Were British Guys Impressed by Barry Bonds? (FIRST TIME REACTION)

[@DNReacts]

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[@elidonohue2624]

Something you have to realize about Bonds. He already could have been in the GOAT conversation (not saying he was the goat a that time but he deserved to at least be mentioned) for his career before the steroids. He was essentially a speedier Mike Trout who likely would have still finished with 500 or 600+ homers. 35 stolen bags a year. Already the IBB leader. The roids turned him into the biggest cheat code we’ve ever seen in baseball and essentially gave him HOF caliber career number #2, but the roids didn’t make Barry that’s without argument.

[@coyotelong4349]

And that’s the thing that separates him from a number of other steroid users- I think players like Sammy Sosa and Ken Caminiti would have basically been nothing without the steroids, but Bonds had no need for them… and yet he took them anyway

[@TehStormOG]

@@coyotelong4349 that's the most frustrating thing about Bonds, he could've been one of the best ever and he ruined it

[@FadedDream6969]

​@@TehStormOGhe still is one of the best ever it just has an asterisk next to his name, but no one can deny roids or no roids he was and will be one of the top 5 best hitters in MLB history

[@thegoat4617]

@@TehStormOGhe’s still the best ever.

[@alexisborden3191]

@@coyotelong4349 I don't think Sosa falls into that camp either, I don't think you can say steroids made Sosa anymore than you can say steroids made Big Papi, they've got the same level of steroid evidence against them, but people ignore Ortiz's, and treat Sosa as if he definitely did do them.

[@twite5462]

“The Anaheim Angels of California of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim” is hilarious

[@Ethanbball7]

I know Damo is a big stats guy. If you take a look at his baseball reference page you can see how good he was even before steroids. People generally pinpoint the steroid usage beginning around 1998/1999 (that’s when he basically doubles in size). Before 1998 he had already hit over 400 home runs and won 3 MVPs. The back end stats where he’s age 35+ are where he literally broke baseball. No one really knows for sure how many guys were on steroids or still are. But a lot like cycling, the biggest names took the brunt of the backlash like Lance Armstrong. While hundreds if not thousands probably got away with it.

[@onlydbrasko]

Lance Armstrong was the ringleader of what is called "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen". He literally threatened teammates with their careers had they chosen not to participate. MLB juicers had no such pull over the rest of the league. Big difference.

[@s.henrlllpoklookout5069]

I used to say that Bonds & Clemens had legitimate HOF careers before they started juicing & therefore they should be in the Hall (unlike McGwire). I still believe they would have been legit HOFers. Then Selig got elected & if he can get in while overseeing the whole period there's no reason to keep them out IMO

[@alexisborden3191]

There were two tiers of it really, 1996 when he first started, and 1999 when he started doing it hard. Also yeah Armstrong ran his program like a mob boss, he absolutely deserves the backlash he got for it.

[@alexisborden3191]

@@s.henrlllpoklookout5069 People say this, and I'd rather just kick Selig out, then again I'd probably kick every commissioner out because they're all the slimiest most rancid guys alive, steroids, collusion, segregation, etc, they oversaw all of it. There might be a couple guys that were decent, but given what the position of commissioner does as just a mouthpiece for the owners, I highly doubt it.

[@onlydbrasko]

@@alexisborden3191 You'll never be able to convince me that Greg Maddux or Tim Lincecum juiced lol.

[@gregcable3250]

He developed a really great eye which made pitchers either walk him or throw him the pitch he was looking to hit--this had nothing to do with steroids. Also, he was great well before he started taking steroids---he won 2 MVP awards with Pittsburgh early in his career. BTW his Dad was a great player also--Bobby Bonds.

[@philgoad5587]

Jon Bois has a great video on Bonds where he works out what Bonds' OPS could be one season without a bat.

[@Idealdeath8304]

Greatest baseball player in history. Don’t @ me

[@specialopssoldier1]

i mean its ok we know youre retarded

[@psymar]

Greatest hitter. Never pitched.

[@mbdg6810]

@@psymar got em

[@Rebel-eq7ul]

@@psymarhe didn’t have to pitch lol

[@kylek6708]

greatest "roid' user in history....

[@isaacs3822]

Bonds was a hall of famer before he started using steroids (when everybody else started using steroids). He was the best of the enhanced best and should be in the hall of fame. P.S. You guys should totally watch Ken Burns’ Baseball documentary - at least the 10th Inning, which details the steroid era, strike, and everything else from 1990-2010. Probably a Patreon thing (it’s 2 hours)

[@donny5318]

Iv watched every inning at least 10 times by now, i absolutely Love this documentary since i was a kid, only fairly recently realized he added more innings which were just as great.

[@kevinnguyen3680]

11:39 - not sure if you guys are familiar with the joke about the Angels. They were originally the Calfornia Angels, and then changed to Anaheim Angels, the city they are located in. Anaheim is approximately 25 miles south of Los Angeles, and is outside the borders of Los Angeles county in neighboring Orange County. However, they decided for several years to go by the hilarious name of Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim. Eventually, they dropped the Anaheim to just be the Los Angeles Angels, which literally means The Angel Angels.

