Posted on 03/07/2006 11:28:47 AM PST by NormsRevenge
NEW YORK (AP) -- Barry Bonds used a vast array of performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids and human growth hormone, for at least five seasons beginning in 1998, according to a book written by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters.
An excerpt of "Game of Shadows," which provides details of the San Francisco slugger's extensive doping program, appears in the March 13 issue of Sports Illustrated.
Bonds, who testified before a San Francisco federal grand jury looking into steroid use by top athletes, repeatedly has denied using performance-enhancing drugs. Phone messages left by The Associated Press seeking comment from his attorney and publicist were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Authors Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, who led the newspaper's coverage of the BALCO scandal, recount in remarkable detail the specifics of Bonds' drug regimen, which they write started in 1998 with injections of Winstrol, a powerful steroid also linked to Rafael Palmeiro.
According to the book, Bonds was using two designer steroids, known as the cream and the clear, plus insulin, human growth hormone and other performance enhancers by 2001, when he hit 73 home runs to break Mark McGwire's single-season record.
The seven-time NL MVP enters this season with 708 homers, seven shy of passing Babe Ruth and 48 from breaking Hank Aaron's career mark.
"Game of Shadows" is scheduled to be published on March 27 by Gotham Books.
The reporters, who based the book on a two-year investigation, included an extensive summary on their sources, including court documents, affidavits filed by BALCO investigators, documents written by federal agents, grand jury testimony, audio recordings and interviews with more than 200 people.
No way! /sarcasm
Just think babe Ruth only needed liquor, cigars, women, and steaks.
Odds are Bonds corks his bat and takes Viagra too.
Shocking! Can't wait to hear how Barry tries to weasel out of this one.
...By 2001, when Bonds broke Mark McGwire's single-season home-run record (70) by belting 73, Bonds was using two designer steroids referred to as the Cream and the Clear, as well as insulin, human growth hormone, testosterone decanoate (a fast-acting steroid known as Mexican beans) and trenbolone, a steroid created to improve the muscle quality of cattle.
BALCO tracked Bonds' usage with doping calendars and folders -- detailing drugs, quantities, intervals,testosterone levels...Bonds used the drugs in virtually every conceivable form: injecting himself with a syringe..swallowing pills, placing drops of liquid under his tongue, and, ... applying it topically.
If Anderson told Bonds he was not due for another cycle, the authors write, Bonds would tell him, "F--- off, I'll do it myself.''
The authors compiled the information (through)..court documents.. confidential memoranda of federal agents...grand jury testimony..
Through 1998..Bonds averaged one home run every 16.1 at bats. Since then ... Bonds has hit ...one every 8.5 at bats).
...Bonds turned to steroids after the 1998 season because he was jealous of McGwire.
...Bonds..dismissed McGwire with .. remarks such as, "They're just letting him do it because he's a white boy." But Bonds ... decided he needed to dramatically increase his muscle mass to compete with him.
Erase his records. And McGwire's. And Sosa's.
Since Baseball is entertainment and the show is put on by paid performers, why do we really care if they juice up?
And that was between innings.
And any player who took "greenies."
Major League Baseball has established a pretty strong precedent by keeping Pete Rose out of the Hall of Fame. Something similar could be done to expunge Bonds from the record books, though the truth of the matter is that any statistic from the last 10-15 years is automatically suspect.
because a lot on impressionable young folks may think they can be like their favorites if they juice up as well.
I can post stories about young players who are dead today due to 'enhancement' drugs because they wanted to be like guys like Barry, Rafael, and McGwire.
I agree , it's only a game after all, or used to be until it became a wealth generating industry.
Now, the question is are the costs worth it to the most innocent amongst us seeking to folowm in their favorite players footsteps?
Some of us had an emotional attachment to the game and gave a damn.
Those of you who have ask these kinds of questions will never get it, so why bother?
I have long believed that Bonds's "injury" that kept him out of most of last year was a deal with baseball for it to be a "win-win". Bonds get's 700 and goes to the Hall and baseball doesn't get the huge black eye. Now with Bonds back and set to break both Ruth and Aaron's records this year, the information suddenly "appears" just prior to the season. Funny how that works.....and yet another reason I no longer watch Major League Baseball.
Because it's unsportsmanlike, unhealthy, and sets a bad example for our children who look up to Baseball players as role models whether we like it or not.
Barry (and Sammy and Mark) didn't care about home runs. They just liked that Neanderthal look.
MLB basically looked the other way as steroid use became widespread in the 1990s -- mainly because ridiculous offensive numbers were good for business.
Kirby Puckett, Don Mattingly, Ozzie Smith, and Tony Gwynn . . . baseball lost a bit of its nostalgic charm with each of these retirements, and it's never been the same since.
Absolutely! Let 'em juice their hearts out! Does anyone complain that rock stars' performances are chemically enhanced? Why is it so different in the arena of sport? I honestly don't understand why people are offended by the use of steroids in this entertainment industry when in other forms of professional entertainment it's okay.
Sigh... so much for Heroes. Say it ain't so Barry, say it ain't so.
I mean, who'd of thought? Most guys develop a sagital crest and a massive jaw for crushing bones in their mid to late thirties, I just figured it was all natural. Like maybe he just started lifting weights.
Well, if, and I do mean IF- this is still unsubstantiated in my mind ("Some guy came up behind me in the shower and shot me in the ass with a hypo, I didn't think nothin' of it!") this is all true, it's surely a revelation. At least they won't be able to do anything to besmirch his wonderful, selfless, upstanding personality off the field.
