This edition of From the Mailbag includes comments on the AL Cy Young and Barry Bonds.
When I was little, I thought sportswriters had the coolest job in the world. I couldn’t wait to grow up to become a baseball beat writer, or the next great writer for Sports Illustrated, or an author who could talk about cool stuff like the 1927 Yankees. I wanted to be them.
I hate myself now for thinking that way.
“I could imagine it in my dreams, but I never thought I’d do it until now. It helped take the tension down a little bit for us, but games aren’t won in the first or second inning. They’re won in the ninth inning.” –Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder, on homering in his first World Series at-bat
Barry Bonds continued his domination of Internet NL Player of the Year voting by winning the IBA NL Player of the Year for the third straight year and the sixth time overall. Bonds has finished at least third in Internet NL Player of the Year voting after every season except 1999, when he was limited to less than 450 plate appearances by an injury.
During the regular season, I can see where MLB might fail to get the national deal they’d like. But what’s happening this post-season is a disaster.
“I really have no timetable. The good Lord has blessed me with the health. I’m not going to give it up if I can still perform, compete and enjoy the game.” –Rickey Henderson, Red Sox outfielder, asked how much longer he’d go
Channeling the spirits of Joe Sheehan, Jackie Harvey, and Peter Gammons…
Barry Bonds has a 290 point advantage in OPS over the #2 guy in MLB, Jim Thome. Dropping down another 290 points from Thome gets you to Tony Tarasco. Yeesh.
STRIKE! STRIKE!
“If you have kids who might [grow up to] be major league baseball players, we’re fighting for your kids, possibly. If I work for your newspaper and you’re in the union fighting for your equality and rights, sure I would strike, and so would you…”
–Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder