FanNation

Congrats on hitting number 755!! And when you hit number 756, you can expect me to congratulate you on that, too! You see, I don't buy into the 'sports writers & announcers make the news' stuff that all the other lemmings in TrailerParkLand, USA believe in. I remember your dad - and he was a great ballplayer. It was heartless how he was never 'good enough' for the crass and overbearing NY sports machine. He was a star, and a good, dependable player, and the Yanks were lucky to have him. Just like the Pirates never appreciated the job you did for them. You were loyal to them, but they let you down - not the other way around. I've never heard of you 'holding out' or 'holding up' either the Pirates or the Giants, and your team loyalty is constantly overlooked. You were a home run monster and annual MVP way before the steroids controversy, but the news machine never mentions that. As for how your increased sized is supposedly 'proof' of steroid use, I point to the first and last BB cards of both Hammerin' Hank, and of your godfather, the great Willie Mays!!! Two HOFers with 600+ career homers over 20+ year careers!!! Neither were their 'ol 'slim & trim' selves by years 22, 23, 24... Proof of steroid use??? I DON'T THINK SO!!! But the lemmings will believe anything!!! And nothing burns my butt like the 'discussion' concerning 'performance-enhancing drugs'... Did you know that without valium, HOFer Lou Gehrig never would have been known as the Iron Horse? His ALS required him to take daily doses of valium - and he couldn't have played as long as he did without it!!! And how many players took the field almost daily pumped full of cotisone shots, or xylocaine, or lidocaine, or novacaine? And where does the 'Tommy John ligament surgery' fall in this discussion - you think that isn't performance-enhancing??? Besides, as far as I know, steroids add bulk - muscles - and was primarily used by bodybuilders and NFL linemen to add size - not to hit homeruns. Nobody that ever took steroids 'became' a home run hitter because of taking steroids!!! It just infuriates me, and I can say that I personally think you are not only a great ballplayer, but also a GREAT MAN to have stood up to the continual abuse from the so-called fans and sports reporting machine. Some day the world will be able to look back and see what I see now - A Superman that loved to HIT THAT BALL OUTTA THERE!!!! Thanks for all the years, and thanks for all the memories, and GOOD LUCK on 756!!! I liked Hammerin' Hank, but he is so very, very wrong to not be there. This isn't about him, and it isn't about you - its about BASEBALL, and the record deserves the dignity of his presence. End Of Story. Go Barry!!!