Heh, heh, Bob Dupuy must have been having a bad day or something. After hearing second hand that his own organization was not planning on “marking” the balls used by the Giants during Bonds’ run for Babe Ruth’s record for homeruns for a lefty, he did a quick turn around.
(from ESPN): (He) said the matter had not been brought to his attention until he saw an ESPN.com story, written by Darren Rovell, in which MLB spokesman Pat Courtney was quoted as saying there was no reason to mark the balls because Ruth’s 714 home runs were no longer “the record.”
“I was surprised when I saw Darren’s [story], to be honest with you,” DuPuy said. “And I was surprised we weren’t doing it. I asked why. Nobody had a reason. So I said, ‘We should be doing it.’ “
The best was yet to come from the well-mannered Dupuy. When asked about flip-flopping on the issue because of public pressure, he well, expressed his feelings on the matter:
“You can tell them they’re full of crap, and you can quote me on that.”
You tell him, Bob.
My feeling on matter: One, it’s the right decision to do it. Homerun ball #715 could be worth a lot. I’ve heard figures ranging from $10-25k. For a small price, this could avert future court costs. Not to mention the safety of the fans in the stadium. It’s a sad fact but it’s true.
Second and a small matter… get over yourself, Bob. Maybe it was “public pressure” that brought this to a head. If it weren’t for “public pressure”, your office might have bungled this whole matter.
THE Home Run Record is owned by Hank Aaron not Babe Ruth. That said Hank Aaron hasn’t replaced the legacy of Babe Ruth and neither will Barry Bonds when he passes The Babe. Everybody KNOWS Barry is a result of ROIDS. A juiced ball is one thing, but juicing yourself is quite another. I’m not saying baseball should disregard his accomplishments (or those of other juicers), but as a fan I’m not about to give them their due.