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Barry Bonds

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Barry Bonds (born July 24 1964 in Riverside, California) is a left fielder for Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants. He holds many MLB records, including most home runs in a single season (73) and is second on the all-time career home runs list at 721, trailing only Hank Aaron's career total of 755, and National League record of 733. Bonds is generally thought of as being one of the greatest hitters of all time along with legends such as Ted Williams, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. He is also considered by many to be one of the best all around players in the history of baseball.

Since 2003, Bonds has been a key figure at the center of the BALCO scandal, and a number of journalists have alleged that Bonds used steroids or other performance-enhancing substances.

Contents

Background

Bonds is the son of former All-Star Bobby Bonds. He graduated in 1983 from Junipero Serra High School (San Mateo, California), excelling in baseball, basketball, and football. 
Bonds' uncanny combination of speed and power in the early and middle stages of his career recalled his father's abilities, though it is generally held that Barry is an even more talented player than Bobby was. In addition to his famous father, Bonds has an outstanding athletic pedigree: Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays is his godfather; Reggie Jackson, another Hall of Famer, is his distant cousin. His aunt, Rosie Bonds, finished 8th in the Women's 80-meter hurdles (extended to 100-meter hurdles in 1971) at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Bonds writes in his journal that he enjoys watching the FIFA World Cup.



Early Career

Although originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants (the team with which he would later star), Bonds chose to go to college first, playing baseball at Arizona State University. He began his major league career in 1986 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who selected him with the 6th overall pick in the 1985 draft. Bonds played with the Prince William Pirates for the 1985 season (with Bobby Bonilla) and, during the last game of the season, played all nine positions. In 1993, Bonds left the Pirates to sign a lucrative free agent contract (worth a then-record $43.75 million over six years) with the Giants, with whom his father spent the first seven years of his career. 	


Throughout the decade of the 1990s, Bonds was an exceptionally patient hitter and a great slugger who stole bases and played Gold Glove defense.  Bill James ranked Bonds as the best player of the 1990s, noting that his selection for the 1990s' 2nd-best player (Craig Biggio) had been closer in production to the decade's 10th-best player than he was to Bonds.   



Resurgence




Bonds in September 1998 game

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Bonds in September 1998 game






In 1999, with only statistics through 1997 being considered, Bonds ranked Number 34 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, making him the highest-ranking active player (next-best was Greg Maddux at Number 39), while Ken Griffey Jr. came in at Number 93. When the Sporting News list was redone in 2005, Bonds jumped up 28 spaces to Number 6 All Time, behind only Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Hank Aaron. However, while Bonds was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team that year, Griffey was actually elected to it.  That same year, baseball historian and sabermetrician Bill James wrote of Bonds, "Certainly the most un-appreciated superstar of my lifetime... Griffey has always been more popular, but Bonds has been a far, far greater player."  As of 1999, James rated Bonds as the 16th best player of all time, even though his career was far from complete.  "When people begin to take in all of his accomplishments," James predicted, "Bonds may well be rated among the five greatest players in the history of the game."


By the year 2000 Bonds was regarded as a surefire Hall of Famer, but it was in the beginning of the next millennium when Bonds would surpass his peers and reach a level of offensive production that only a select few in the history of the game have achieved.  In 2000, at age 36, Bonds hit 49 home runs, the highest total of his career to that time, and in the 2001 season, Bonds hit 73 home runs, the major league record.  Three more seasons of 40+ home runs followed, all of which were statistical oddities for a player at that stage of his career.[link]   In the new millennium, MLB was shrouded with the controvery of steroids.  Even though Bonds has never tested positive, suspision was cast.  During an investigation of BALCO Laboratories Bonds' Grand Jury testimony was illegally leaked and obtained by the media.  In the testimony he admitted he may have unknowingly been given "the clear" and "the cream", when he was told the substances were flaxseed oil.  This ignited much media speculation on Bonds in relation to the BALCO investigation.



