn't quite understand the animosity toward Barry Bonds.

Well, this anecdote, if true, would go a ways toward explaining part of it.

In an otherwise ordinary Lisa Olson column in Saturday's Daily News, inspired by the Giants' lone visit to Shea Stadium this year, she ruminates on whether the Big Man will ever return to baseball, given his knee injuries and BALCO and tax liability concerns.

Toward the end, she relates a passage from a book by a former major league designated hitter, Ron Kittle (presumably this book). Kittle played 10 seasons and hit 176 home runs, so he had some credibility as a major leaguer.

Here's Olson's relation of the anecdote, through to the end of her column:

An excerpt from Ron Kittle's new book offers another one of those anecdotes that traces Bonds' legacy as much as any hit. Kittle describes a scene at Wrigley Field in 1993, when he asked Bonds to autograph a couple of Giants road jerseys for Kittle's charity that benefits children with cancer.

"I paid about $110 of my own money for them, so they could be auctioned off at the golf outing." Kittle wrote. "I did that all the time for stars like Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Derek Jeter and Roger Clemens. When I tell them how their autographs help the cause, every player gladly signs - with one exception.

"I walked up to Bonds at his locker in the Wrigley Field visitors' clubhouse, introduced myself and said, 'Barry, if you sign these, they'll bring in a lot of money for kids who need help.'

"Bonds stood up, looked me in the eye and said, 'I don't sign for white people.'"

Is there any reason to doubt the passage's veracity? It might have been just Barry being Barry, cantankerous and defiant to the end. "Why should I care what anyone thinks?" he said in the visitors' clubhouse at Shea last May. "My records ain't going nowhere."

We'll check back with him next year, assuming he can be found.

Matthew Grieco · **Posted:** Sun Jun 05, 2005 5:17 pm

That's nice.

My animosity toward Barry Bonds exists because a baseball player doesn't get that much bigger than his natural size without taking illegal substances, and I don't like cheaters.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:27 pm

Quote:

Is there any reason to doubt the passage's veracity?

No, but there's no reason to believe it either.

JeffW · **Posted:** Mon Jun 06, 2005 2:15 pm

Phillip Blanchard wrote:

Quote:

Is there any reason to doubt the passage's veracity?

No, but there's no reason to believe it either.

By that reasoning, do we have any reason to believe any quote in print?

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 06, 2005 2:34 pm

The point is, in this particular instance -- as with a lot of the Barry Bonds banter we get here -- it's speculation, and there is no evidence of his side of the story.

wordygurdy · **Posted:** Fri Jun 10, 2005 12:41 am

In this AP story at ESPN.com.

ADKbrown · **Posted:** Fri Jun 10, 2005 7:33 am

"Who is Kittle? How long did he play? He played in our league?" Bonds said, lying on a clubhouse couch before Thursday's game against the Royals" -- AP.

*Interesting choice of words.*

"I was married to a woman who was white, so let's get real. I don't even know the guy. Tell him he's an ... idiot."

*Ordinarily, I would expect "fucking" to go where the ellipsis is. But of course it doesn't take "an." Anybody know what he really said?*

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Fri Jun 10, 2005 8:12 am

Yes, it's a non-denial denial, but it's he said/she said and we'll never know whether it happened or it didn't. Is Bonds a bad man? Alas, we still don't know. Try again next time, sports fans.

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:36 am

ADKbrown wrote:

"I was married to a woman who was white, so let's get real. I don't even know the guy. Tell him he's an ... idiot."

*Ordinarily, I would expect "fucking" to go where the ellipsis is. But of course it doesn't take "an." Anybody know what he really said?*

I wondered too. Of course, unless someone else wrote about this or the interview was broadcast, we could guess all day.

Maybe the ellipsis denotes a pause. Or maybe he said "a" and someone changed it to fit with "idiot."

We need some uniformity in how quotes are written. If we can't figure out what happened, how can readers?

ADKbrown · **Posted:** Fri Jun 10, 2005 10:22 am

Wayne Countryman wrote:

I wondered too. Of course, unless someone else wrote about this or the interview was broadcast, we could guess all day.

Maybe the ellipsis denotes a pause. Or maybe he said "a" and someone changed it to fit with "idiot."

We need some uniformity in how quotes are written. If we can't figure out what happened, how can readers?

Here's what I think: If a wire service omits a word, they should include an editor's note revealing what was omitted and let each publication decide if it wants to use the full quote. If they did that, we'd know what Bonds said.

SuchASlot · **Joined:** Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:01 am **Posts:** 1189

I agree we need to tighten up the rules on ellipses. I'd vote for using them only when words are omitted. To indicate a pause, we can use the long dash. Unless I'm not thinking of something, it seems so simple that AP could easily clarify this once and for all.

That said, is there some huge difference between a "fucking idiot" and an "idiot," in this case?

ADKbrown · **Posted:** Fri Jun 10, 2005 12:08 pm

SuchASlot wrote:

That said, is there some huge difference between a "fucking idiot" and an "idiot," in this case?

No, just a matter of curiosity. Also, I wondered, as did Wayne, whether someone changed "a" to "an" to make it agree with "idiot." Can you think of an unmentionable word that begins with a vowel, that can be used to modify "idiot" and that is likely to be used in conversaton? Maybe he said "an asshole and idiot."

SuchASlot · **Joined:** Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:01 am **Posts:** 1189

Effin'.

Brian · **Posted:** Fri Jun 10, 2005 8:56 pm

From the Mercury News:

Then, prefacing his description with an obscenity, Bonds called Kittle an "idiot. Tell him that."

ReporterType · **Joined:** Thu Nov 04, 2004 1:01 am **Posts:** 88

I've interviewed Bonds several times, and no athlete is more condescending. This is why he is disliked -- not for the steroids or other charges that Phil delights in pointing out are unproven. His nasty attitude toward reporters is proven. Contrast that with Sammy Sosa, who goes out of his way to be helpful, responsive, to answer the question even when it's asked clumsily.

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Barry the beneficent

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