Asterisk: Home Runs, Steroids, and the Rush to Judgment [Hardcover]

David Ezra (Author), Mike Schmidt (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2008

Baseball is facing a crisis. Our national pastime is now riddled with accusations, testing, and debates about whether or not records will need to include an asterisk. In attorney David Ezra's new book, Asterisk, he explores the public trials of the baseball community. Are accusations of steroid use justified? Or do today's well-trained players, whose teams play in newly constructed ballparks, shatter records because the game has changed?

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Attorney Ezra' s first book takes up the case of defending newly crowned home-run leader Barry Bonds in the court of public opinion against accusations of steroid usage. Like a high-priced defense attorney explaining the evidence before a jury, Ezra exhausts every angle in excessive detail. [...] Throughout the book he makes the dubious claim that Bonds is the hardest working baseball player in the history of the game. Ezra's tedious arguments reach agonizing levels of inanity. For exhibit one, this is his banana split–to–steroids analogy: Eating banana splits is a great way to gain weight. But if you see a heavy person, you do not have proof that the heavy person eats a lot of banana splits. In fact, the heavy person may not even eat bananas.... Ultimately, readers who make it to the end of Ezra's defense of Bonds will feel like a juror who has been sequestered for six months in a cheap motel—desperately anxious to be excused from the trial. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

David Ezra's Asterisk: Home Runs, Steroids and the Rush to Judgment (Triumph, $24.95) is the kind of book I anticipated after baseball's winter of discontent when legends like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and even nobodies like Chuck Knoblauch were called out on alleged steroid use.

Ezra is a California-based attorney who argues that Bonds is getting a raw deal that he used steroids. Ezra does an excellent job of establishing his case that Bonds takes so many hits because he is one of modern baseball's all-time jerks. He introduces dozens of stories where Bonds was mean to a teammates, fans and the media. Ezra writes, "Any decent attorney knows one way to increase the chances of getting a good result for a client is to enable the decision maker to sympathize with the client." Ezra also challenges the critically acclaimed Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams book Game of Shadows, suggesting that they started writing with predetermined conclusions and worked backward to make the evidence fit these conclusions. Interesting.

Ezra makes a big deal on how there's been no change in Bonds' arm size since 1995, citing the same protective arm molds made by certified orthotist Mark Silva. I still don't buy it. Look at pictures from Bonds' days with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bonds' head is now the size of a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade compared to his Pirate-era face. But baseball is about debate, which is why Asterisk is worth picking up. I just hope Ezra isn't counting on sales from Bonds fans. -- Chicago Sun-Times, Dave Hoekstra, March 30, 2008

Despite setting a new career home run record in 2007, Barry Bonds has been reviled by fans and baseball insiders for using steroids. Numerous books have attacked Bonds for his assumed transgressions, but here the San Francisco Giant slugger finds a defender. Ezra argues that Bonds' abrasive personality has resulted in a classic rush to judgment. Because nobody likes Barry, everyone is upset about him displacing the revered Hank Aaron in the record book. But the only evidence of Bonds' steroid use is circumstantial. The Bad Barry camp says Bonds is bigger than he used to be. Ezra says fine, but that doesn't prove steroid use. He counters with testimony from those who observed Bonds' brutal work-out and off-season training regimen. Detractors say no athlete has ever improved as much as Bonds during what should have been the twilight of his career. Ezra agrees but doesn't see the irrefutable causal relationship to steroid abuse. Until there is a "smoking needle," the argument goes, Bonds has been convicted in the court of public opinion for all the wrong reasons. Many will disagree with Ezra's conclusions, but he presents his position thoughtfully in what is a care-fully researched book.--Wes Lukowsky -- Booklist, December 15, 2007

Maybe attorney David Ezra has outsmarted Sisyphus and found a way to get massive boulders up and over the hill.

In any case, he has chosen a steep uphill battle in "Asterisk," in which he tries to roll back the all-but-universally held opinion that Barry Bonds had help from steroids these past several seasons as he humbled pitchers and home run fences.

Having broken Mark McGwire's single-season home run record and then Hank Aaron's career mark, Bonds has become the textbook case of how an athlete undermines a sport by cheating. Many of the arguments used against Bonds -- changes in appearance, surges in statistics -- are used against others who are suspected of steroid use.

Bonds was indicted last year on federal charges of perjury and obstruction of justice over questions of steroid use. Advertisement

But Ezra says the evidence does not merit the suspicion.

Bonds is not, of course, the everyday hero-athlete. His arrogance and meanness have made him reviled. Ezra wisely does not try to convince us that Bonds is a nice guy. But he suggests that fans' hatred of Bonds the man has precipitated a rush to judgment about Bonds the player. Ezra says that the allegations against Bonds found in the 2006 book "Game of Shadows" do not hold up.

"Asterisk" suggests that fans should be able to respect Bonds' talent if they consider it fairly. Before the 1998-1999 offseason, which is when Bonds supposedly began using performance-enhancers, he was clearly one of the best hitters to ever play the game.

Ezra recounts plenty of statistics and some awe-inspiring anecdotes to convince a fair-minded fan that Bonds has great natural talent, an unparalleled work ethic and a genius' understanding of baseball. Of course, many baseball fans already grant this at the same time that we wonder: Given all that talent, why turn to steroids?

