Curt Schilling Dishes a No-No at Barry Bonds

In baseball, a pitcher throws a no-hitter when after nine innings of play; a team has been unsuccessful at getting a base hit. A staggering achievement, it is only exceeded when a pitcher throws a perfect game and disallows any batter from reaching first base. This means that he either struck out or caused a team to ground out or fly out of every batting opportunity for the game. No-hitters are a rare event, perfect games even more so.

Major League Baseball, with its rich history and longtime place as America's game had one of its rules broken that no less stunning as a no-hitter when vaunted Boston Red Sox pitcher, Curt Schilling threw a major blow to one of those unspoken rules when he called out the actions of Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire in a recent interview with sportscaster Bob Costas. In a game where the game is supposedly played within the confines of rules, Curt Schilling violated a major one when he broke ranks by serving up Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire on a character platter about their alleged steroid abuse.

Somewhere in the player-to-player world of Major League Baseball, players understand that you do not testify or comment in a way that can be viewed as negative against another ballplayer. Curt Schilling's comments can be viewed as treason within the player's club that makes up Major League Baseball. Players have always abided by the rule that you did not make any comments about another player that could be construed as an attack. Such actions have long been frowned upon as those that played Major League Baseball formed a quasi-fraternity, replete with the notion of never condemning the actions or alleged actions of another player.

What Curt Schilling did in his comments about Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire fall into that no-no category? Despite the fact that many players may believe that Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire used performance enhancing drugs, you have never heard another player make the sort of comments that you heard or read Curt Schilling make when he was interviewed by Bob Costas for a segment of Costas Now. With Barry Bonds approaching the all-time home run record, questions are arising to the validity of the record and whether or not an asterisk should be placed alongside the Bonds achievement.

To date, Barry Bonds has never tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. He has yet to admit to any steroid abuse. So, for Curt Schilling, who has never been a teammate of Bonds to make such a salacious statement breaks the code of silence that all players operate under. In the interview, Schilling stated that while Bonds and McGwire never admitted to using steroids, their lack of legal action towards those that professed their guilt, stipulated some level of guilt. He went on to say if it were him who was being accused, he would sue the pants off the egregious party.

At this point, Barry has filed at least one lawsuit against a local San Francisco newspaper that wrote that Barry Bonds had taken steroids. In 2006, Barry sued two San Francisco Chronicle writers who penned the alleged tales of steroid abuse and cover-up. The case was dropped three months later without incident.

During the interview, Schilling went on to talk further about Bonds and the Playboy article that is coming out this fall from his alleged ex-mistress, Kimberly Bell. The article will entail her account of Bonds' steroid abuse and the entire BALCO fiasco. Bonds has been silent as far as a response to the content of the article and its author who will also have a spread in that particular Playboy issue.

Schilling's comments ratchet up the heat between one of the game's all-time greats and a controversial, yet talented pitcher. In commenting with Costas, Curt Schilling isolates himself from the rest of Major League Baseball and its players by attacking Bonds days before he breaks Henry Aaron's record for home runs. What you see is how outlandish Schilling's comments are. Other greats of the game, like Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey, among others were asking similar lines of question at the recent Major League All-Star Game and what you heard were players admiring the feat and the talents of Barry Bonds. You did not hear them talk about steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. They understand Barry Bonds has been and is, good for the game of baseball.

When the game was on shaky ground, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds propped it on their shoulders and carried it until it could stand on its own feet. In response to the article, Barry Bonds did what he has always done. He chose to move on to something else. He did call Costas a midget, at which Bob Costas responded that he was five foot six inches and one hundred, fifty pounds, naturally. Amidst the tension, classic Costas prevailed and humor erupted. But Schilling broke the rules of the game. And the game always has consequences attached to it.

Schilling will pay for violating the rule with his no-no. Whether players choose to ostracize him or not is unknown. He is rehabbing in the minor leagues. It will be interesting to watch as Barry breaks the record. What else will Curt Schilling have to say? Especially given that a larger portion of pitchers have tested positive for steroids since testing began last season. Will he assail the game needing an asterisk?

Even if Barry used steroids, he has not been the only athlete to do so. If he is guilty, so is baseball. And Schilling, that includes you. If Barry's records get an asterisk, so do yours.