Bonds Removed From AT&T Park

[love_that_reefer]

The San Francisco Giants have now removed prominent tributes in the stadium to Barry Bonds, who has steroid allegations and perjury charges hanging over his head.

The left-field wall no longer bears an image of Bonds chasing Hank Aaron for the home run crown, nor elsewhere is the number of Bonds' home runs in relation to Aaron posted.

There are no "756" signs -- signifying the home run he hit to break Aaron's record -- anywhere in the park, in fact. A team spokeswoman said the Giants would put up a plaque to note where he had hit his last homer with the team.

Last season Bonds passed Aaron to become Major League Baseball's career home run record leader, packing the stands at AT&T Park on scenic San Francisco Bay. He finished the 2007 season with 762 career home runs.

Bonds, 43, has said he is fit and ready to play, but in a media event Wednesday, team president Peter Magowan said that they would not accept Bonds back, even at a reduced price.

"No, not this team," he said, standing along the first-base line of a ballpark where images of Bonds have been removed. "We're going in a new direction; that would not be going in a new direction. The time has come to turn the page.

"We're very respectful, at least I am, appreciative of all the contributions he made to the Giants over all that long period of time, but the time came when we needed to go in a new direction."

Bonds' legal case is expected to drag out for many months after a federal judge told prosecutors to restructure the indictments against the seven-time National League Most Valuable Player and single-season home run record holder.

With a team that many sports columnists expect to land in last place this year, the Giants face difficulties in building as much excitement as it did in the past season. But Magowan said the team still expected to sell 3 million tickets in 2008.

"If we miss, we are not going to miss by much," he said.

"Last year, we had the benefit of the All Star Game, Barry Bonds' home run chase, the first time we played the Yankees since 1962, three weekend home series with the Dodgers. All of these things increased our attendance about 150,000 last year from where it had been."

Noting the Giants, who mark their half-century anniversary in San Francisco in 2008, were in a process of rebuilding, Magowan said: "We're asking our fans to be patient.

"With Barry Bonds gone, this is a club at the beginning of a new era."

This is pretty ****ing classless if you ask me. Barry Bonds single handedly saved the franchise and made this team a lot of money by helping set attendance records and now you just erase him from the park? Bonds deserves a ****ing statue outside the stadium and more. A plaque is all he gets? I have no idea of what Giants management is doing anymore but I ****ing hate it. You sucked every penny out of the Barry Bonds experiment and tossed him away like he was nothing. Show some class and let fans remember why there is still a team in San Francisco.

[jpants10]

i'd like to second that motion. i wouldn't necessarily give him a statue, ubt you are correct, he single-handedly saved the giants from the likes of the daryl strawberry's of the league. to only give him a plaque is a slap in the face to barry, to the giants' fans, and to fans of baseball everywhere. what a shame. i would have thought that macgowan had better baseball sense than that. guess not.

[ljshorty89]

I mean, I can see their side of it, but if you're going to remove everything, wait until he's found guilty. I don't think they owe him anything special, but he does deserve slightly better than this.

[realmofotalk]

Michael Jackson has (allegedly) done far worse things than Barry Bonds has (allegedly), so I have to say that Bonds doesn't deserve the same removal of tributes across the facilities that one school had done with Jacko. In short, Bonds deserves better from the Giants. There, I said it. It's more than what the classy Padre fans will offer.

[Doppelgänger]

I think its obvious that they didn't know how to handle the situation. Its a double edge sword really, but I do think they went a little overboard. They don't have to worship the guy, but at least give him some respect at the park.

[HollywoodLeo]

Michael Jackson has (allegedly) done far worse things than Barry Bonds has (allegedly), so I have to say that Bonds doesn't deserve the same removal of tributes across the facilities that one school had done with Jacko. In short, Bonds deserves better from the Giants. There, I said it. It's more than what the classy Padre fans will offer.

I like how you say it's more than what Padres fans offer when none of them have even posted in this thread.

In fact, I'm the only Padres fan who has even read this thread.

That being said, I do agree with LTR's feelings on the subject.

But, naturally, I can't speak for PFF or DK (and you're probably right about them two.)

[realmofotalk]

I like how you say it's more than what Padres fans offer when none of them have even posted in this thread.

What I mean by more is that it's more than nothing. And I'd bet you'd just skimmed over LTR's post and left without replying if it were not for my comment.

[Saber]

They gonna remove the splash hits too?

[browntown653]

I hate Bonds, but I think this is absolutely classless. Roids or not, he was the face of their franchise for the past 10 years or so.

[ljshorty89]

I don't know, I don't think they should have removed everything, but who knows if it was McGowan's choice. Maybe the owner wanted it. Maybe they were worried about fans being disruptive. I don't know for sure, but I agree that even Bonds deserves more respect than this.

[HollywoodLeo]

What I mean by more is that it's more than nothing. And I'd bet you'd just skimmed over LTR's post and left without replying if it were not for my comment.

No, I actually came in here to express agreeence with him, but then I read your retort and changed my wording a bit.

[DravenX]

LOL, I now like the Giants a little more now.

[love_that_reefer]

They gonna remove the splash hits too?

I don't think the Giants have to worry about that this year. I don't see Vizquel or Winn hitting too many in the Cove.

[hot_corner_gurl]

They gonna remove the splash hits too?

I was there at ATT for Friday's game, and the counter was gone. I've been reading everywhere that they're gonna put it back up, but who knows...

[Bear]

I have given much thought to Mr. Bonds, and the Giants management. They have a lot in common with a whore, and her pimp. Now that Bonds the (whore) has no further use to the (pimp) Giants management, they want to distance themselves from the used up whore. They want all reference to the whore (Bonds) removed from the park so no one will remember it was they who hired him, and enabled him in his use of steroids. I do not fault Sabean as much as I fault ownership. He shares some of the guilt, but so do the owners.