Barry Bonds made money for himself and others.

Players knew that Babe Ruth made lots of money but that the Babe helped each of them make more money, too.  In the 1960s golfers knew that Arnold Palmer had lifted golf into an unprecedented era of money, not just for himself, but for all of them.

There are other examples but it's odd that modern baseball players chose to ignore the truism that star players make money for all players.  Fans are interested in stars.  The bigger, the better.

Finally a current baseball player has expressed that.

As Bonds returns, one player thanks him for 'riches'
Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY Sports 4:42 p.m. EDT March 9, 2014

Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Eric Chavez ... who has made some $81 million in his career – says Bonds should be welcomed by players, owners and Major League Baseball itself.

Bonds, McGwire, and Sammy Sosa, he says, made all of them rich...

"Personally, I want to thank them."  ...

According to Forbes, MLB had revenues of $1.5 billion in 1995, the year after the World Series was canceled. In 2013, revenue exceeded $8 billion, and could reach $9 billion in 2014.
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U.S. Marshals Service mug shot of Barry Bonds
November 15, 2007 via Wikimedia Commons

Barry Bonds is in training camp for a week with his old team, the San Francisco Giants.  It's the first time Bonds has been with the Giants since his team dumped him after he was no longer worth the trouble of dealing with his declining reputation for using performance enhancing drugs (PED), including steroids.  Bonds was blacklisted by all teams in the Major Baseball League (MBL).

This despite the fact that, although his legs were shot, Bonds still led the National Conference in both walks and on base average in each of his final two seasons 2006 and 2007 when Bonds was 42.  The Giants refused to give Bonds a new contract.  Bonds could certainly have been valuable as a designated hitter in the American Conference but none of those teams wanted Bonds.

At the time I thought that Bonds should call their bluff and offer to play for free, maybe for $5 million, which he would give to charity.  It would have been worth it for Bonds but he lacked the imagination and/or character to rehabilitate himself, which must be part of why Bonds is now swallowing his pride and ignoring his blacklisting seven years ago.

Doesn't Bonds realize that Hall of Fame support for Mark McGwire has declined in the years since McGwire confessed to using PED and humbled himself by becoming a regular hitting coach?

And why would the Giants bring Bonds back after dumping him when he was still productive?  Are the Giants trying to rehabilitate the team, a team that made a fortune from the deeds and misdeeds of Barry Bonds?

Finally, has any individual increased his family's net worth during baseball's steroid era more than MBL commissioner Allen Huber "Bud" Selig, the Steroid Sheriff?