2005 injury problems

On March 22, 2005, Bonds announced that he could be sidelined for the rest of the 2005 season because of surgery on his knee. At the press conference, Bonds also indicated that he was frustrated by the focus on his alleged steroid use and the negative portrayal of him in the media. Later, Bonds sounded positive about his rehabilitation and told fans at the Opening Day festivities, "I will be back!" The chances of Bonds' return to the playing field were covered relentlessly throughout the summer by ESPN, in anticipation of potentially unprecedented scrutiny by the media and baseball fans (baseball had toughened its steroid-testing program since Bonds had last played and Bonds was tested regularly even though he did not play). On May 4, Bonds revealed on his website that he had undergone a third arthroscopic knee surgery because of a bacterial infection in his knee. This setback led many to assume that Bonds would not play in the 2005 season, and in the process raised much speculation as to whether Hank Aaron's career home run record of 755 would ultimately be out of Bonds' reach. 	


On August 1, in an interview with MLB.com, Bonds stated that he would most likely not return before the end of the 2005 season, due to continued buildup of fluid in the knee. On August 5, though, he stated on his website that while he was unsure of his status, he remained optimistic. 			 
In September, Bonds started working out with the team while they were in Los Angeles to play the Dodgers. On September 10, the Giants announced that Bonds would be activated on September 12. He was indeed activated that day, and immediately returned to being a starter in left field. In his return against the San Diego Padres, he nearly hit a home run in his first at-bat, but the ball was ruled to be only a double due to fan interference. Bonds finished the night 1-for-4 with a double. Upon his return, Bonds mostly continued his pre-injury dominance at the plate, hitting home runs in four consecutive games from September 18 to September 21 and finishing with five in only 14 games.



2006 season




A sign counts up to Barry Bonds' 714th home run

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A sign counts up to Barry Bonds' 714th home run






On February 19, 2006, Bonds announced in an interview with USA Today that he plans on retiring at the conclusion of the 2006 season, with or without the all-time home run record. "I've never cared about records anyway," he said, "so what difference does it make? Right now, I'm telling you, I don't even want to play next year. Baseball is a fun sport. But I'm not having fun...I love the game of baseball itself, but I don't like what it's turned out to be. I'm not mad at anybody. It's just that right now I am not proud to be a baseball player."[link]


On March 9, 2006, after his first game of the preseason with the San Francisco Giants, Bonds said that he would know around the All-Star Break and in a time period ranging from July to August 2006, whether or not he would be returning for the 2007 MLB season.


Bonds started the 2006 season with a slump.  Bonds hit under .200 for his first 10 games of the season.  Bonds didn't hit a home run until April 22nd, it was his biggest home run slump since the 1998 season.


In a 2005 interview with MLB.com, Bonds stated that he could play into 2007 if he remains healthy and if he is close to Aaron's 755 home runs, although he also noted that he might retire before then if he is able to win a World Series title. [link] Bonds' current total, as of his last home run of July 16, 2006  is 721.



Achievements




Home runs








Home runs and Stolen Bases

		 



Walks






Other Records









Chasing the all-time home run record

On May 7, 2006, Bonds drew within one home run of tying Babe Ruth for second place, hitting his 713th career home run into the second level of Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, off pitcher Jon Lieber in an ESPN nationally-televised game in which the Giants lost to the Philadelphia Phillies. The towering home run, which was one of the longest in Citizens Bank Park's two season history, traveling an estimated 450 feet, hit off the facade of the third deck in right field and was Bonds' first pulled home run of the 2006 season.  Curiously, and perhaps revealingly, the jeers from the Philadelphia crowd that had haunted Bonds earlier that night turned noticeably into cheers as he completed his swing, watched the flight of the ball, rounded the bases, and touched home plate, all this to flashbulbs exploding everywhere throughout the stands.  The mixed and often paradoxical reaction to Bonds' impending achievement exemplifies the polarizing effect of his controversial career on baseball aficionados and casual observers alike.  Some have ventured to say that while many fans hate Bonds, they all come to the park to see him play.