[@MrJeddYoung]

Great video and reaction. I'm a Giants fan - inherited from my dad - so i loved Bonds. And speaking of inheritance - the one thing the video didn't make clear - is that Bonds' contempt for the media was inherited from his father - Bobby Bonds - who played alongside the great Willie Mays in the '60s and '70s. Bonds was like royalty to longtime fans - he was a link to this storied past - when his father and Mays and all the great Giants of that era played together. The Giants fans loved him. Like Barry - his father had a difficult relationship with the sports' media. His father was often portrayed in an unflattering way by the media - Bobby was often portrayed as a "drunk" and "lady chaser." Remember - this was the late '60's and early '70's - and you can't remove the racial element of white journalists covering black players. A young Barry Bonds had to grow up watching the media attack his father. The bottom line - a young Barry was taught by his father to never trust the sports writers around him- and like a good son - he followed his dad's advice. Barry always had a tense and difficult relationship with the sports' media as well - and it affected the type of coverage Bonds' received. Barry was portrayed as the anti-hero. And in my opinion - and you guys touched on it - he was the sacrificial lamb - he had to slaughtered by the team owners so they could all wash their hands of their sins. Everybody knew many of the players were "juiced" - it was an open secret - then when the scandal exploded onto the national scene - the team owners pretended like they had no idea it was going on. Then when Bonds broke the most sacred of baseball records - the all-time HR record - fans just couldn't handle it any more. Something had to be done to appease the masses. The video briefly touched on it - but all of the owners banded together (secretly - because it's illegal - but there's no other explanation) and agreed not to offer Bonds a contract. No team offered him a contract. He was banished from baseball. The fans got their wish and the owners could go on - pretending like they were innocent. And that's why i still love Bonds - because he was so hated by sports' writers and opposing fans alike. But Barry Bonds did something that i never saw anyone else do so well - while playing in another team's stadium - he could shut up 50,000 screaming fans and reduce them to pure silence by hitting a HR - almost as if he had just shoved that baseball right up their rear ends. A beautiful sight to behold. Thanks for your reaction - i enjoyed it.

[@DNReacts]

Thank you for the comment! Really appreciate the context 😀 glad you enjoyed the vid!

[@eva11883]

Really good breakdown! It's generally a prudent move to never trust the media/journalists, especially if you're a pro athlete. One thing I would add is that the owners didn't have to actively collude to blacklist bonds. I think they all felt that he was pure poison and there was no way to spin signing him into a positive. I'm not trying to remove blame from the owners, but I remember that time and any team that would have tried to sign Bonds would have been crucified in the press.

[@taegenbrown2894]

Barry bonds should be in the Hall of Fame 💯

[@phunkjnky]

I did a paper in my "Sports Reporting" class in college about batting behind Bonds. Historically, the batter behind the best hitter is "protected" by him. Whatever damage they do with a walk or hit, the next better will probably see more strikes. The pitcher has less margin for error if they've given up something to the first hitter. Bobby Bonilla primarily hit behind Bonds in Pittsburgh, and Matt Williams and Jeff Kent hit behind him in San Francisco. All had the best years of their career hitting behind Bonds. Bonds' greatest tragedy is that he already heading for the Hall Of Fame before he into the steroids.

[@supersasukemaniac]

12:27 You hit the nail right on the head, this is why people want to see Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout play for anyone but the Angels. Outside of Trout and Ohtani they got nothing. Ohtani is miles away their best pitcher, and Trout is the best hitter not named Ohtani. Baseball is one of the few sports where if you have a standout star, you're doing something wrong.

[@Kevin-mx8tl]

Bonds never tested positive for steroids due to MLB not really testing for PEDs at the time. You would have to look at pictures of him when he joined the Giants and in his final years to see some noticable muscle growth. And as others mentioned, he was already an amazing player during his time with the Pirates and when he joined the Giants. In the 90s, the American League had Ken Griffey Jr and the National League had Barry Bonds. As for if PEDs are still a huge issue in MLB, while it's not a big as it was with BALCO and the Mitchell Report, some players do use PEDs designed to avoid detection but can still be caught. Fernando Tatis Jr was suspended last season because of PEDs.

[@alexisborden3191]

Yeah a couple of guys have been caught recently, but they also do it much less, even when guys are doing it they're not doing it to the degree Bonds, or McGwire, or Canseco were doing it, like you could visually see the physiological evidence of them doing steroids, they all got fucking thicc. You can't just put on 40lbs of muscle anymore, people are gonna notice. That's why even when guys do get popped, its not guys juiced out of their minds looking like body builders, like, Ramon Laureano is kind of skinny, Tatis isn't that thicc either. Colon was big and sexy before and after his suspension. Clase is also somewhat skinny.

[@adanramirez3092]

A good follow up video you guys should watch is “The Year of Judge”, also by Foolish Baseball, really great video on how Aaron Judge proved that you don’t need roids to still be a ungodly power hitter.

