I felt like drowning myself in a bottle of Jack Daniels when I found out Barry Bonds wasn’t coming back to San Francisco next season.

It was inevitable. The era of Bonds had to come to an end some time. But as a Giants fan, it felt wrong. The Giants without Bonds is wrong. Love him or hate him, he has been the biggest part of recent Giants history, and his name will never be forgotten in San Francisco.

For any Giants fan to say they have always hated Bonds is a lie. Throughout the history of this proud organization, there have been many great players including Bonds’ own godfather, Willie Mays. Bonds, however, has truly been in a league of his own. There is no player in the era of 100 mph fastballs who has thrown up numbers like Bonds.

At age 43, he still runs out to left field when he’s not tired. He doesn’t just sit on the bench and wait for his turn to hit. At age 43, he stole five bases. Not even age is stopping Bonds from excelling nowadays… Unless you count steroids.
Oh, what about steroids? How does that play into what fans feel about Bonds?

Let’s not be blinded now. If anybody thinks Bonds is the only player who used steroids during the supposed “steroid era” in the 1990s, then they must be dreaming. There is still no proof that Bonds used steroids, and I think if there was proof that he did, the MLB would have said so immediately. They would stop at nothing to point a finger at their favorite scapegoat.

There are a number of players who have failed drug tests in the past two seasons. You don’t hear about them anymore. You still hear the name Barry Bonds associated with steroids. Why?

The MLB needs a scapegoat. Their testing policy was horrible. Everybody was probably on some type of performance-enhancing drug at one time. Of course, they had no way of proving it.

In walks Bonds, the jerk of all jerks. Why is he succeeding so much? He must be on steroids. Bonds won’t talk to me when I interview him? He must be on steroids, at least, I’ll report that he “allegedly” is. Isn’t allegedly a nice word? People read it, but they don’t know the full meaning of it. All they see is “Bonds” and “steroids.” That’s all they need to know.

Responsible journalism would not lead Bonds to have the track record that he does. The media are relentless when talking about Bonds. It’s unprofessional, unnecessary and unethical. They break every rule in the book when it comes to bashing Bonds. Bonds uses steroids, Bonds is the devil, Bonds scares children, Bonds is the epitome of all that is evil. It’s ridiculous.

All this steroid hoopla around Bonds leads me to believe that he tested negative. If he tested positive, then why hasn’t it been announced? Especially this season when he was closing in on baseball’s most cherished record. Especially since everybody outside of San Francisco hates him so much. There is no reason to keep his test results as a secret.

And what if he tested negative? The MLB would lose their scapegoat. They would have to -gasp- admit there were flaws in their testing policy.

No matter how you look at it, sticking a needle into your body does not make you the homerun king. It does not help you swing the bat any faster, rather it blurs your vision so your swing would be less accurate. No amount of steroids could improve the performance of a 43-year-old.

Bonds can be a jerk. Especially when his family is being stalked and abused. Especially when his privacy is invaded.

Maybe the day will come where the truth will come out. Fans sill appreciate what he has done, they know they had witnessed history every time Bonds played.

Fortunately in San Francisco, we mostly see the highs in Bonds’ career. Most of us defend Bonds to a fault, some of us don’t care and others have followed the trend of the rest of the nation. No matter where you fall, there is one thing that can’t be denied.

Barry Bonds is the best player we have had the chance to witness in our lifetime. It will be rare that another player like him will come around before we grow old. Thanks for the good times, Barry.