Barry Bonds & Pete Rose: They Should Have Known, Nobody Is Above The Game.

I know it's because of the era I grew up watching, but it looks as stupid no matter how I look at it. Pete Rose got EXACTLY what he knew was coming, and he kept on betting. He was not and still is not bigger than the game, as he has found out. Barry kept on using even after speculation he was using PED's came up. If Barry Bonds never gets into the hall, I'm ok with that as long as Pete does not. Not that I think cheating like Bonds did isn't much worse than what Pete did, but both thought they could just keep getting away with it. Nobody is allowed to be above the game, period

Pete Rose burst onto the baseball scene in 1963 and never really looked back till he came back to 'The Big Red Machine' as a player manager, and was finally dropped as a player in 1986. He epitomized what it was to be a baseball player in America throughout the 1960's and 1970's. He was clean shaven, barrel chested, and he hustled, period. From exhibition games to All-Star games (which he played in 17 of) to the World Series (he won 3 of them too), Pete was always at 0 or 100, no room for slack even on walks. His father instilled into him the energy, he knew it was the driving source inside of his boy. His competitive fury and passion for the game was unmatched. At any rate, Pete was a American hero, but he had a side nobody ever wanted to see. Pete was terribly jealous of success of his fellow ball players, a compulsive liar, and had a gambling problem that extended to the very team he played for and managed. Everyone knows that if you have a upper hand in a game, and you lay money on it, it's cheating. 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson learned it the hard way in 1919, he never saw the game again either, and he was a lot less guilty (if there is such a thing). Pete Rose knew that if he got caught doing what he was doing, whether he bet on his own team or not, he would be punished with banishment, and apparently it didn't matter to Pete then because he thought he could get away with it. He thought things would just blow over, because he was the best, he was Pete Rose. He got questioned and lied, bold faced lied. It took Pete more than 20 years to come clean. Well, we all know who you are, sir, but you should never see the inside of Cooperstown. Pete's love, dedication, and dependency to the game of baseball led him to put his money into it as well, a shameful and sad decision that will probably keep one of the best to ever see a baseball diamond out of his rightful home, the Hall of Fame.

Barry Bonds was born with baseball in his blood. His father Bobby played, and more famously, his Godfather Willie Mays, was in his own right a American idol. From college, to Arizona State, to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates, to finally the San Fransisco Giants, Barry was a star that could never be put out, a rise that he was determined to make. He could hit for average (a career .298 hitter), power (762 career home-runs), and he could also play defense well(as a 8 time GG award recipient). Barry was not as well loved though, not like the aforementioned Pete Rose. He was not fond of the media, and sometimes he was not even fond of his teammates (see Jeff Kent). Bonds didn't sign many autographs outside of his home parks, and he most assuredly wasn't out kissing babies. Barry always felt slighted by a lack of attention, and Mark McGwire's homerun chase was probably the straw that broke the steroid camels back, at least on Barry's side. He got real big and he started mashing. The cream and the clear were really doing the trick, and this was all after baseball was starting to realize the problem in the sport. I'm not going to lie to you and say I was not a fan, but I know he cheated, and had he fessed up about it I might not have a problem with it now, but he didn't. Bonds, even worse still, went in front of a grand jury and lied about it. He's getting just a slap on the wrist now from the legal side of things, but I highly doubt he'll ever see anything but a visitors pass from the Hall of Fame. Barry could very well of gone down as one of if not the best player in a century had he not used steroids. He could perform at every level of the game and had no other reason than jealousy to use drugs to get a even bigger edge. Call me old fashioned, but I like my cheaters to come to when they get caught.

In the end, both players will be remembered more for what they did outside of the game rather than what they did for it. Both were supreme talents with supreme attitudes. Both players had talent baseball had never seen before, and both failed to see the line that had always been drawn in the sand. When players that caliber cross that line there can only be two reasons for it, jealousy and greed, bottom line. I really appreciate everyone for reading and thanks so much for the support!