[@donny5318]

ill wait another 10+ years before i believe he is clean, not that i think he isnt, but definitely not convinced yet lol

[@StacheKing]

Thing about Bonds is I believe he still could have had around 500 homers and 300 stolen bases without the steroids. He showed incredible plate discipline and even as juiced up as he was, he still had to actually hit the ball. That being said, he cheated to rob Aaron of the home run record.

[@erikbyrge2024]

2002 Was the Closest Barry Bonds of winning the World Series the 5-0 angels Comeback was the dagger to the hearts of San Francisco Giants and they lost in 7 Games

[@b1galbos89]

In what is still the highest scoring World Series ever. 85 combined runs (SF 44, ANA 41). It also hurt for the Giants that in Game 7, three Angels rookie pitchers (Lackey, Donnelly & Rodriguez) combined to hold the deadly SF offense to just 1 measly run.

[@a3gill]

To be fair, McGwire and Sosa should probably be the 'Roids Guys. On truth serum, I think Bonds would say the only reason he did it is because he was so much better than those clowns and got sick of how everyone drooled over them.

[@alexisborden3191]

How is Sosa a roids guy but Ortiz isn't? They both have the same evidence, the 2003 test published by the New York Times in 2009

[@Whizardry]

One of the best profession athletes of all time even with the asterisk. Dude was put on this earth to hit nukes

[@nick422742]

The documentary "Screwball" has pretty much all the info you need on peds in the MLB since the steroid Era.

[@Fly-The-W]

Been looking forward to this one!!!

[@liliIiliIilil]

lol all the Super Nintendo RPG music in this video is great.

[@jwestphal1978]

You walk him.... All day..... Everyday, Everytime, the entire series!!!

[@Pete_Finch]

The Anaheim Angels of California of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is a laugh out loud moment if you know why they said that 😂 oh shit you guys watched Moneyball? I'd Patreon donate to watch that with you guys for sure. I have to learn how discord and patreon works now I guess

[@DNReacts]

Haha Of course, Moneyball hammered the Patreon Poll 😂 Field of Dreams winning the next film too. Seems the Baseball Films do really well 😅

[@Pete_Finch]

@@DNReacts Done and done, my first ever Patreon subscription!

[@briancrawford69]

Easily the most feared hitter in the history of baseball

[@noahdoss1967]

Note: A single scores two in bases loaded situations most of the time

[@noahdoss1967]

I think walking Bonds in that first situation is a particularly silly choice of at bat to show for this video

[@crackerjack2228]

I never saw anyone dominate the game of baseball like Barry Bonds did and probably never will in the future.

[@brosciencegutfeelings7058]

The GOAT of hitters. Don’t listen to the haters. They’ll forget that every pitcher and hitter were juicing at the time…

[@specialopssoldier1]

you cant be a goat while cheating.dont be a retard

[@gavinsheridan4680]

Completely untrue generalization, per the specifics of the Mitchell Report. Far from ALL players. He will, however, always be the GOAT of cheaters.

[@cteal2018]

Absolutely false

[@wick764]

@@gavinsheridan4680many of them were as there was no rule you couldn’t use steroids

[@carlosvaladez2186]

Life long dodger fan here. I remember the Gagne Bonds . They had respect for each other, but the fans hated the players.

[@mbdg6810]

i didn't know teams have cans root for them!

[@carlosvaladez2186]

@@mbdg6810 lol

[@ajrocks44]

Yup that's the beauty of baseball the entire team has to be good but you also need stars. It's also so rich they play on diamonds.

[@CLed117]

He is the best baseball player of all time and its not close

[@alexsolo4085]

Definitely helps that his Godfather was Willie Mays and his daddy Bobby was an All Star. He was already Baseball royalty

[@DJ_Cub]

Have y’all seen moneyball? It’s all about how baseball is a team sport and that on base percentage is everything

[@DNReacts]

We have yes! We reacted to it on our Patreon 😀

[@abeal5188]

12:33 Spot on. Just ask the Yankees & Angels fans over the last 20 years.

[@peytonmanningsforehead985]

The difference between Bonds and the best hitter in the league today (Mookie Betts) is the same difference between Betts and a average minor league hitter, no exaggeration.

[@cteal2018]

Barry Bonds represents a group of the most divisive players in the history of MLB. He has become the face of the steroid era, and it is sad. He was already a sure fire HoFer before the "suspected" use, but his ego and jealousy lead him down the path that has now invalidated his whole career. My hope as time goes by and they pass away, they are placed in the museum, but they should never have any of the ben. efits of being a Hall of Famer while alive.

[@videogamevalley7523]

….everyone was taking steroids….pitchers, relievers, batters I wouldn’t be surprised if the ball boy was on it as well. But it did produce some wild baseball, memories.

[@carlosvaladez2186]

Another 🔥 reaction

[@Kwright304]

I’m not a huge baseball fan but I was in the 90s and the steroids kinda turned me off. But I’m a hockey and football fan, and I’ve seen what the “steroids” they use do for injury recovery and quality of life improvements after sports and those should not be against the rules. The muscle building ones that are all head swelling absolutely not. The ones that are there for muscle and joint recovery, absolutely.

