End of an Era: The Legacy of Barry Bonds

Nearly a month ago, San Francisco presented Barry Bonds with the key to the city. Friday, the Giants gave Bonds the keys to the street, announcing that the free agent-to be won't be back next season.

In the press conference announcing the decision, Giants owner Peter Magowan and general manager Brian Sabean lamented the need to part ways with the aging slugger, but both agreed that the time had come.

Now that Bonds is finally gone, though -- albeit one season too late -- we can dissect the merits of his legacy in San Francisco.

Bonds' 15-year reign in the City by the Bay did include some good things.

For starters, Bonds put butts in the seats, first at Candlestick and later at PacBell/ SBC/AT&T Park. Love him or hate him, the guy did some exciting stuff on the baseball field. The statistics are worth checking out.

Bonds had shoulders broad enough to carry the franchise at times. The Giants won the Wild Card in 2002 and the NL West in 1997, 2000, and 2003. And who can forget 1997? When the Giants clinched the division at Candlestick, Bonds stood on the dugout and celebrated with the fans. It's one of my best memories as a Giants fan. And even though San Francisco choked away its World Series hopes in 2002, Bonds was a huge part of the reason the Giants got as close as they did.

And of course, Bonds will be forever associated with the home run ball. The assault -- and I mean assault -- on McGwire's record in 2003 was exhilarating, naive though I was to assume it was legitimate. And though many had grown tired of Bonds' circus act coming into this season, #756 seemed a fitting reward for the remaining loyal fans.

But for all of the seemingly wonderful things that took place on the field, Bonds has been a nightmare off it. For 15 years, it was Barry's world and his teammates, managers, the media and the fans were just living in it.

Jeff Kent was the lone Giant to stand up to Bonds, but I think Kent's frustrations about Bonds' selfishness were the rule rather than the exception. He just happened to be brave enough to act on them. Rick Reilly captured it pretty well back in 2001.

In addition to the dissension Bonds stirred up, a dark, shadowy cloud has followed him around for the past three or four years. Game of Shadows, Love Me, Hate Me, and dozens of other books and articles have implicated Bonds with steroid use. Debate it all you want, but the rumors and legal proceedings have become such a distraction that what happens on the field has become of secondary importance.

Lastly, there is this uneasy sense -- at least in my mind -- that Bonds has inhibited the Giants franchise from moving forward by his insistence upon staying in the game. There is no doubt that Bonds can hit, and it could be argued that he still is the Giants' best hitter. But with the number of games he plays these days, and the lack of turf he covers in left field when he does, Bonds has become a liability.

And when the franchise has to allocate $16 million for 125 games and a headache, that's going to prevent the team from getting better.

Make no mistake about it, Barry Bonds is a heck of a baseball player, and I think he'll be a first ballot Hall of Famer. But he has overstayed his welcome in San Francisco, and as Magowan finally realized, "there comes a time when you have to go in a different direction."

Goodbye, Barry. Goodbye and good riddance.