Barry Bonds Research Paper

Having been raised by traditional Christian parents, in my home we were required to use clean language. Vulgar words were not to be used, and if they must be referenced one was to replace them with a more appropriate version. Often, this was accomplished by using something along the lines of “the B-word,” or an alternative phrase, such as “The (now former) Left Fielder for the San Francisco Giants” or “The Player who Stinks.” All three of these terms were pseudonyms to be used in place of the most abhorrent curse word in my household: Barry Bonds. To use those to words was worse than any other expletive in the English language. As I grew older, I was astonished to learn that other people did not treat that name with the same infamy that I was taught to use. Some people, I learned, even considered Bonds to be the greatest player of all time. I was astounded. How could this man, whom I had been conditioned to avoid even saying the name of, be treated with so much reverence? Barry Bonds, for the non-sports fans, played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (the MLB),
At the most basic, athletes use PEDs to improve their skills at a drastically superhuman rate. Jose Canseco, a former outfielder for the Oakland Athletics, credits his success in the major leagues to his abuse of anabolic steroids. He amplified his weightlifting regimen with PEDs before the 1985 season, gaining 25 pounds of muscle in a matter of months. This lead to his promotion from the A’s minor league affiliate to the Major Leagues. Within three years of his major league debut, Canseco became the first player to enter the exclusive 40-40 club, meaning he stole 40 bases and hit 40 home runs in a single season. (Solberg & Ringer 2011, p. 92) Presently, only four players have achieved that feat. Out of Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Alfonso Soriano, only Soriano’s achievement has not been attributed to use of