[@billbrasky1288]

The MLB is super serious about steroid testing and punishments these days. Guys still get caught every now and then but it’s not a big problem in the game anymore. The first positive test is an 80 game suspension. The second positive test is a 162 game suspension(1 full season). The third positive test is a lifetime ban.

[@GreenJeepAdventures]

For a few years before Bonds, there were other beast of hitters out there, such as Matt Williams, who also played for the Giants ( and now is the 3rd base coach for the Padres). He was on pace to break the single season home run record, but the 1994 strike ruined his chances. Other HOF hitters of note are Mark McGuire, who along with Sammy Sosa, thrilled all of baseball with a season long race to see if they could both break the record, which they both did in 1998, hitting 70 and 66 homers respectively. While both the above guys were great hitters, I don't think any pitcher feared them. Respected them, yes, but not flat out "I don't wanna." As you say, Barry Bonds for 4 years was a monster. So while there may be an asterisk attached to his legacy, the other guys also juiced. I guess its comparable to race cars. If you took a F-1 car and raced it against streets cars, it would be unfair, but against other modified cars, its par for the course.

[@NatTurnerswitBurnerz]

In 1994, five players were on pace to hit 50 homers: Williams, Ken Griffey, Albert Belle, Frank Thomas, and Bonds. Also, Bonds had a higher slugging percentage than Williams that year. In 1998, even with all the home runs McGwire and Sosa hit, Barry Bonds have a higher WAR than both of them. I think you're underestating how great Bonds was from the year 1990 and on.

[@chrisnease88]

My favorite player of all time.

[@NateSATheLegend]

My view on steroids has always been, it was what saved baseball in the mid 90s after "the strike" I find it fascinating how during that time home run chases from McGwire, some, and bonds became Americana. Deadly pitchers reignited sand lots, and the sports writers who would have been out of a job were more than happy to carve the stories of the Era. But once the scandals broke, my God those same writers who's careers were saved and loved every minute of it turned on those very same players. Bonds was no hero, but he was without a doubt the best of his generation. And lord knows the crap those who came before were hopped up on. Baseball and drugs, be it performance enhancing or otherwise jave always had a tough relationship. I do think it's much better today with the periodic testing thay occurs.

[@stevejette2329]

Been in San Francisco since 1986. Got the 2001 girlfriend to convert from Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers fan to Giants and Warriors. The rest is history. (So is the girlfriend)

[@SirLuciferVampiro]

It doesn't matter who the next batter is......We all know whoever he is, he's not going to be Barry Bond, the most dangerous batter in MLB history. It doesn't matter if the next guy is a Superstar. It's NOT Bond, so you have a much better shot at winning.....

[@EdmundKempersDartboard]

Foolish Baseball makes some excellent videos, particularly if you like stats.

[@DNReacts]

He’s brilliant. I thought this video was one of the best baseball videos I’ve seen. It had me completely gripped start to finish

[@andrewdesrosiers5658]

Bonds was the best player of all time pre steroids and post steroids, but he was an a-hole. The baseball writers are who vote you in. As PED players get in someday he won’t for some time unless it’s after all the current writers are passed.

[@tdsportscards]

Bonds was a lock before 2000. He always had a great eye...he led league 5 times in walks, On Base 4 times, slugging 3 times, OPS 5 times, Intentional Walks 7 times, and 3 MVP's, 7 Gold Gloves, and 8 Silver Slugger awards (best hitter at his position)...in first 14 seasons.....oh ya, almost forgot his 460 stolen bases and a home run derby in 1996, and his total WAR 111.7 up to 1999, that would have put him at 18th, just ahead of Rickey Henderson, Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson, and Pujols...at age 34.....all before the year 2000.....with 162.8 WAR, he's 4th behind Babe Ruth, pitcher Walter Johnson, and Pitcher Cy Young....put it in context, Trout is ranked 52 with 85.2 WAR at age 32, Trout would need 26.5 over the next 2 years, with 13.2 a year, he averages about 9 when healthy, and had a high of 10.5 twice (his defense is above average but not elite like Bonds)... he's won 3 MVP, 11 All Star, and 9 Silver Slugger, 4 On Base, 3 Slugging, 6 OPS, and 3 intentional walks, and a .301 batting average in 13 years....and that's why Trout is our generational talent of this era...and he's still got 2 years left until age 34, under contract until age 39 I believe......overall, Bonds was a sure HOF guy.....and the ironic thing is it brought life back to baseball with Bonds, McGwire and Sosa....the kicker is the new Commissioner had the ball juiced since 2020, the players all know, Verlander spoke about it, Trevor Bauer spoke out about it among other things and now he's in Japan for 2 years being banned...the girl set up Bauer, she posted on Instagram the morning after and then extorted him thru the court after he said no, she got her $5 mil and 10 minutes of fame...other like players just got 50 games, Bauer got 3 years...corrupt as hell...enough ranting...lol

[@KevinQuinn81]

The bit about Bonds possibly playing for Tampa Bay and contributing at his age reminds me of a Jon Bois video about Barry Bonds playing without a baseball bat and how good he still would have been because of his great eye. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKiwl4domL96fsksi=YKf2uMUdN_mS8Pis

[@MrJking065]

'Roids were no illegal at the time. So you cannot penalize players for using something that was not banned. Anyone who used 'roids after they become illegal should never be allowed into the HOF.