On May 20, 2006, Bonds tied Ruth, hitting his 714th career home run to deep right field to lead off the top of the 2nd inning with a 1-1 count.  The home run came off of left handed pitcher Brad Halsey of the Oakland A's, in an interleague game played in Oakland, California at the McAfee Coliseum (formerly known as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum or the Oakland Coliseum). Since this was an interleague game at an American League stadium, Bonds was batting as the designated hitter in the cleanup spot in the lineup for the Giants. The Bambino's 714 mark was tied by Bonds who hits left handed, the pitcher Halsey pitches left handed, and the fan who caught it, Tyler Snyder is left handed; all this to tie arguably the best left handed hitter in history. Echoing the comment Aaron made when he reached the 715 mark 32 years earlier. Bonds, like Aaron needed more at bats, however to break the record. Bonds was quoted after the game as being "just glad it's over with" and stated that more attention could be focused on Albert Pujols, the heir apparent to Bonds. Bonds went 1 for 3 with 2 walks, a run and an RBI for the day in a 4-2 victory over the Rockies as designated hitter batting cleanup.


On May 28, 2006, Bonds passed Ruth, [link] hitting his 715th career home run to center field off of Colorado Rockies pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim. It came on a 3-2 pitch, with one man on base, in the bottom of the fourth inning of the final game of a home stand at AT&T Park.  The ball was hit an estimated 445 feet into center field where it went through the hands of several fans but then fell onto an elevated platform in center field. Then it rolled off the platform where Andrew Morbitzer, a 38-year-old San Francisco resident, caught the ball while he was in line at a concession stand.  Mysteriously, broadcaster Dave Flemming's radio play-by-play of the home run went silent just as the ball was hit, apparently from a microphone failure.  But the televised version, called by Duane Kuiper, was not affected.  This historic home run was not officially celebrated by MLB; however, the Giants organization unfurled two large banners from light standards alongside the scoreboard in center field to honor the event.  And as Bonds took his position in left field at the top of the fifth inning, Ed Montague, the long-time National League and MLB umpire and crew chief who was officiating at second base for this game, approached Bonds to congratulate him, and the two hugged.  Bonds went 2 for 3 with a walk, run scored and two RBI for the day in a 6-3 loss to the Rockies while batting cleanup and playing left field.



Salary

Bonds re-signed with the Giants for a five-year, $90 million contract in January 2002. His salary for the 2005 season was $22 million, the second-highest salary in Major League Baseball (the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez earned the highest, $25.2 million). In 2006 Bonds will earn $20 million (not including bonuses), the fourth highest salary in Baseball. Not including the 2006 season, he has made $153 million in his 19 year career.



Controversy


The BALCO Scandal




Barry Bonds on the March 13, 2006 cover of Sports Illustrated

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Barry Bonds on the March 13, 2006 cover of Sports Illustrated






In 2003, Bonds became embroiled in a scandal when Greg Anderson of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, Bonds' trainer since 2000, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and charged with supplying anabolic steroids to athletes, including a number of baseball players. This led to speculation that Bonds had used performance-enhancing drugs during a time when there was no mandatory testing in Major League Baseball. Bonds declared his innocence, attributing his changed physique and increased power to a strict regimen of bodybuilding and legitimate dietary supplements.  

During grand jury testimony on December 4, 2003 — which was obtained through unknown means by the San Francisco Chronicle (leaking grand jury testimony is a felony) and published almost a year later, on December 3, 2004 [link] — Bonds allegedly said Anderson gave him a rubbing balm and a liquid substance he called "the cream" and "the clear". BALCO founder Victor Conte had identified "the clear" as the designer steroid THG, and prosecutors contended "the cream" was a testosterone-based ointment. Bonds said that at the time he did not believe them to be steroids, deeming instead that they were flaxseed oil and arthritis cream. 

In August 2005, all four defendants in the BALCO steroid scandal trial, including Anderson, struck deals with federal prosecutors that did not require them to reveal names of athletes who may have used banned drugs.



