S.F. Giants Wipe Away All Traces Of Barry Bonds
I watched Willie Mays play in Candlestick Park when I was a kid. So the Giants and I go way way back. Only the A’s have a higher place in my heart (born in Oakland ‘62), and when the A’s played the Giants in the World Series, the only thing more exciting than both Bay Area teams being in the Series was the earthquake that showed up.
Of course the A’s ended up winning the Series, and not long afterward my life was swiftly and powerfully changed forever, and baseball fell to the wayside for me. So I was never a big Giants/Bonds fan. I was somewhat interested in the MacGuire/Sosa slugfest, but in the end, it seems it was all tainted.
Nevertheless, it is a sad thing that the Giants even had to do such a thing as to wipe away all traces of Bonds…
I’ll always have good memories of Candlestick, even when a young Steve Carlton pitching for the Phillies beaned Willie Mays in the ankle and everybody went berserk. We hated Carlton forever for that.
Of course I know that AT & T Park isn’t Candlestick, but that’s where the Giants played when I was a kid, when Willie Mays and John Brodie were kings.
Bonds = asterisk.
SAN FRANCISCO — It didn’t matter if it said “PacBell,” “SBC,” or “AT&T” on the outside; to many San Francisco Giants fans, the ballpark on the city’s waterfront was always known as “The House That Barry Built.”
But now, less than a year removed from Barry Bonds’ setting of the all-time, home-run record, the average fan will have a hard to finding evidence that the slugger ever played there. His name, his image, as well as any mention of his feat, have been scrubbed from AT&T Park.
Wednesday was Media Day at the ballpark; a chance for reporters and photographers to get a look at what changes have been made to the stadium since last season. The NBC11 photographer who attended the event said biggest change was what’s no longer there.
During the run-up to the home-run record last season, there were multiple banners hanging around the ballpark celebrating the chase. There was also a mural featuring Bonds running the length of the left field wall. All that is gone. There is not a single visible reference, not even a small plaque, commemorating the accomplishment.
Bonds, who played left field for the Giants for 15 years, broke Henry Aaron’s home run record when he hit number 756 on August 7, 2007. Bonds was not re-signed by the club after the 2007 season. Bonds’ agent, Jeff Boras, has been quoted as saying Bonds has not retired and would still like to play, but no team has signed him for the 2008 season.
For all his success on the field and in the batter’s box, though, Bonds tenure with the Giants was highly controversial. For years, Bonds has been dogged by allegations of steroid use, and was recently indicted on charges he lied to a federal grand jury about the matter.
If the stadium is any sign, it appears the Giants would like the make their separation from Bonds as clean and as clear as possible.
(NBC11)
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