Book Review: Game of Shadows

In the early 2000's us Giants fans read the headlines, but how many of us actually read the fine print? This re-account of those years by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams deliver a hard blow that all Giants fans, and baseball fans, need to endure to grasp what we actually witnessed for a little over a decade. Drugs and cheating were rampant is the bottom line, not only in baseball, but in every sport.

There are downsides to this read, which is a quick 269 pages before getting to their appendix and citing their sources. You'll probably never watch track and field the same way again, virtually everyone is cheating that wins a medal these days. There is also a slight gloom looming over Bonds throughout the book. Like the government probe and MLB sanctions, they wanted a fall guy and Bonds was ripe for the picking. Giants fans, you will not view Bonds in a positive light after reading this. You get a sense of just how immoral he can be in his profession, marriage, and relationships. But, I think it's important that since it was hard for us all to except Bonds's shortcomings then, it's now time to start the healing process by discovering the truth. He did it, he took steroids. He knew what he was doing. Greg Anderson and Victor Conte did not pull the wool over his eyes. Barry Bonds cheated his way into the HR record books, BUT he wasn't the first and he isn't the last.
I find it very disheartening that a white man, and even a Dominican man, among others, could cheat for nearly a decade with no real issues, only to have a black man do the same thing and become totally vilified for it. When McGuire hit 70 there were questions about steroids but everyone was so happy to have the sport be exciting again. When Sosa hit 60 plus homers 4 seasons in a row, yes 4 in a row, everyone gave a "standing O" for the chipper Dominican. Probably a fault to no other but himself Barry was a jerk to the media, and yes, even to fans sometimes, that could have lead to his witch hunt, but there's no denying that he was also the first obvious black man to be juicing and that caught the attention of even politicians to get pissed (looking at you John McCain). No white fans wanted to see black athletes use what white players were using to keep up. Bonds was simply proving a point. He was sick of all the attention "they" were getting. He finally decided; let's see what happens when the best player in baseball uses "the shit" and he was obviously referring to himself.
Steroids tainted baseball before Bonds and it still is rearing it's ugly head now. Ryan Braun (the reigning NL MVP) is juicing, he already tested positive but got off on a technicality. Jose Bautista went from being a 10 to 15 HR journey man to having 50plus HR power just two seasons ago and they say it's because of a leg kick, a f-ing leg kick! David Ortiz was washed up 2 seasons ago but has reclaimed his old form and is known to have failed a test in the past. And it's just sad to watch A-Rod crumple without being on "the shit" these days as he continues to be a shell of himself for the Yankees. Baseball will always have cheaters, we just need to get better at singling them out and holding them accountable instead of trying to figure out how we can make an excuse so they can keep cheating.
In the end this book does back up one theory of mine which is; Barry Bonds belongs in the Hall of Fame. Why? He was a HOFer before entering 1999, plain and simple. It is well known Barry was NOT taking steroids before that time. Guys like McGuire, Sosa, Giambi, and Canseco took them their whole careers so keeping them out makes sense in my mind. But, Bonds was already one of the best players of his generation before he took steroids. What's amazing is how much better he became after juicing, like he said; let's see what happens when the best player takes "the shit."
Game of Shadows is a good read, and I do recommend it. Simply beware of the fact that the press was tired of being ridiculed by Bonds and this re-account of that time period comes across, a little, feeling like pay-back by defaming his character whenever given the chance. There were many more deserving villains than Bonds that should have been the center of books like these. Most notably would be commissioner Bud Selig who allowed his sport to do whatever necessary to get fans butts back in seats. Selig's "blind eye" is much worse than Bonds or any other athlete who cheated because he had the power to stop them and he didn't. Oh by the way; Selig used to own the Brewers, guess what team Ryan Braun plays for?