Perjury Investigation

On April 13, 2006, CNN reported that federal investigators were looking into whether or not Bonds committed perjury during his 2003 grand jury testimony relating to the BALCO steroids scandal (see "The BALCO Scandal", above) [link]. In the time since CNN broke the story, other news sources, including the San Francisco Chronicle and ESPN, have reported it, as well. According to these sources, the United States Attorney's Office in San Francisco has brought evidence before another grand jury to determine if Bonds should be indicted. Before testifying to the original grand jury (in 2003), witnesses were told that the they could not be charged with any crime other than perjury based on their testimony.  


On July 5, 2006, Greg Anderson was found in contempt of court by U.S. District Judge William Alsup for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury investigating perjury accusations against Bonds.  [link]  Anderson was denied bail and immediately sent to the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California.  Anderson's attorney, Mark Geragos, said he would file an appeal based on his assertion that the subpoena to testify violated Anderson's plea bargain agreement in the BALCO case. [link] Regardless of the success of the appeal, Anderson will be released when the grand jury's term expires, in a few weeks.


On July 11, 2006, it was reported that MLB officials expected Bonds to be indicted on perjury and tax evasion charges as early as one week from that day. [link].  Attorneys for Bonds have also indicated that they are preparing for a possible indictment, although the slugger's chief lawyer does not expect one at this time. [link]



Player's Union

Bonds withdrew from the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) union's licensing agreement because he felt independent marketing deals would be more economically viable for him. His name and likeness can not be used in any merchandise, even if the company strikes a deal with the MLBPA.  In order to use his name or likeness, a company must deal with Barry himself.  For this reason he does not appear in some baseball video games, forcing game-makers to create generic athletes to replace him.  For example, in MVP Baseball 2005 Barry Bonds's likeness is replaced by a white man with a beard named Jon Dowd.



Bonds on Bonds

In April of 2006, ESPN premiered a new 10-part reality TV series starring Bonds.  The show, titled Bonds on Bonds, revolves on the life of Bonds and his chase of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron's home run records, but has mostly been met with public indifference.  It is produced by Tollin/Robbins Productions, producers of the Nickelodeon series All That and many other shows and movies.  Currently, this show is on hiatus.


The first segment of Bonds on Bonds, aired Tuesday, April 4 nationwide on ESPN2.  Much of the premiere episode dealt with how Bonds has coped with questions about whether steroids have fueled his athletic performance.  At one point, Bonds even started to break down in tears.  "If it makes them happy to go out of their way to try to destroy me, go right ahead.  You can't hurt me any more than you've already hurt me," he said.  He continued by saying, "You don't see me bringing anyone else into this. I'm going to take it myself."  Bonds paused as his eyes welled and he choked back tears, "And I'm going to take it because there's so many people who depend on me."


In different segments throughout the program, Bonds acknowledged his often rocky relations with the press but cast himself as a victim of critics out to tear him down.  He described himself as "mentally and emotionally drained"  but insisted he was not going to let anyone "bring me down."



Love Me, Hate Me

In May of 2006, former Sports Illustrated writer Jeff Pearlman released a scathing unauthorized biography of Bonds entitled Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Anti-Hero. Though obscured by Game of Shadows, the book offered a rare insight into Bonds. Perhaps most noteworthy were the details of his three years at Arizona State University, during which time Bonds was voted off the team by a 22-2 margin by teammates. The vote came after head coach Jim Brock had suspended Bonds for violating multiple team rules. "I'd never seen the expression on Jim Brock's face that I saw right there," ASU hitting coach Jeff Pentland told Pearlman. "Absolute shock. It was obviously a plan to have the vote come out in favor of Barry, and it backfired." Brock overruled his players and allowed Bonds back. 


