Proving once again that locals couldn't care less about what the haters in the rest of the country think about Barry Bonds, witness this Kickstarter campaign, to crowdfund "the construction of an 8-foot-plus bronze statue of Barry Bonds, to be installed near AT&T Park."
Bonds, of course, has stats that put him near the top of the heap in terms of all-time great hitters, but he has seen his accomplishments tarnished by allegations -- and an entire book, in fact -- that he took performance-enhancing substances in the midst of baseball's steroids era. The slugger was also the subject of a federal prosecution that claimed he lied to a grand jury about his use of steroids and human growth hormone. In 2011 he was found guilty of obstruction of justice in the case, though a mistrial was declared on three perjury charges.
The #BarryBronze effort to create the statue was put together by four fans of baseball's all-time home run leader and twice-spurned Hall of Fame inductee.
The campaign went live Tuesday at 9 a.m., Hayden Simmons, one of the fans spearheading the campaign, says. As of this writing, the project has 39 backers who have pledged $3,413 toward the goal of $60,000, with 28 days to go.