[@CheekandBluster]

Bonds is still kind of like this mythical sphinx at the center of baseball history. Everyone knows something ain't right about it, but there's no denying its awesome, otherworldly powers. I've been an SF Giants fan my whole life, and will go on being one till I die... and even while we had Bonds, I was somewhat ambivalent about him. At first it was just his prima donna reputation. Then, when he showed up for the '99 season and was physically transformed into a home run machine, it was like, "everyone knows how this just happened... but he hasn't been caught, I guess?" It's not just that he'd put on 25-30 lbs. of muscle. His HAT and HELMET sizes had gotten bigger. His SHOE SIZE had gotten bigger. That just doesn't happen to someone in his late 30s. As for his personality, the 10th Inning of Ken Burns' great "Basebell" documentary series does a really in-depth job of showing the root of a lot of that. Basically, his father, Bobby Bonds, was also an All-Star player for the Giants (and then other teams) in the 60's and early 70's. Based on his difficulties in that much more overtly racist era, he taught Barry to trust nobody -- especially the baseball media. Anyway, that's not to make excuses for some of Bonds' more egregiously dickish behavior, but just to kind of broaden the picture. He's been out of baseball since 2007, and I'm a Giants fan, but I'm still conflicted about the guy.

[@davidkoblentz]

That is the thing with those guys, they didn't have to cheat (A-rod etc.)

[@brentenglish268]

He’s the face because he broke those records while playing in that era. But the truth is that a lot of people were in them in that era and the mlb didn’t even test for them at the time. I really feel like the guy should be in the hall of fame because I don’t care how many steroids someone takes that doesn’t mean they can hit a baseball. As a guy who played baseball my whole life I can tell you it isn’t easy to hit. Put the man in the hall of fame… and let Pete Rise in while you at it

[@subterraneanretrogames556]

I’d put an asterisk next to that HR record, but I’m not vehement about it. I mean, he DID break the record in an era where other people were cheating as well. However, if steroids never existed, I doubt he would’ve broken any records at all.

[@CaptnBuxx]

Foolish is an absolute goat

[@wheelhousers1355]

Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were the face of steroids until Barry Bonds, and all 3 really are the main 3. Barry is probably the face for most now due to how good he was before the roids and after, as well as the media and the Balco case. He was arrogant and so those that thought he was cheating really went after him. More than just cheating but also in a legal sense. As for steroids/PEDs and now - like cycling, people will always look for an edge - be it a new PED or a new way to get away with already banned PEDs. There's the idea of allowing "safe" PEDs so the competition is "fair" to all who use, but that's probably not a thing most fans want. I have no doubt there are players in baseball getting away with cheating right now, but I feel like it's on the lower side, so the sport is probably "winning".

[@CosminCosyCodes]

Barry Bonds is the greatest baseball player that's ever lived.

[@Jllew42]

Even as a Dodgers fan who absolutely loathes and despises the Giants, there is no fucking reason Bonds should not be in the Hall of Fame. Shame people with personal vendettas who never played the fucking game professionally, or hell even at high school level, have the power and control to keep him out of the one place to celebrate and honor those who did incredible things on the diamond.

[@silent229]

i grew up watching the steroid era as a kid. even though i didn't know they were using steroids but it was awesome and fun too watch Bonds! I do think there are players today on steroids.

[@farbod21]

I don't care what he was on. Barry Bonds is the greatest player of all time.

[@341Michael]

most guys who juiced had no punishment at all. Greatest hitter of all time and should be in the HOF

[@idontknowleavemealoneplease]

The fact of baseball being sport where individual ability being the least valuable is apparent in videogames too. If you play baby mode and set all your stats to 99 in NBA2k you can easily have a perfect season, in Madden NFL it's the same but in MLB the Show you will absolutely lose games. The only way you'll get a 162-0 is if you constantly quit the game when your about to record a loss and home the next time you get a win. If you could make a pitcher that was able to pitch every game I guess it'd be doable but I don't believe that is possible. Edit: I'm talking about the game modes that involve you making a player and only controlling that player.

[@dustinheese]

Steroids are overrated. Hall of famer before he did steroids. Greatest hitter of all time. Greatest batter of all time.

[@jameshurley9551]

People who wanna act like 80% + of the league wasn't juicing at the time really takes away from how great Bonds was. If the league is all juicing then its a level playing field. He only juiced because he felt he was the greatest player in the game but wasn't getting the attention that McGuire and Sosa did (source - Juicing the Game by Howard Bryant)

[@danielwilhelm8870]

The entire PED situation was blown way out of proportion. I understand Bonds took them, but even before his PED yrs, he was still an MVP player when in Pittsburgh. PED's also do not guarantee better #'s, it doesn't improve hand eye coordination which Bonds had one of the best. Everyone talks about Bonds his PED use & his #'s but nobody ever mentions the hundreds of other players who also took PEDs & still hit .220 with no power.

