It all started on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball during the Red Sox/Yankees game on July 6, when Hall of Fame reporter Peter Gammons informed the viewing audience that the Sox have had "internal discussions" about signing the once immortal Barry Bonds, should David Ortiz (on DL since May 31 for wrist injury) be lost for the remainder of the season. Since then, arguments for and against have broken out on local Boston media markets. Though overlooking Bonds’ many past misdeeds to bring his monstrous offensive skills to lefty-friendly Fenway Park may seem tempting, it’s just not right. Here are my reasons why.

First of all, Bonds was indicted by the BALCO federal grand jury late last year and again this past May for allegedly lying under oath in December 2003 about his steroid use and other performance-enhancing drugs, offenses that could put him in jail for up to 80 years, if convicted. No other current active major leaguer is in such trouble with the law and none of the 30 teams, including the Red Sox needs such a major distraction at this or any point in the season, even if Bonds’ perjury trial has been pushed to next March. There have been rumors of other teams interested in Bonds, including both New York teams. But most of them have died down too. As for the Yankees, they can have him as far as I’m concerned [He can reunite with former BALCO boy Jason Giambi].

The second reason Bonds would never come to Boston may have something to do with race. This is a man who told the Boston Globe in 2004 that “Boston is too racist for me. I couldn’t play there.” Bonds made this baseless assertion on the past views of others who played there long ago (including his late father Bobby) and had never been to Boston when he made those comments—he skipped his first chance, the 1999 All-star game at Fenway because of injury. When told by the Globe in 2004 that the racial atmosphere in Boston was a lot more tolerant nowadays than in decades past, Bonds stated: “It ain’t changing. It ain’t changing nowhere.”

In 2005 however, Bonds finally visited Boston, but only because his son Nikolai enrolled in a private school 60 miles west of the city. His last known visit occurred in June of 2007, when the San Francisco Giants played at Fenway Park for the first time since 1912. The Globe wrote just as the series was about to start that Bonds (conveniently) does not have any more “malice” towards Boston, but when asked what he liked about the city, he ducked the question, saying: “I didn't do any sightseeing. I was just there to visit my son.” Thus, whether because of race or other reasons, Barry Bonds is apparently uncomfortable with the idea of being in Boston for any length of time, other than being with family.