Fan clarifies reports on Bonds "refusal to sign ball"....

[RedBean]

Looks like another case of the sports media twisting things around and painting Bonds in a negative light to influence people's perceptions. And as expected, not many outlets are running the followup or corrections to their previous misrepresentation of the facts.

The much ballyhooed "refusal" by Barry to sign the homerun ball, apparently never happened.

Carlos Oliveras, the fan who caught the ball, appeared on ESPN's Cold Pizza today and said he wanted to clarify that despite many reports, Bonds never refused to sign the ball. In fact, he said that he was more concerned with getting his picture with Bonds and got caught up in the moment and wasn't concerned with getting the ball signed. He said that in the meeting with Bonds after the news conference, he didn't ask him to sign the ball, only about taking a picture with him.

Once again, when he met with Bonds after the news conference, he asked for a pitcure, and Barry obliged. He didn't ask for an autograph, thus Barry didn't refuse.

He also concluded with saying Bonds was a great person, and a great guy, and he was thrilled with the experience of meeting him.

But then again, that isn't what many in the sports media want you to believe, so they just run with the story of the big bad wolf refusing to sign the ball, despite the actual truth running to the contrary.

Years from now, many folks will remember the story as Barry "refusing to sign the guys ball", instead of remembering the actual truth behind the events.

Funny how it works, a misrepresented story is front page news across the wire when it paints him negatively, but when the clarification comes out, it isn't in sports media's interest to divulge it.

[prohornblower]

Did he sign #712? What about #711?

Who cares? IMO, only #'s 755, 756, and his possible last homerun ball should be worth money.

[New001]

That's a problem with all media (generally), not just the sports media.

[RedBean]

[ QUOTE ]
Did he sign #712? What about #711?

Who cares? IMO, only #'s 755, 756, and his possible last homerun ball should be worth money.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree about it not being a big deal whether he signed or not. I just found it interesting that practically every major sports media outlet reported within hours after the event that he explicitly refused to sign the ball at the fan's request, but yet we learn from the fan himself a few days later that it wasn't anything like that.

The media blatantly splashes fabrications about him in the headlines, then the truth finally unveils itself. Makes you wonder what other lies the media has pulled over the eyes of everyone regarding Bonds.

[Bulldog]

Some journalism professor somewhere is going to use this to make a point, to each of his classes for the next twenty years, about the overzealous nature of the media, especially in this day and age where it is more important to report (and provide opinions of) news quickly than accurately (or intelligently).

"Class, remember a story from 2006 about when baseball player Barry Bonds hit a historic homerun, then refused to sign the ball for the serviceman who caught it?"

"Yes, sir, I remember that story vividly. What a jerk."

"How many of you remember the story from two days later that the fan said he never asked for the autograph, and that the media got it all wrong?"

(crickets)

[prohornblower]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Did he sign #712? What about #711?

Who cares? IMO, only #'s 755, 756, and his possible last homerun ball should be worth money.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree about it not being a big deal whether he signed or not. I just found it interesting that practically every major sports media outlet reported within hours after the event that he explicitly refused to sign the ball at the fan's request, but yet we learn from the fan himself a few days later that it wasn't anything like that.

The media blatantly splashes fabrications about him in the headlines, then the truth finally unveils itself. Makes you wonder what other lies the media has pulled over the eyes of everyone regarding Bonds.

[/ QUOTE ]

ESPN gets bonus points. They hype the story up...then the get the guy to come onto THEIR network and explain things. Things that ESPN helped perpetuate.

I [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] ESPN.

[bravos1]

tl; dr

BUT.. who really cares? Players refuse autographs all the time. BYW, why is 713 any more special than 712, or 711, 710, etc. other than it being one more?

[asb165]

610 radio in Philadelphia is playing the clip from the press conference where the fan clearly asks "Will you sign the ball for me?"

[RedBean]

[ QUOTE ]
610 radio in Philadelphia is playing the clip from the press conference where the fan clearly asks "Will you sign the ball for me?"

[/ QUOTE ]

Did you have the link of Bonds saying "No, I refuse to sign the ball."?

Of course not, because it doesn't exist.

As the fan explained in his interview, during the press conference, he asked for the ball to be signed. After the conference, Giants PR people arranged a private meeting with Barry and the fan, at which point he was excited and asked for a picture with Barry and they chatted for a few minutes, and as he explained clearly in the interview, he totally forgot in the excitement of the moment to ask Barry to sign the ball.

Again, he asked in the press conference, so Barry's people setup a meeting afterwards to spend time with the fan, at which point he requested a picture, and Barry obliged.

Afterwards, the media combined his first request, with the result of the ball not being signed, and concocted a false story that Barry refused to sign the ball.

A blatant misrepresentation of what really happened.

But that's okay, because people don't want the truth, they just want reassurances that Bonds is the big bad wolf, whether tru or not, because it reaffirms their need to hate him for hitting a baseball far.

[asb165]

Sorry, but there are more than enough documented instances of Bonds doing much worse things than this that have already convinced me that he is a bad, bad person.

I'm sure that his people didn't set up this meeting for his crappy show on ESPN either.