[@supersasukemaniac]

i mean more of an Asterisk would be winning the Stanley Cup or NBA Championship during the Bubble Playoffs. I don't count Premier League since they actually abandoned the season and didn't count it.

[@b1galbos89]

How about the Dodgers winning the 2020 World Series after a very short 60 game season? That's not a huge asterisk there? That was so rushed. The MLB was better off just waiting til 2021. At least with the NHL and NBA Playoffs, they were able to conclude their seasons, especially the NHL. That was such a fun tournament. Regardless of anyone's opinions, they all still count no matter what.

[@emaniburton9422]

Steroids era was the best era of baseball and we should bring it back

[@chrismcbrayer4018]

It's close, but I'm gonna go with football as the greatest team sport. I think dominant bullpens can act as a "singular" player that can win games, with at least an average defense.

[@panner11]

Dominant bullpens are great for good teams to hold the lead. If the team is bad though, there won't be a lead to hold most of the time. Like any aspect of baseball, they can't win by just being dominant, if the other parts of the team aren't pulling their weight.

[@chrismcbrayer4018]

@panner11 Yeah your right. I just had in my head like the most stacked bullpen of all time. Lol. How many games do you think Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Otani, Maddux, and Rivera could win?

[@nickgleeson7168]

Barry was never suspended for steroids either

[@rizeagle33]

Bonds was a scapegoat because of the media.

[@zapmando]

He was intentionally walked more than swing and misses one season, he broke records off loterally 1 good pitch a week sometimes. Its stupid how much better he was than everyone else. If he got the potches other MVP candidates got the records would be even doubled, imagine if he got pitched to like a regular all star. Hes the best ever and nonone else is even close

[@nickhilton7127]

There’s an interesting conspiracy theory out there about steroids/performance enhancers in baseball. It’s worth the dive, but the idea is that MLB decided to crack down so heavily on steroids at the time when Bonds was clearly the poster child for it, simply for the sake of tarnishing his legacy because he was the “antihero” of the league as this video says. Long story short, steroids/opioids could very well still run rampant in the MLB, but their crackdown on ‘roids in the early 2000s was to say “our sport IS clean! See how swiftly we handled this one problem?!”

[@rodneysisco6364]

While steroids do improve strength ,and especially for older players , they speed up recovery time from injuries and even just simple muscle fatigue ,they DO NOT improve eyesight ,hand to eye co-ordination ,or the ability to choose the right pitch to swing at . In the later years of his career he was always being pitched around ,check his walk totals . He typically might get only one hittable pitch per at bat ,but he hit it .The fact that he was an obnoxious a-hole to the reporters had a lot to do with all of the negative publicity he got

[@phunkjnky]

Back around 2005, my company was doing a software update, and the onsite support was a guy who played baseball with Bonds at Arizona State University. Bonds would go home a lot of weekends, and leave his gold Trans Am at school. When he got back, he would always accuse his teammates of taking his car while he was gone, and it was true, Most people didn't like Barry. You admired him from afar, you did not like him.

[@mrniceguy5854]

without PEDs he's arguably the greatest player of all time. With PEDs he's the no doubt most broken player of any sport ever.

[@notmyrealname1730]

Bonds was one of the best, if not the best, of all time. His career was tainted by steroids, but they didn't make him better. That said, Bonds is the biggest asshole to ever play baseball, with or without steroids. He treated fans poorly - as if was doing them a favor by allowing them to be in his presence. He had a love/hate relationship with baseball writers that was mostly hate. And because baseball writers choose who goes into the hall, he might not get there, even had he not roided up.

[@duffstrodamus3233]

Idk give af he did steroids. He was the best player in baseball for a decade before. Now hes just the best ive ever seen

[@cyberwolf_1013]

Barry was great even without the roids. That just tainted so much of his legacy. I dont know why he would do such a thing? Why anyone would? So, I wouldnt call him the greatest, because we cant say what records are aided by drug use. I wanna suggest watching some highlights of Hank Arron. A legend of the baseball diamond with a career .305 batting average, 755 home runs, 2297 RBIs and 3771 hits... He was the first player to break Babe Ruth's homerun record. Arron got his start in the Negro League before moving to the Pros and by his final season he was the last Negro League player to be on any MLB team. All without the astrix***

[@lexzone-six9912]

Barry Bonds really wasn't good in the postseason overall. In 48 playoff games he only batted .245 with 37 hits, 9 home runs, and 24 RBIs.

[@philburkin9651]

I won't call him a juicing idiot because who knows what pressure he was under but however you stack it... he was a cheat?

