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Pat Caputo: Conflicted Feelings On Barry Bonds

With the advent of endless television highlights, even the most ardent baseball fans have become immune to the home run.

Throw in players that were juiced up on steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for more than two decades, and the home run, in some sense, lost its uniqueness.

With the advent of endless television highlights, even the most ardent baseball fans have become immune to the home run.

Throw in players that were juiced up on steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for more than two decades, and the home run, in some sense, lost its uniqueness.

However, even under those circumstances, I have to admit Barry Bonds pulled me right out of my chair and literally had me screaming at my television one night.

It was during the 2002 World Series. Game 2. Troy Percival, who eventually spent an ill-fated season with the Tigers, pitched to Bonds. He proceeded to connect his bat to the baseball with a purity I had never seen before or since, and have no expectation I will ever witness again.

When I think of such moments, or about the game and some of its most sacred records that are held by Bonds, and juxtapose them with Bonds' standing trial on several counts of lying to a grand jury about his use of performance-enhancing substances, I'm conflicted.

Theoaklandpress.com for more

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