Marty Lurie Talks San Francisco Giants Baseball
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Bonds says No, to Boston


Isn’t it ironic that in Boston,
Massachussetts(New England)
a real bastion of Liberalism,
racism still much more
prevalent than in most
other places in the country ?

By Amaury Pi-González
San FranciscoBarry Bonds when asked If
he would be willing to play
in the American League
at the end of his career
as a DH said that he
was willing to play
anyplace but Boston
because the racism
there.

Two Latin players that
told me about racism
in Boston were Luis Tiant
in the 1970’S and
Tony Armas in the 1980’S.
“El Tiante”Tiant who
was born in Cuba and
was one of the best
and most popular
pitchers in Red Sox
history told me how
much the Boston media
wrote about his age,
always insinuate
that he(Tiant)was older
that what he said he
was. “It didn’t matter
If I pitched a one hitter
and beat the Yankees,
next day in the paper
they found something
to put me down”.

Tony Armas who started
with the Pirates played
for the Oakland Athletics
most of his career and
then went to Boston
once told me: “I used to
strike out and there
were always fans
screaming… Go back
to Mexico!”. “I used
to tell them, -at least
send me to my own country
what the hell am I going to
do in Mexico I am from
Venezuela-“.

What proves that in
Boston there is not
just racism but a lot
of ignorance. There is
no coincidence that
the Red Sow were
one of the last teams
to hire black or Latino
players. Boston for
all its political rhetoric
and with all those Ivy
League expensive
schools and all those
“know it all”professors
talking about how
to fix the world
still as racist as you
find in this land.

I do not blame Barry
Bonds for making
that statement, because
it is true. As much as
Barry wants to
retire as a Giant and
owner Peter Magowan
will try to keep him
here in San Francisco
there exist a possibility
that Bonds might leave
San Francisco for an
American League team.

Just the PR of having
Bonds persuing the biggest
record in all Sports should
pay handsomely for the
Giants and he should
stay a Giant the rest
of his playing career.

At the current pace
Barry could tie and
break Hank Aaron’s
record in a couple
of seasons and
the closer he gets
the more seats that
would be occupied at
SBC Park and the most
positive publicity the
Giants organization
would attain.

Mr. Magowan speaks
very highly of
Barry Bonds and I
do believe he would
do his utmost to
retain Barry Bonds
until he retires in
San Francisco. The
Marketing Department
of the Giants could
milk this to the maximum:
-days to honor Barry,
-tributes, number
retirement and who
knows what else.
Maybe the rubber
chicken will go into
Cooperstown with
Barry. After all this
rubber chicken thing
is not ridiculous. This
is what happens in
today’s game where
you need more than
the game to attract the
casual fan. Remember
the Rally Monkey in
Anaheim ? And I
think the Rally Monkey
is at the Cooperstown
Hall of Fame Museum
display that talks about
the 2002 World Series.
So if the Monkey made it
to Cooperstown because
he was a “good luck”
charm for the Angels
to beat the Giants in
the 2002 World Series,
you should not be
surprised if the
Rubber Chicken makes
it also !

Mr.Andy Dolich was
one of the first real
Marketing geniuses
here in the Bay Area.
Dolich won a few
Cleos for his very
innovative promotions
with the Oakland A’S
of the 1980’S.
During the 1987 All Star
Game held at Oakland
and when Andy named
me to the All Star Clout
Committee in Oakland
I remember speaking
with him about Dot Racing
and all that stuff that the
Oakland Athletics were
being criticized by some
Sportstalk host here
in the Bay Area. Well,
most of that stuff that
Andy did in Oakland is
all over baseball today.
In the BOB at Phoenix
they even have a
swimming poll in
right-center field,
forget about Dot Racing
or Kiddy Corner at the
Park…

It would be a shame for
Giants fans not to see
Bonds break the
homerun record
with the Giants
uniform. It all will
come down to
“d-i-n-e-r-o”
as usual.
Or Barry wanting
to retire with a
World Series
Champion Ring
might listen and
take an American
League offer if he
thinks the Giants
are not doing enough
to win a World Series
in San Francisco during
the next couple of
years.

Albert Pujols, Alex
Rodríguez, Vladimir
Guerrero and Barry
Bonds are the players
that most baseball
fans would pay to
see play, but only
one of these is
chasing Babe Ruth
and Hank Aaron.