[@-EchoesIntoEternity-]

12:09 football is the ultimate team sport not baseball

[@areguapiri]

So tired of the steroid fascination. There was no rule against steroid use at that time. And there is zero evidence that steroids help anyone hit a baseball or hit it farther. Bonds was just a mental and workout machine who perfected the "art of hitting". And because of his machine-like greatness, he was/is hated. Hated so much that the owners colluded to unofficially ban Bonds from playing baseball anymore even though he was still one of the best players in the MLB.

[@mikephillips1043]

If anyone can show me a positive test or a suspension from MLB for steroids ill agree with whatever argument you want to make but you cant do that so keep the comments positive unlike the tests he never failed.

[@theprettyanxiouskoko6876]

Baseball is better with steroids...I dont even watch anymore...Gagne was on steroids...more pitchers were on it than hitters...

[@vct454]

Baseball is not the ultimate team sport, it's just dominated by pitchers instead of batters. Look at the mid 90s Indians teams. They literally had an all-star lineup top to bottom, but never won a World Series. Why? Because they didn't have a true ace pitcher. Football is far more team oriented because you can't hide a bad player in the outfield like you can with baseball. If you have one weak player on a football team, they'll get exploited all game.

[@b1galbos89]

Yea agreed. Manny Ramirez recently summed that up perfectly. They would have at least won the 1997 World Series against the Marlins, if they had an ace and a decent bullpen. And the '99 team, only team to score over 1,000 runs since 1950, blew a 2-0 series lead in the ALDS to the Red Sox, pretty much because their pitching was their achilles heel.

[@TravvyBear262]

Grew up in the bay so the Giants are my team. I can remember where I was when Barry broke the single season home run record, the all time record, and many others. Sadly your comment at the very beginning of the video is likely true, Bonds was a monster, and not just at the plate. "A girlfriend Bonds had while married to his first and second wives said he abused her as well, stalking her with constant calls demanding to know where she was and what she was doing. She said on one occasion Bonds choked her and told her if he ever caught her with another man, it would all be over for her. She said Bonds claimed her breast implants were his property since he'd paid for them and he could cut them out if he wanted to; he threatened to burn her house because he'd help to pay for that too. She testified that Bonds told her there were "girlfriend cities and wife cities" and ordered her never to show up in any town where his (second) wife would be. She said these things in court, and Bonds' lawyer had the opportunity to refute them, but chose not to try on at least one occasion. Prosecutors had recordings of voicemail messages he had left for her, some of them angry and abusive, one ordered her to page him more often to prove she wasn't up to something, and she better take him seriously because he "wasn't playing"." I will always champion Bonds the player, as I have never seen someone do what he did with a bat in his hands and I believe his play is deserving of the hall of fame. That being said, if anyone brings up the morality clause as a reason to exclude him from the hall, I can't refute that.

[@paytonmarlow3639]

Idc if im in the minority here, steroids made baseball great

[@tako4mvp719]

Steroids aren’t an issue anymore since we know more about the side effects of steroids and the advancements in sports science that allows guys to progress rapidly in a healthy way. Atlhetes just don’t really have to make that choice until maybe they get older and start to decline but theyll get caught now and people are more aware so guys rarely take them

[@Beltran15x]

no, if the next player hits a single its not a tie, two runs would definitely score.

[@panner11]

They use the actual statistics in the video for the calculation. 66.2% to score from a single from second.

[@Beltran15x]

@@panner11 you dont understand my comment..nvm

[@panner11]

@@Beltran15x There's nothing to misunderstand. Singles don't always score the runner from second, just most of the time (66.2%). So you can't say 'definitely score'. There was a blue jays the other day. A frustrating game, they went 2-8 with RISP, but scored 0 runs, because the 2 singles with RISP didn't score the runner on second. It happens.

[@Beltran15x]

@panner11 you definitely don't lmao

[@panner11]

@@Beltran15x Keep telling yourself that I guess. Your statement was as transparent as they come.

[@GEREIKAT]

GOAT

[@AceManning18]

There's definitely an argument to be made for baseball as the ultimate team sport. In my opinion it's football but I see your point. I'm only 33 but Bonds is far and away the best hitter I've ever seen. His power is obvious but it means very little if you swing at garbage and can't make contact. His eyes are what truly set him apart. Rarely if ever did he swing at a bad pitch. In 2004 he was INTENTIONALLY walked 120 times and had an OBP over .600 and STILL hit 45 homers. It was astonishing to witness. He would get basically 1 at bat per game where he saw any pitches to hit and he almost always made you pay. I'm not sure anybody has ever been better at their job than Bonds was. And I mean throughout human history, all jobs. He was better at hitting the baseball than anybody has ever been at anything. I miss watching him. I don't care about the steroids, 50% of the league or more were taking them also and baseball didn't even make it against the rules until afterwards. He was fun to watch and it was a privilege watching him play. Edit - and yes the Gagne Bonds conversation did happen...it isn't like Gagne would tell on himself if your scenario did happen...and he had successfully saved like 60 games in a row to that point. I don't think he was super worried about one or two runs when he's up 3. The chances of him imploding to that level are miniscule.

