Michael Tillery.com

Conversation with Bobby Baseball ( Must Read Article ! )

April 4th, 2006
by Michael Tillery

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter--Martin Luther King Jr.

Bobby Baseball is not a real person. He is made up of media accounts, water cooler conversations and privy moments of underlying sheer hatred. There are many other questions that I would pose to any journalist regarding the treatment of Barry Bonds. Why is he so hated? What did he do to merit said hatred? Will the person who has seen the grand jury testimony, please stand up? The two books that were written about Barry's steroid use have not one stitch of proof. How come there aren't more Jose Cansecos? What I want America to understand is this is not about steroids, it's about the witch hunt. Blacks have had heroes dragged, stabbed, assassinated, hung, ridiculed, ostracized, falsely accused and nullified. These are some of the reasons why some Blacks come to the defense of Bonds. The way he and other athletes are treated in the media conjures images Blacks are sick of seeing and feeling. Lyle Alzado, Bill Romanowski, Ken Caminiti, Jason Giambi (Comeback Player of the Year? What?). These are some of the few athletes who weren't branded with as hot a tool as the one Barry gets stuck on his muscular chest every single time he is interviewed. Could you deal with the scrutiny? Could you deal with the judgemental scolding saliva of drunk fans and their misled children alike?

Read on!

Bobby Baseball you've made it ridiculously obvious that you care about the integrity of baseball, so pull up a chair and lets have a conversation. There are many people--mostly Blacks--that are going to come to Barry's defense simply because of the ludicrously hateful treatment of him ten and even fifteen years earlier in his enigmatic career. What do you say to this?

BB: Black people continuously pull out the race card whenever something like this happens. The fact that people want Barry Bonds silenced has nothing to do with race. He has never let America into his living room so why should we care about him anyway? I don't know what surly means, but if surliness walked into the door right now, it would be in the shape of Barry Bonds. He was never a good teammate. He has this chip on his shoulder, so I don't give a damn about him anyway. I wish he would go away now! He doesn't deserve to break Babe Ruth's record anyway! You people need to get over it. There is no racism in America. Blacks are dominating sports and entertainment like never before. Why are you people always complaining anyway?

Michael Tillery: Bobby that was funny. Hank Aaron is the record holder. It's crazy that people nullify Hammerin' Hanks incomparable accomplishments, especially in light of what he went through. I appreciate your candor. I would answer your question this way: When some Blacks see the passion of a wounded bull that some segments of society choose to discredit Bonds with, some Blacks are taken aback. It's the scrutiny that pains people. If you back anyone into a corner they are always going to come out swinging. The questions that some members of the media ask Bonds have nothing to do with what he does on the field or steroids for that matter. Remember when he was seen dressing in drag for the sake of bringing his team together because of all the negative attention he had received lately? It's not his team's fault. They have jobs to do also. Keep them out of it. Another thing is that this guy is a baseball player. There is no reason why old ladies with weighted purses want to smash Bonds and bloody his face. Hypothetically, can you see them picketing outside with their crooked wigs? I've never seen so many teeth on the ground and crunchy sand tasting faces. Why do some people love Babe Ruth so much and didn't even see him play?

BB: He played at a time when life was simple. He was an outstanding player who was worthy of the legendary status he still receives today. He is the best baseball player of all time, no question!

Michael Tillery: Hey Bobby, are you aware that Ty Cobb called the Babe a nigger? Research that. Another thing is that the Babe played at a time when there were no Blacks to speak of playing. There was rampant gambling and alcohol abuse. Pitchers didn't come off the mound until their arms were falling off. What has baseball done to bring light to this shameful moment in it's history?

BB: Baseball has righted this wrong by first letting Blacks in baseball and then by retiring Jackie Robinson's number. April 15, is proclaimed Jackie Robinson Day. We don't have to go back fifty years. What happened then is irrelevant.