Love Me, Hate Me also provided the insight of Jay Canizaro, a former Giants second baseman who told Pearlman that Bonds had begun using steroids after the 1998 baseball season. Canizaro, who admitted to have used steroids while at Oklahoma State, said Bonds reported to spring training with remarkable additional muscle, an acne-coated back and a new trainer--Greg Anderson. According to Love Me, Hate Me, Canizaro approached Anderson and asked what Bonds was using. "He was calling out Deca-Durabolin and testosterone and all different things that were steroids and hormones," said Canizaro. "Then he told me he could easily put a cocktail together for me, too."
[link]



Accomplishments



Career statistics (as of July 16, 2006)


 	 
Year Ag Tm  Lg   G   AB   R   H  2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO  BA   OBP  SLG TB  SH SF IBB HBP GDP 	 
+---+--+---+--++---++---+---+---+--+--+--+---+--+--+---+---+----+----+----+---+--+--+---+---+---+ 	 
1986 22 PIT NL  113  413  72  92 26  3 16  48 36  7  65 102 .223 .330 .416 172  2  2   2  2   4 	 
1987 23 PIT NL  150  551  99 144 34  9 25  59 32 10  54  88 .261 .329 .492 271  0  3   3  3   4 	 
1988 24 PIT NL  144  538  97 152 30  5 24  58 17 11  72  82 .283 .368 .491 264  0  2  14  2   3 	 
1989 25 PIT NL  159  580  96 144 34  6 19  58 32 10  93  93 .248 .351 .426 247  1  4  22  1   9 	 
1990 26 PIT NL  151  519 104 156 32  3 33 114 52 13  93  83 .301 .406 .565 293  0  6  15  3   8 	 
1991 27 PIT NL  153  510  95 149 28  5 25 116 43 13 107  73 .292 .410 .514 262  0 13  25  4   8 	 
1992 28 PIT NL  140  473 109 147 36  5 34 103 39  8 127  69 .311 .456 .624 295  0  7  32  5   9 	 
1993 29 SFG NL  159  539 129 181 38  4 46 123 29 12 126  79 .336 .458 .677 365  0  7  43  2  11 	 
1994 30 SFG NL  112  391  89 122 18  1 37  81 29  9  74  43 .312 .426 .647 253  0  3  18  6   3 	 
1995 31 SFG NL  144  506 109 149 30  7 33 104 31 10 120  83 .294 .431 .577 292  0  4  22  5  12 	 
1996 32 SFG NL  158  517 122 159 27  3 42 129 40  7 151  76 .308 .461 .615 318  0  6  30  1  11 	 
1997 33 SFG NL  159  532 123 155 26  5 40 101 37  8 145  87 .291 .446 .585 311  0  5  34  8  13 	 
1998 34 SFG NL  156  552 120 167 44  7 37 122 28 12 130  92 .303 .438 .609 336  1  6  29  8  15 	 
1999 35 SFG NL  102  355  91  93 20  2 34  83 15  2  73  62 .262 .389 .617 219  0  3   9  3   6 	 
2000 36 SFG NL  143  480 129 147 28  4 49 106 11  3 117  77 .306 .440 .688 330  0  7  22  3   6 	 
2001 37 SFG NL  153  476 129 156 32  2 73 137 13  3 177  93 .328 .515 .863 411  0  2  35  9   5 	 
2002 38 SFG NL  143  403 117 149 31  2 46 110  9  2 198  47 .370 .582 .799 322  0  2  68  9   4  	 
2003 39 SFG NL  130  390 111 133 22  1 45  90  7  0 148  58 .341 .529 .749 292  0  2  61 10   7 	 
2004 40 SFG NL  147  373 129 135 27  3 45 101  6  1 232  41 .362 .609 .812 303  0  3 120  9   5 	 
2005 41 SFG NL   14   42   8  12  1  0  5  10  0  0   9   6 .286 .404 .667  28  0  1   3  0   0


2006 42 SFG NL   72  198  44  49 11  0 13  40  3  0  77  31 .247 .472 .500  99  0  0  31  7   5
+---+--+---+--++---++---+---+---+--+--+--+---+--+--+---+---+----+----+----+---+--+--+---+---+---+ 	 

 	 




See also





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