Posted By:
CyI am amazed by all the people, especially on this board, who are so adamant against Barry Bonds. I would like to take a poll. If you believe that Barry Bonds is a cheat and either shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame or shouldn't have his home run record counted, if he breaks Aaron's record, answer me this question.
Did Shoeless Joe Jackson cheat? Should we strike all of his records from the record book?
It amazes me how some can be so vehement against Bonds, then give a blanket pardon to someone who was paid to throw a World Series. Let's assume for the record that both Jackson and Bonds cheated. Who is worse? Is Bonds worse for wanting to do better than he could by artificial means? Or is Jackson worse because he accepted money to allow another team to beat his team in the World Series?
The anti-Bonds/cheating sentiment amazes me. Joe Jackson tried to throw a World Series. Now I know that some will say he really didn't. He just took the money but tried to win. I disagree. He took the money. Who knows when he tried to lose during that series even though his average was high. To say that Jackson took the money but didn't do anything wrong in the game would be like saying Bonds took steroids to help him sleep, not to help him hit baseballs. But Joe Jackson is treated as a god and Bonds as a demon. Face it, Joe Jackson took the money. If he takes the money in order to throw a World Series, shouldn't he be considered a cheat much worse than Bonds?
So I am going to ask this another way. If a player on your favorite team had to either take steroids to improve his game or throw a World Series to another team, which player would you forgive first?
Cy