I’ll be on XM 175 with Jeff Erickson today at 12:05 pm EDT, and then will do a chat on ESPN.com at 1 pm EDT.
→ June 11, 2008
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The collected thoughts of sportswriter, bookworm, & food critic Keith Law
I’ll be on XM 175 with Jeff Erickson today at 12:05 pm EDT, and then will do a chat on ESPN.com at 1 pm EDT.
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Keith- I took real issue with your treatment of the Bonds vs. Hamilton issue in today’s chat.
Characterizing Hamilton’s drug use as “cheating” is really a flawed syllogism. Did Hamilton’s drug use break the rules? Sure. However if “cheating” means breaking the rules in order to gain an unfair advantage, then Hamilton’s drug use is definitely not that where. Contrasted with Bond’s, his behavior may not have been against the rules, but by all common standards it was definitely cheating as it gave him a competitive advantage.
Comparisons to Doc are just flawed. Doc was a tragic figure (not a villain like Bonds) because his drug use destroyed a great career. For beating the clutches of addiction, Hamilton is made a champion. Seems fair to me regardless of skin color.
Finally, Doc Gooden, Strawberry, Pettite and Hamilton have all been somewhat redeemed because they were honest about their mistakes and attempted to correct them.
Bonds has never done that. He lies, perjurers himself, uses his children as a shield and acts like an ass. Maybe shuffling skin color on these characters would tint media treatment a hair in one direction or another, but the fundamental conclusions would stand.
A couple more points-
MLB versus NFL. The NFL has largely gotten a free pass on steroids and its players are predominantly black. MLB has a relatively low percentage of African Americans, and they are getting slammed.
Furthermore, Clemens has been vilified in much the same way as Bond’s since the Mitchell report. The media has in no way given him a free pass. All things being equal, can’t you recognize that it is the difference in honesty and intent that seperates Hamilton from Bonds and Clements, not race?
Finally your comparison of HGH to Heroin as a performance enhancer is a total straw man. The jury is still out on HGH’s effect on strength training, but there is good evidence it helps with recovery and stamina. Also didn’t Bond take steroids in the form of Creme and Clear?
Most of the time you argue from a very informed and well reasoned place, but I don’t quite see a coherent argument from you on this issue. Is it just the chat medium distorting things and or encouraging pithy responses?
Hamilton’s pursuit of redemption for the ‘wrongs’ he has committed is what separates he and Bonds for me. The actual substances abused do not matter; a sin is a sin, if you will. Hamilton is looking to now make a difference (great SI story), and Bonds…well, he’s an assclown.
And I fucking hate Caillou. 🙂
I hate that Caillou. I don’t care what disease he has that makes him completely bald, I’m glad he has it.
Keith – I hope you’re reading comments, because I’ve got a 3 day MiLB trip coming up, and I’d love to get your insights on what to look for.
June 20 – B-Mets @ Trenton Thunder.
June 21 – Jamestown Jammers @ Williamsport CrossCutters.
June 22 – Erie SeaWolves @ Harrisburg Senators.
Any highlight players I should be looking for? I know the NY-Penn League rosters aren’t even set yet, but I imagine we might see some interesting draftees, if nothing else. Who should I look for?
The other clear flaw in the Bonds-Hamilton dichotomy as race relations example is personified by Mark McGwire. McGwire is (very) white, and gets the same type of scorn as Bonds as a cheater.
Further, I think poor analogies do very little to help overcome and enlighten people about endemic race problems in professional sports. Contrasting Bonds’ treatment to Hamilton’s on the basis of race is pretty easily dismissed as flimsy at best, and it is too facile and convenient for the deniers to lump good arguments in with the bad.
I don’t know if it was in this chat, but someone told me you called the White Sox lineup “a joke.” Why, exactly?
Best part of the chat, by a wide margin:
tyler (utah): whats your favorite color?
SportsNation Keith Law: Living Colour.
Keith, did the 4-letter remove your chat? I do not see it.
Chat transcript.
Neil: I don’t remember saying that. It’s not their strength, certainly, but the only lineup I remember criticizing like that is San Fran’s, which I called “atrocious” in the chat.
If you think race plays no part in how the overwhelmingly white sports media handles Bonds, I think you’re deluding yourselves. Add to that the media’s general desire to tear down players at the tops of their games, and a specific desire to see Bonds – who never coddled the media the way most players are taught to do – get his comeuppance and you have a recipe for biased treatment.
Thank you.
Keith, that all may be true, but it doesn’t make the contrast between he and Hamilton any less disingenuous.
It seems to me a comparison between Bonds and *anyone* else is somewhat disingenuous. The circumstances are different for every player. Naturally, there are differences between Bonds’s story and Hamilton’s. Hamilton’s tale involves recovery and redemption (so far), while Bonds’s is just one seeming cover-up after another. I think it’s only natural that the media would want to celebrate how far Hamilton has come. I would note that the individual who brought up the case of Tim Raines during the chat was very much spot on.
And it’s crazy to say that Bonds has received similar treatment in the media to Clemens and MacGwire. Both Clemens and MacGwire have certainly taken shots by various media sources, but Bonds has pretty much been burned in effigy. I’m sure that a large part of the reason for this is that Bonds is a huge asshat, but I don’t think the role of race can be dismissed out of hand.
I think the Raines-Molitor comparison is a fantastic example of race bias. I’m not saying the problem doesn’t exist.
My issue is that if I point it out to someone (using Raines-Molitor or some other pertinent example), I don’t want to hear “Oh god. You guys think EVERYTHING is about race. Why just the other day Keith Law contrasted Barry Bonds and Josh Hamilton. . .blah blah blah”.
I’ll agree that the treatment of Bonds and McGwire has not been identical, but they’ve certainly both been vilified.
Ryan V.- Exactly. There may very well be a media bias that shades coverage somewhat (though ultimatly the cheating and lies DID happen) against Bonds, but that in no way makes the comparison to Hamilton valid.
As an addict in recovery who has copped to his crimes, Hamilton deserves support. Can the same be said for Bonds?
Aww stymied! What happened to the chat today?
Kyle, it was yesterday. If you goto Keith’s comment, he provides the link. I missed it myself.
Keith, Thanks for the transcript. I fell asleep halfway through and had a dream in which I was looking for a prospect named Wilson and was going to cook him up, under your orders, an original Keith Law recipe called “Sweatin.'” The ingredients were lots of water and lots of sun. Anyway, never did find him, but when I awoke I was covered in sweat, so maybe I was Wilson and found myself?
Anyway, I’m going to read the second half now.
Yeah, someone just mentioned something about you saying that, so I just wanted to make sure by asking here. That’s what’s great about blogs, I guess!