Mike Lowell is a wise man
Clearly, I’m not the biggest Barry Bonds fan in the world. That said, Gordon Edes transcribes Red Sox third baseman’ Mike Lowell’s reaction to Barry Bonds breaking the home run record, and it’s worth quoting in full: “I watched it when they put it up on the Jumbotron,” he said. “The thing I keep thinking ...
Clearly, I'm not the biggest Barry Bonds fan in the world. That said, Gordon Edes transcribes Red Sox third baseman' Mike Lowell's reaction to Barry Bonds breaking the home run record, and it's worth quoting in full: "I watched it when they put it up on the Jumbotron," he said. "The thing I keep thinking about is the Duke lacrosse thing. If it hadn't turned out the way it did, maybe I'd feel differently. But the media and the whole country thought those lacrosse players were guilty as sin, and they weren't." The Duke players were accused of raping a young woman in their fraternity house, charges that were later dropped, and the district attorney was later disbarred. "When the coach resigned," Lowell said, "I thought to myself, 'Wow, this thing is going to be something really deep,' and it didn't come close to being true. So they reinstated the eligibility of some of those players, but their whole lives were changed. And the seniors, they can never get that year back. "That's why I think the best thing is, until we know more, until there are charges or they find pictures or something, that we recognize this as a legitimate record and hold to the belief that in this country, you're innocent until proven guilty. "Do I believe [performance-enhancing substances] can help someone who is already in the big leagues do better? Yes, I believe that. But do I put Bonds in that category? Everybody has tried to get something on him, and yet he still hasn't been charged with anything. They indicted Michael Vick in 20 minutes because there was something there. But I'm also willing to reserve judgment in the Michael Vick thing." Lowell said he didn't understand why commissioner Bud Selig raised the steroids controversy when Bonds tied Hank Aaron's record Saturday in San Diego. "We all know how [Selig] feels," Lowell said, "so why not just leave it at baseball? If he's wrong, then he's going to look like an [expletive]. If he's right, he can tell us all, 'I told you so.' "But the number is unreal. I'm close to 200 home runs, and that's a number I'm not even dreaming about. People say [Bonds] was a great player already; this just takes him to another level."
Clearly, I’m not the biggest Barry Bonds fan in the world. That said, Gordon Edes transcribes Red Sox third baseman’ Mike Lowell’s reaction to Barry Bonds breaking the home run record, and it’s worth quoting in full:
“I watched it when they put it up on the Jumbotron,” he said. “The thing I keep thinking about is the Duke lacrosse thing. If it hadn’t turned out the way it did, maybe I’d feel differently. But the media and the whole country thought those lacrosse players were guilty as sin, and they weren’t.” The Duke players were accused of raping a young woman in their fraternity house, charges that were later dropped, and the district attorney was later disbarred. “When the coach resigned,” Lowell said, “I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this thing is going to be something really deep,’ and it didn’t come close to being true. So they reinstated the eligibility of some of those players, but their whole lives were changed. And the seniors, they can never get that year back. “That’s why I think the best thing is, until we know more, until there are charges or they find pictures or something, that we recognize this as a legitimate record and hold to the belief that in this country, you’re innocent until proven guilty. “Do I believe [performance-enhancing substances] can help someone who is already in the big leagues do better? Yes, I believe that. But do I put Bonds in that category? Everybody has tried to get something on him, and yet he still hasn’t been charged with anything. They indicted Michael Vick in 20 minutes because there was something there. But I’m also willing to reserve judgment in the Michael Vick thing.” Lowell said he didn’t understand why commissioner Bud Selig raised the steroids controversy when Bonds tied Hank Aaron’s record Saturday in San Diego. “We all know how [Selig] feels,” Lowell said, “so why not just leave it at baseball? If he’s wrong, then he’s going to look like an [expletive]. If he’s right, he can tell us all, ‘I told you so.’ “But the number is unreal. I’m close to 200 home runs, and that’s a number I’m not even dreaming about. People say [Bonds] was a great player already; this just takes him to another level.”
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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