Michael Tillery: No! No! No! It's never irrelevant when humans and their future legacies lay in the balance. Has any White player had to go through anything remotely close to what any of the top three Black home run hitters or any of the pioneering Blacks had to go through? Hell no! Big Mac tucked his tail and ran home when asked a simple question. How come he wasn't vilified? How come people didn't question what he was doing at the time he set the record? Is 73 really more than 61 anyway? Athletes are so much stronger now than in years past. Why was Barry suspect? Big Mac couldn't carry Barry's jock when it came to comparing their respective talents, so why in the hell would Barry be jealous of him? Seriously? What is this cult figure thing anyway? While baseball has retired Jackie's number and named awards after Blacks, why does baseball think that rectifies past wrong doing? People who should have been rewarded are dead! Baseball then gives awards to the recipient's grandchildren? Only their families end up knowing the true impact of their respective lives. Buck O'Neil wasn't even inducted into the Hall of Fame! That's crazy! The game's past is tainted. Every record set before April 15, 1947 should have an asterisk. That would be a truly grand gesture by Major League Baseball. If they really cared about Blacks, that's what they should do.

BB: You OK there tough guy? Why are you so angry? Friggin get over it. The past is the past. Barry is a cheater and that's it! Babe Ruth was a true American. No way baseball should do such a stupid thing. They would be slapping their true fans in the face.

Michael Tillery: That last statement is a sad one Bobby. We are all Americans period. We should all be affected by the unfortunate happenings in America's past. It never goes away. It will always be relevant, no matter who chooses to push our collective past under a guilt stained rug because of defense mechanism driven nullification. If some people were more affected by what happens to their fellow man without all this egotistical and judgmental ignorance that is rampant presently, maybe this world would start to make a change for the better. Our children deserve the truth about anyone we celebrate. Just like we pick apart an athletes every move, we should do the same with anyone who has a real job. Money or the fact that they are on TV should no longer matter. After all, we are who really put them there.

America what is going on in your life? Are you the best you can be for your children? Have you lied, stolen or cheated?

It's truly funny how some segments of society choose to conveniently forget about the misgivings of some of their most coveted "heroes". George Washington cannot tell a lie and chopping down a cherry tree? Those are the stories we choose to educate our kids with? You have got to be kidding me. He and most of our early public figures owned slaves, and had people killed at will. I won't even bring up Christopher Columbus. Why is this relevant to a home run hitter you are probably asking yourselves? Because if you won't admit that these so called great people had their faults, then you will never admit that some of the criticism of Bonds is deeply entrenched in racism. It's like the whole OJ thing. Blacks knew that he possibly did it. How many Blacks come to his defense now? Not many, because it's not his guilt that had Blacks overjoyed and applauding. Blacks have seen so many of our families saddened by jury nullification, ie., Medgar Evers, Emmit Till or the four little girls who died in the church bombing. Let's not forget about the cops who got off after beating Rodney King to a bloody swollen pulp. There was video evidence! What could be more convicting? Yes King was a criminal, but did he commit a capital offense?

All Blacks are truly saying when it came to OJ was about time. These are the stories that--if we weren't there--our parents told us. It's sad that we had to stoop to such a shallow level regarding OJ, but most Blacks are sick and tired of our heroes being scrutinized like they are the clown mascot. This is what pains us. Just in the past year, America has made Ron Artest (mental illness and bad choices), Barry Bonds (alleged steroid use and having the temerity of constantly telling tabloid driven journalists and reporters to kiss his ass), and Terrell Owens (egotism and stupidity)--the most hated people in America and none of them has committed a hardcore crime. Is America really this stupid to make their misgivings the hot topic stories of the past year? Keep poking the rattlesnake in the corner if you want to. Eventually he's gonna get your ass and it ain't gonna be nice when it does. Doesn't America see that booing these dudes doesn't help? Obviously, it inspires them. They have all reveled in your hatred. That is sad. Everyone is accountable. All these so called journalists, being the ultimate epitome of surliness, are practically calling for Barry's head like he's hypothetically raped their daughter. Who are they to judge? What is going on in their lives? Are they raping someone else's daughter? How would they like to constantly be asked dumb ass questions over and over and over and over again for fifteen plus years? I just don't understand.

All of this is relevant when it comes to Bonds. Why else would baseball make Bonds the lightening rod for steroids when the whole era was supposedly tainted? That's like saying the the Eagles sucked because of Terrell Owens. BS! Baseball is feeding off of the signals that mainstream America is giving them. I thought chicks dug the long ball? Ha! There is no way that baseball didn't know that some players were juicing up.

