Number 750: Let's see how the Haters Twist the Story Now

The relevant parts of the story are shown below from MLB.com but this is how the guy reacts when he is confronted on the field by a fan, whose intentions are unknown but given the current climate, wouldn't one assume that the fan meant harm?

Of course Mortimer, one would have to be a jackass to think otherwise. Autograph signings and handshaking is restricted to one-hour before the game. Everybody knows that.

And the reaction is from a guy who is supposed to be the poster boy for steroids. Shouldn't he have reacted with 'roid rage and at the very least cold cocked the guy?

Why yes, Mortimer I believe he should have.

But no, the guy who is supposedly such an asshole in is dealings with fans reacts with what his peers are calling remarkable restraint. Which means they likely would have taken some sort of protective action.

Again, Mortimer I believe your right, most people put in that situation having been through what Bonds has been through would have taken the opportunity to take out some pent up frustration out on this delinquent. Perhaps subconsciously treating this fan as a proxy for the media and all other fans who've treated him rudely in the past. Interesting. Wouldn't that have been just delicious fodder for the haters though? Just imagine the headlines.


The haters are going to have to change the focus of their stories on the WWE murder-suicide case, as I'm sure the link to Barry was just around the corner.

Again Mortimer, your right, just like they linked a pitcher who wanted to go to Texas (Clemens alma-mater) and a kid who wanted to go to USC (McGwire's alma-mater) and made it seem like they were influenced by the most hated player in baseball. Seems like those folks should have been lambasted for lying to and misleading Congress, but we all know what the agenda was now don't we?

Just calling 'em as I see 'em. And stop calling me Mortimer. Loved you in Trading Places though.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070630&content_id=2057573&vkey=news_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf&partnered=rss_sf

SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants slugger Barry Bonds said during the first week of the season that the real countdown could begin when he reached the 750-homer mark. Consider it having begun, but not without a touch of the bizarre.

Bonds hit No. 750 on Friday night to lead off the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks at AT&T Park, placing him five away from tying Hank Aaron's magic 755 and six away from passing him for the lead on Major League Baseball's all-time list.

The blast off Arizona right-hander Livan Hernandez came only an inning after a male fan, identified by San Francisco police as Andrew B. Clapp, 24, and a tourist from Fargo, N.D., trotted out to left field and appeared to chat with Bonds while he was trying to play his position. Bonds casually put his arm on the fan's shoulder and walked him off the field toward the left-field foul line where they were met by security. Bonds never seemed in danger and no security ventured into fair territory during the incident.

"He just wanted to shake my hand," Bonds told MLB.com in the hallway outside the clubhouse after the Giants dropped a 4-3, 10-inning decision. "I told him to come with me so he didn't get into any more trouble."

When asked if he had felt threatened at any time during the episode, Bonds said, "No."

There was one out and a runner on first in the top of the seventh when the fan hopped over the low fence by the Giants bullpen down the left-field line and walked unencumbered over to Bonds.

Clapp was taken to the county jail in San Francisco and charged with public intoxication and trespassing on the field, both misdemeanors. A police officer contacted at the station said that Clapp still had not been released.

Several of the Giants said they were a bit shaken by the incident that occurred during their third loss in a row and 14th in their last 19 games.

"When guys go out there, you never know what their intentions are," said center fielder Dave Roberts, who dropped a fly ball later in the inning, allowing two unearned runs to score on the error. "I'm just happy Barry's safe."

"It's pretty scary," pitcher Barry Zito said. "You never know with these kinds of things. I didn't see it. I was up here [in the clubhouse] when it happened. But I heard Barry really kept his cool and handled it very well."

Since Bonds began his pursuit of Babe Ruth at the outset of last season, Major League Baseball has been overseeing security when the Giants are on the road and travel a member of the security detail from the Commissioner's office with Bonds at each game. The ballclub has been in charge during home games and there have been no previous incidents

"He just wanted to shake my hand."
-- Barry Bonds, on the fan who approached him on the field

It's now clear that with Bonds nearing Aaron's record, security must be beefed up in the left-field corner even at home, where MLB's top all-time left-handed power hitter always receives a raucous positive reception.