[@poopmcgee2410]

Baseball has a long long history of people attempting unfair advantages. I'd say PEDs still are around but much less prevalent. Players are currently attempting to utilize alternate strategies more than chemicals these days. Using technology to steal signs and doctoring the baseball are two things that have been around to some degree as long as the game has existed.

[@technicschic]

You mentioned him not winning a WS, having to be on the right team, etc... crazy thing is that a few years later, in 2010, the Giants won the World Series for the first time since they moved to SF in the 50s, and then won again in 2012 and 2014, almost a dynasty during that period of time. You have to have the right mix of players and coach too.

[@s.henrlllpoklookout5069]

Secret Base has a series about famous athletes who never won a championship (it's called Untitled). In their episode about Bonds they mention hiw much of a team sport baseball is, Bonds can only field balls hit towards him & is only 1/9 players in the lineup. Then their wham line: "But this caveat has its own caveat--Bonds was a shitty teammate."

[@technicschic]

@@s.henrlllpoklookout5069 Yup! I remember Bonds and 2nd baseman Jeff Kent fighting each other in the dugout back in the day.

[@alexisborden3191]

@@technicschic Jeff Kent was a 2nd baseman

[@technicschic]

@@alexisborden3191 Yeah, sorry for the typo!

[@TheGeorgeD13]

The crazy thing about that Giants Dynasty is that they had at most two Hall of Famers on that team: Buster Posey and Bruce Bochy.

[@ru1796]

Mark Mcgwire and Sammy Sosa are the faces of the roid era. Their race for most home runs in a season really brought the roids into mainstream media. You should definitely react to their race.

[@cteal2018]

Maybe before Bonds, but Bonds setting fake records has surpassed Sosa and Mac

[@subterraneanretrogames556]

They were faces afterwards. In 1998, the American public had no idea about steroids in baseball.

[@JH-pt6ih]

@@subterraneanretrogames556 lol - speak for yourself. I think plenty of people knew about and suspected.

[@onlydbrasko]

Alex Rodriguez(admitted), Roger Clemens(accused and lied to Congress), and Barry Bonds(accused) were bigger stars than Jose Canseco(admitted), Sammy Sosa(accused), Mark McGuire(accused). Jason Giambi and Ken Caminiti were one tier below but admitted to juicing.

[@subterraneanretrogames556]

@@JH-pt6ih It was never discussed in mainstream media in 1998. Everyone was in love with the HR chase and there was never talk of an asterisk. Perhaps there were murmurs, but the general public thought Mac was a hero.

[@benjaylehman]

Such a great video by Foolish Baseball. I’m glad y’all are watching it after learning a bunch more about baseball stats so you can truly understand how great he was.

[@panner11]

Yeah I hope they react more to foolish, Jon Bois, secret base type videos. The MTC videos are just uninspired in comparison even if they have attractive topical titles. MTC does a lot of quantity with a video every week, but they're really just info dumps that repeat the popular narratives. There no imaginative storycrafting or presentation. Nothing against the guy, don't blame him for the content farm if it works. But watch reactions to quality videos that take months to produce is much better.

[@BeefPapa]

Bonds was having a hall of fame career before his steroid use, but he wasn't putting up videogame numbers. Mcgwire and Sosa were stealing the headlines with their chase of the single season home run record, and Bonds wasn't having that. So he joined the party.

[@downrighttt]

If you want more Barry, Jon Bois (maybe on Secret Base I can’t remember) did a video about what would’ve hypothetically happened if he played the entire 2004 season without a bat. Wild journey of a video but very fun!

[@jkuzem96]

Bonds was the best pure hitter baseball has ever seen. Even before the steroids. He absolutely deserves to be in the hall of fame.

[@kylek6708]

I would like to think that but Im not so sure. plenty of folks these days hitting over 50 homeruns with no steroids and much better pitching. at some point you have to accept using steroids will affect how you are viewed. would like to see Bonds talk the the home run leaders the last few years that have done that without a metric fuckton of steroids. If you wanna use them fine, but be prepared for controversy.

[@Jiff321]

@@kylek6708much better pitching? The 90s pitchers are all on steroids dude lol

[@davidalpeter9963]

​@@kylek6708the best pitching era in baseball in the steroids era hands down.

[@billbrasky1288]

Many of the same baseball writers who won’t vote for him for the HOF voted for him for MVP 4 years in a row. I don’t really care if a writer has a principled opposition to his induction but many aren’t consistent. I’ll be honest, I’ve been pretty skeptical of the BBWAA after I did a deep dive into certain writers’ voting habits. A deep dive inspired by the election of Scott Rolen over the obviously far superior Andruw Jones. Jayson Stark is a snake, that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

[@GreenJeepAdventures]

As a side note, the Giants were 6 outs from winning the World Series. Dusty Baker, the then manager of the Giants, was worried his starting pitcher was getting rattled, so he pulled him. The rest is history. Like you mention, there is so many other factors besides star power to win you a championship. I am still bitter about that one....lol. Great reaction by the way.

[@CCbaseball2015]

The best swing technique wise since Ted William. Griffey is my favorite swing and the most beautiful. But, if I was to teach someone a swing, it’d be Bond’s.