McTucket
05-21-2006, 03:10 AM
Mixed emotions
Fans, players express admiration and trepidation
Posted: Saturday May 20, 2006 11:52PM; Updated: Saturday May 20, 2006 11:57PM
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Tyler Snyder caught Barry Bonds' 714th homer on the fly Saturday, snagging it cleanly with his glove. The people around the 19-year-old Athletics fan cheered wildly, with nobody assaulting or gouging him.
Bonds got a standing ovation from the Bay Area's forgiving faithful -- and then Snyder got to speak the minds of millions of baseball lovers who see Bonds as the game's greatest antihero.
"I hate that guy," Snyder told reporters before he was whisked away. "I don't really care for the guy."
But Snyder's perfect catch was a rare moment of grace in this ragged, tainted quest for baseball immortality by Bonds, who ended a nine-game homer drought with a second-inning solo shot for the San Francisco Giants. Fans stood and applauded, and Bonds' peers acknowledged another milestone.
"He finally hit it? It's about time," said Ken Griffey Jr., who entered the night with 539 career homers, in the Cincinnati Reds' clubhouse at Detroit. "Now I don't have to keep watching TV to see him do it."
Fans, players and managers across the majors reacted with the same mix of admiration and trepidation that's been part of Bonds' every achievement since his 73-homer season in 2001 and late-career power binge fell under strong suspicion of steroid use.
There's not much sentimentality around this quest -- and it sure has a money-colored tint. The ball still was in Snyder's glove when the holder of Bonds' latest horsehide lottery ticket said he definitely would sell the ball.
When asked if he would consider giving it to Bonds, Snyder declined with a mild expletive.
But nearly every fan in the Coliseum joined in a standing ovation when the homer settled into the stands -- even a guy right behind home plate wearing a No. 25 Giants jersey with the word "BALCO" stitched where "BONDS" should be.
Fans, players express admiration and trepidation
Posted: Saturday May 20, 2006 11:52PM; Updated: Saturday May 20, 2006 11:57PM
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Tyler Snyder caught Barry Bonds' 714th homer on the fly Saturday, snagging it cleanly with his glove. The people around the 19-year-old Athletics fan cheered wildly, with nobody assaulting or gouging him.
Bonds got a standing ovation from the Bay Area's forgiving faithful -- and then Snyder got to speak the minds of millions of baseball lovers who see Bonds as the game's greatest antihero.
"I hate that guy," Snyder told reporters before he was whisked away. "I don't really care for the guy."
But Snyder's perfect catch was a rare moment of grace in this ragged, tainted quest for baseball immortality by Bonds, who ended a nine-game homer drought with a second-inning solo shot for the San Francisco Giants. Fans stood and applauded, and Bonds' peers acknowledged another milestone.
"He finally hit it? It's about time," said Ken Griffey Jr., who entered the night with 539 career homers, in the Cincinnati Reds' clubhouse at Detroit. "Now I don't have to keep watching TV to see him do it."
Fans, players and managers across the majors reacted with the same mix of admiration and trepidation that's been part of Bonds' every achievement since his 73-homer season in 2001 and late-career power binge fell under strong suspicion of steroid use.
There's not much sentimentality around this quest -- and it sure has a money-colored tint. The ball still was in Snyder's glove when the holder of Bonds' latest horsehide lottery ticket said he definitely would sell the ball.
When asked if he would consider giving it to Bonds, Snyder declined with a mild expletive.
But nearly every fan in the Coliseum joined in a standing ovation when the homer settled into the stands -- even a guy right behind home plate wearing a No. 25 Giants jersey with the word "BALCO" stitched where "BONDS" should be.