Like I said before, everyone is accountable.

If Barry is found to have taken steroids, I will be the first to slam him!

BB: Can I speak now?

Michael Tillery: No! I'm kidding Bobby. Please speak your piece.

BB: Are we still talking about baseball? Where are you going with this big guy? Big Mac hit 49 homers as a rookie. He was always known for hitting home runs. Barry never hit more than 47 before he hit 73. Barry can't be that good. It's just not human. When America watches sports, we want to forget about our lives and how minimal they might be. Mickey Mantle had his faults, but how could you not identify with him? Whites are sick and tired of always being called racists. Why do you care how Barry is characterized anyway? He's a cheat! Why would you want to defend him?

Michael Tillery: It's kind of cool that you are asking the questions Bobby, you are kind of good at this. Bobby, (sigh) you and other folk have to understand that all Blacks want is to have more than one hero that our children can look up to. Inspiration builds confidence and a soulful consciousness. Kids need to see positive images of the people they want to emulate. Michael Jordan is no longer playing. As horrible as Brett Favre has been the last couple of years, most people still want him on the field--and rightfully so--because once he is gone, he is gone. We want to hang on to our heroes in a similar fashion. When Mike played for Washington, all you heard were questions about the surmised tainting of his legacy. The scrutiny just isn't there for all athletes. The broadcasters look the other way even after Brett's fifth straight pass ends up completed to the wrong team! Why should he get a pass? Randall Cunningham got booed after passing for four hundred twelve yards in a narrow playoff loss to Chicago in the infamous Fog Bowl. That's BS. As good as Randall was, most people think he sucked. Quarterbacks with comparable numbers are comfortably resting because their exploits were enough to get them voted into the Hall of Fame. Compare his numbers to Aikman. There is a comfort level that most great White quarterbacks are able work with. What would Cunningham's career been like if he was afforded the offensive weapons that Troy had at his leisure? Look what happened when he had Randy Moss to throw to? The overall points Minnesota scored that year are still a record. Scrutiny. How come there isn't a Black quarterback that totally sucks and still has a job? I can name numerous White signal callers who are below par. There is also this idea that a running quarterback can't win the Super Bowl. People rather watch the athleticism in amazement and not the athlete commanding the team. The team is what it is all about right? General managers and player personnel heads, give these freakish athletes top flight receivers and a line. Watch them flourish. Do you want them to be successful or not? How many pocket passers in the history of the sport haven't won the big game? The numbers are staggering. People open your minds and collectively think of what is right and what is wrong. What is truth and what is speculative. What is real and what is not so real. When great athletes fail individually, the maggot infested can of snake scaled scrutiny rears it's ugly head.

Who are you to judge?

When and if Ken Griffey Jr. approaches the record, will people humble themselves or will they scream falsehoods? Griffey Jr. was once the best player in baseball, that hit baseballs out the park with the same frequency as Big Mac when he was in Oakland and Griffey was with Seattle. There wasn't any steroid talk then. Griffey's sweet swing was a testament in itself. Bobby, I thank you for listening to my rant. The truth needs to be told not sold. America has to understand that everyone should not be painted with the same bull crap smellin' brush. If you hate yourself, you are entitled to do so. Knock yourself out. Please get it in your thick head that everyone will not have the same opinion of you regarding Barry Bonds or Bobby Baseball for that matter. Change this BS that is driving the present media! There is much work to be done. Are you up to it? Do you care? Are you strong enough to handle such responsibility. Is this the Roman Empire revisited? What happened to Rome? It's all relative. Each one teach one. There are kids watching! They deserve better.

America is this to deep for you? Do you understand the point that I'm trying to make?

Black people, we too can be overzealous in our defense for our heroes. If they mess up, call them out and tell it like it is!

When Barry breaks the record--the one you think is real and the one that is real. Will you hate him more? Why? What happens if he breaks the single season record again? How will you react? Take a long look in the mirror without blinking and see what your image morphs into.

Are you scared now?