Barry Bonds

"I will never be in the Hall of Fame. Never," Bonds said. "Barry Bonds will not be there."

"That's my emotions now. That's how I feel now. When I decide to retire five years from now, we'll see where they are at that moment," he added. "We'll see where they are at that time, and maybe I'll reconsider. But it's their position and where their position will be will be the determination of what my decision will be at that time."

For those of you who don't know, Marc Ecko won Bonds' record breaking home run ball in an auction, then put up an online vote about it. He asked baseball fans to vote about what should be done with the ball: A) Give it to the Baseball Hall of Fame untouched. B) Give it to the Hall of Fame branded with an asterisk, implying Bonds used steroids to break the record. C) Blast it off into space.

Yours truly, with many others, voted for option B, and that is what won. When announcements were made that there would be a vote in the first place, Bonds felt the urge to publicly and vehemently insult Ecko, famously calling him an "idiot" repeatedly during an interview. The issue before Cooperstown now looks like this: Take the history making ball, or induct Bonds without it.

Take the ball.

Those who know me personally know of my intense hatred for the man that is Barry Bonds. I hated him long before he broke the record. Before he allegedly used steroids. He is a disgrace. He is not famous. He is infamous. He is a black eye on the game. He does not deserve to be put in the same league as men like Cal Ripken, Jr., Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, and so many other class-acts. These were men who loved the game, played their hearts out, sacrificed for it, and adored their fans.

Bonds is not like these men. He has, time and again, spurned his fans, his team, fans of baseball that weren't even his fans, and so forth. He does not play baseball for his team, or for the love of the game. He plays it for Barry. When he hits the long ball, he does not run, as you are taught to do when you're in Little Leagues. No, Barry watches the ball, basks in its glory as it sails... sails... and bounces off the wall. Barry just hit a 395 foot single.

"Giants general manager Brian Sabean reiterated Thursday that the team won't bring back Bonds next season. The seven-time NL MVP, who has spent 15 of his 22 major league seasons in San Francisco, was asked whether he will retire as a Giant. 'Yeah, it's my house. No matter what that's my house, no one's going to take that away, no one ever," Bonds answered. "No one's going to take the love of that city of me away, ever.'"

Read that closely. Bonds does not mention his love for San Francisco. He mentions San Francisco's love for him. Right. They love him so much that they don't want him back. He claims the city that he played the middle part of career for, long as that part may be. What about Pittsburgh, Barry? Remember that city and the water around that ballpark? No. Barry remembers where Barry got his.

Big headed, steroid-using, foul-tempered, sorry excuse for a professional ball player.

Take the ball, Cooperstown. It won't talk back.