Even the casual fan
in the country gets
excited about the
Homerun race.
Remember 1998 ?
McGwire-Sosa.
You could walk into
an office and the
receptionist who
may never in her
or his life followed
baseball would be
up-to-date on who
hit the homerun today
Sosa or McGwire.
And that is the power
of the most famous
sports record, the
Home Run Record.

Barry just broke
Rickey Henderson
total walk (career)
record with his
2,191 last Sunday
at SBC Park and
if he stays healthy
he is going to be
on top in just about
every offensive
category in history.
He might end up
with over 2,000
extra base hits
which by itself is
an awesome
accomplishment.
But the 756 Home Run
at SBC Park,
by 2006 would be
one of the greatest
moments in Sports
history. Why would
Mr.Magowan like
to see that happening
in Baltimore, or
Chicago or Anaheim
or even….yes,Oakland !

I say give Bonds what
he wants to keep him
a San Francisco Giant.
This would be an ultimate
business decision, it has
nothing to do if you like
the man or hate him or
whatever you think of
him. It would just make
great business sense.

But I do not blame
Barry for saying he
doesn’t want to play
in Boston, that is
just a normal reaction
from a player that
has been in baseball
long enough to know
about those things.

This year the Boston
Red Sox broadcast all
their games in Spanish
language, home and
away. For the first time.
The organization
could not escape the
fact that in Boston
wearing Red Sox
nation uniforms
are three of the greatest
Latino stars:
Pedro Martínez, Manny
Ramírez and David Ortiz
and also an ever growing
Hispanic population.
But It almost took
an Act of Congress to
get that production
going in Boston because
they talk one game there
about diversity but in
fact If your last name
is not Cavanaugh,O’Reilly,
Kennedy or O’Leary
you still a “foreigner”
to them !
———————————————————–
Amaury Pi-González is on his second season
as Spanish Play by Play Announcer for all
(81)home games of the Seattle Mariners
Spanish Radio Network, with 5 stations
accross the State of Washington
(see: www.spanishmariners.net)with
ex second baseman Julio Cruz doing the
color. Amaury is also on his 10th season
as Spanish Play by Play for the SF Giants
over KZSF 1370 AM(La Caliente 1370 AM).
In February 8, 2004 Pi-González was
inducted into the CSHOF(Cuban Sports
Hall of Fame)in Miami, Florida as a
Sports Journalist/Broadcaster. Amaury
is the Vice President of the Hispanic
Heritage Baseball Museum. A no profit
organization founded in San Francisco
in 1999.

0 comments

1 Anonymous { 07.06.04 at 3:23 pm }

It’s hard for me to fathom how columns can currently be written about Bonds without making at least a reference to the steroid allegations.

I also take issue with the potshots at Boston’s academics. Surely, the author must know that Boston is a very complex town, and that his swipe at intellectuals is distasteful?

2 VegasVic { 07.06.04 at 6:39 pm }

Being raised and to have lived in Boston for nearly forty years I, (unlike Mr. Bonds), can speak on this subject with some first hand knowledge.

Yes there are bigots in Boston.

And safe to say there probably are a few in San Francisco as well, despite all ‘their’ expensive schools and all those “know it all” professors talking about how to fix the world.

What seems to be the message here is not Boston’s tunnel vision within their own society as much as Bond’s narrow view of one city that he obviously has had no first hand experience with. To say and believe the things he has on other people’s opinions about one city would be as senseless as me condemning Bonds for all the hundreds of negative comments I’ve heard through the media about him. I don’t know Barry Bonds for anything more than what I see when I watch him play a game on T.V. And that’s how I choose to judge, (and appreciate), him.

Luis Tiant lived in my hometown through the seventies.. I had the privilege and honor of his company, as well as his wife and mother on more than one occasion. If he said so I don’t doubt that the Boston media treated him poorly by questioning what his true age really was. Matter of fact I remember it very well and he is 100% right. They did harp on it. So this makes Boston racist? The way I see it Mr. Pi-González, this column’s content is far more insulting and intolerant than any emotional abuse Mr. Tiant had to endure regarding the legitimacy of his birth certificate by the Boston media.

Mr. Tiant was loved and appreciated by the fans as much as any white ball player to ever play the game in a Red Sox uniform. Any one of them.

In my humble opinion and from personal experience, I believe the majority of the people in Boston aren’t as concerned with the color of the man’s skin as the color of his character.

3 Anonymous { 09.22.07 at 1:14 pm }

4 Anonymous { 09.22.07 at 1:51 pm }

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