If you are willing to accept Ezra's presentation and interpretation of the evidence as accurate, then there is a good chance you will finish the book with some doubts about whether Bonds really did, in fact, turn to performance-enhancing drugs. Ezra assails everything from the motives of the government agents working the case to the character of Bonds' former girlfriend, a key witness, to the ideas that Bonds' size and statistics are evidence of performance-enhancing drugs. Taken at face value, Ezra's counterarguments are effective.

If, on the other hand, you are inclined to check and weigh facts for yourself, you have your work cut out for you. Ezra lists his sources, but there are no footnotes linking the facts he cites to those sources.

When he writes "there was no change in Bonds' arm size after 1995 ... (the orthotist who makes his protective elbow gear) says he hasn't had to re-mold Bonds' arm since 1995," you cannot judge the veracity of the source, much less check it. In a case so notorious, every fact could be crucial, so the sources are key.

That said, if "Game of Shadows" is the case for federal prosecution and the standard of proof is "beyond a reasonable doubt," then the case presented in "Asterisk," if it holds up, raises enough questions that a jury might have to acquit.

(Mike Stadler, associate professor of psychological sciences and associate director of the Honors College at the University of Missouri-Columbia, is author of "The Psychology of Baseball: Inside the Mental Game of the Major League Player.") -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch March 2, 2008 (Mike Stadler)

This is fundamentally a defense of Barry Bonds. Ezra challenges the ready assumption that Bonds became the all-time home-run champ through the use of illicit drugs. Undaunted by the star's almost wholly abrasive personality, he refutes countless "half-truths, speculation, innuendo," etc., pointing to Bonds's innate skills, unprecedented work ethic, and unsurpassed baseball knowledge. Bonds's fans may appreciate this more than others. For public libraries. -- LibraryJournal.com, February 2008

When you check the asterisk on this book, it says, "Home Runs, Steroids, and the Rush to Judgment." It is the contention of this author, a lawyer and baseball fan, that athletes are judged too soon and too harshly.

Specifically, he focuses on the case of Barry Bonds' alleged steroid use and suggests that the condemnation heaped upon him is based on "conjecture" rather than fact. Since there are conflicting accounts about when he is supposed to have started steroid use -- either in 1998 or 2001 -- the author argues that accusers should proceed with care.

He also discusses Bonds' bad-boy reputation in the league as a probable cause of easy guilt rather than sound evidence. Even if the author can't convince the reader of his beliefs, he may very well cause a reconsideration of the evidence. -- Dennis Lythgoe -- Desert Morning News, March 21, 2008

With a media-culture which salivates at the prospect of the next big story, it's easy to see how everyone in any kind of spotlight is a quick and easy target, and today we are all well aware that even the most successful professional athletes are no exception. In "Asterisk" author and acclaimed legal commentator David Ezra takes a closer look at the use of-- or accusation thereof-- performance enhancing drugs. Through this searingly insightful glimpse into the legal, media, and athletic side of investigating the use of these drugs, Ezra begins with the well known case of Barry Bonds and sets out to exonerate the star. This book sheds new light on just what it means to cheat. -- Strand Bookstore, February 2008

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books; 1st ed edition (February 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600780628
• ISBN-13: 978-1600780622
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #657,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Asterisk: Home Runs, Steroids, and the Rush to Judgment, March 10, 2008

By 

Sally Sails "Windy" (Laguna Niguel, Ca USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asterisk: Home Runs, Steroids, and the Rush to Judgment (Hardcover)

I am not a baseball fan, or follow the stories about athletes using steroids. I was very surprised, and found myself turning the pages and inhaling the information. I enjoyed this book because its entertaining, and informative.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Well-Written Book, January 7, 2010

By 

Mike (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asterisk: Home Runs, Steroids, and the Rush to Judgment (Hardcover)

Ezra certainly did his research before writing this book. It is clear that there is a strong case to make that Barry Bonds never once used a steroid, and an even stronger case that if he did use them, that they did not lead to his extraordinary success. The author backs each of his arguments strongly, using quotes, facts, and statistics that keep the reader engaged. He also doesn't hesitate to bash the book "Game of Shadows," and I think he brings up several interesting points. Bonds has always been a complete jerk, so many of us would love to see him go down in infamy. Unfortunately for such people, the facts just don't line up. Why would Anderson lie? Why has no one ever seen Bonds with steroids? Why did Novitzky fail to record his conversation with Conte? With so many out to get Bonds, I do not understand why we still do not have clear-cut evidence linking Bonds to steroids. Overall, a great, fast read for any baseball fan, and anyone who feels Barry Bonds does not belong in the Hall of Fame.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Balanced and Fair Reveiw of Bonds and Steroids, June 18, 2008

By 

steelerswildatsr1 "steelerswildatsr1" (AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asterisk: Home Runs, Steroids, and the Rush to Judgment (Hardcover)

This was a GREAT book. It does not sugar-coat Bonds instead it challenges the beliefs/charges. It gives very clear and obvious flaws to the "evidence" and "belief" that Bonds cheated. We will not know if he cheated until he admits it. The trial will not bear out whether he actually cheated. Read this book and open your eyes to the possibility that we witnessed one of the most amazing athletes that every played the hardest game every invented. Under no circumstances should any man, woman or child be "convicted" just because they are the biggest jerks on the planet. Ted fell into that category and he was not nearly as revered as he should have been. Unfortunately, once the bell has been rung...it cannot be UNrung.