Owl_Eagle(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
Certainly agree. This is the real downside. My question was intended to be provocative and put the debate is perspective.
Professional sports is an entertainment business. The players are entertainers. Given the distribution of the product, the performance should be suitable for all ages.
Sportsmanship applies only to your teammates and competitors. Collectively, the league. So if all the players decide that they don't anyone using steroids in their league, fine. It seems like a majority of players are okay with it, though.
Lots of things are unhealthy, and a lot more unhealthy than elevating your testosterone. Used responsibly, anabolic steroids are not that dangerous for adult men (they are not at all safe for minors and women, however).
And, assuming that players all agree to just go ahead and use steroids if they want to, where is the bad example?
Hey, not everyone has your natural gifts!
Yeah, this thing couldn't have happened to a "nicer" guy! Barry Bonds has always been an _ss. I can't wait to forget him!
I have a personal friend who tried for years to make an NFL cheerleading squad. More for resume' building purposes that any childish fantasies about being a cheerleader. She tried and was cut 4 or 5 years in a row. She tried a sixth time, made the cut and "started" every game for 3 years. ("Started" meaning she made the performing squad for every game. The cheer squads have starters and reserves just like the team.) The difference? She got a boob job. She could always dance circles around her competitors, but it took a pair of 36 D's to make it.
Why?
It's clear Bonds will cry this s a white racist plot to deny a black athlete his due recognition....
Semper Fi
Well, that's why I said let them juice. Let everyone juice if they want to.
That dows bring up an interesting question, though: since Ruth, and probably quite a few others, were using an illegal substance, should their numbers be tossed out?
Absolutely...and there is something unseemly about the race to distance themselves from the men whose backs they rode.
It's really a shame. I used to love ML Baseball. My wife and I started dating the year the Braves made their first run to the Series in 1991. We went to dozens of games. She gave up, mostly, after the 94 strike. I gave up when they averted the strike in 02 (I think) by sticking their head in the sand and postponing the hard choices until later. Couple AOL's ownership of the Braves and this drug debacle and Baseball is an abject disaster. And Bud Selig has been at the helm the whole time. Un-freaking-believable...
Hmmmm............scribble scribble..............and her name & address would be........? For verification purposes only..........?
"Since Baseball is entertainment and the show is put on by paid performers, why do we really care if they juice up? "
Because these a$$ clowns are sending a message to our kids that you have to cheat to compete.
Even by your usual acerbic standards, that was classic.
You'd have to care about the sport to understand. It's in large part about tradition and history and where your favorite players stack up not just against today's players but against the great players of yesteryear. Hence it's a matter of cheating. I could care less about the long term health impact to Barry Bonds. A few more health problems and fewer kids might be inclined to follow in such heroic footsteps.
If this is really what most baseball fans want, then they should pretty much hate MLB right now. It seems like MLB is doing alright for itself, though.
40 games shorter? How do you figure that? Regular seasons were 152-154 games a year for a long while untli they expanded to 162 in 1961. Now, the playoffs have gotten longer but at most they are 12 games longer (5 divisional and 7 LCS).
We ALL know THAT cannot be a TRUE statement, BECAUSE BLACKS CANNOT EVER BE PREJUDICE. Only WHITES can be. It is a rule the liberals have put in. SO, WE KNOW that Bonds is telling us the truth (wink-wink). Sure. Oh, by the way, I have this bridge in Brooklyn if anyone is interested.
Oh man. perspective ? at FR.. ;-]
Sometimes it seems all we deal with is invective here.
What next, Ultimate fighters steroided out of the minds ?
Shouldn't women also be afforded the full range of pursuits and supplements to achieve success, regardless the risks to health?
I appreciate the provocative angle of your comments. Thanks..
"And, assuming that players all agree to just go ahead and use steroids if they want to, where is the bad example?"
Where does it end? Kids in Jr High now think they have to juice up to compete. If everyone in the big leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) is juiced, then those coming in will have to be juiced to make it and the kids who have played it staight lose out. It becomes a vicious cycle with no end and bad consequences.
The season was 154 games long when Ruth played. PLAYOFFS and WORLD SERIES numbers DO NOT COUNT on a players yearly totals or career numbers. Never have. NONE of Ruth's 714 were world series dingers, only regular season.
Check the "book". Rain outs and train travel==less games
I don't know, I mean, I like watching baseball, I'm trying to follow the WBC and everything, but when I hear people talking about how this is bad because they can't compare the players of yore to guys like A-Rod and Santana, I just kind of turn my ears off, because it's not really a sensible complaint.
There are a million reasons why such comparisons aren't worth a dime, in my opinion, and steroid use is one of the smaller ones. I mean, can I go around saying that Ruth's records shouldn't count because he had it easy not having to play against black players? That he played against an artificially thinned talent pool? Of course I can't. The game was different then. You can say that Ruth was the greatest player of his time, and that's about all you can say. I know that doesn't sell many volumes of the baseball encyclopedias, but that's just the way it is for me.
So given that steriods are being used anyways by most players, that they're not terribly dangerous to adult males, and they players seem, by and large, to be okay with using them, I don't really see a problem with allowing their use.
I'm with you. What's all the fuss about. People can do what they want to improve themselves. It's not my concern.
It just seems that most are inherently self-righteous.
hey, steroids are bad for minors, that's not disputed by anyone. so are cigarettes and alcohol. should adults be prohibited from using those, too?
Now, if you want to compare efficiency, Ruth hit a home run every 11.75 AB's while Bonds has hit 1 every 12.9 AB's. Aaron hit one every 16.4 AB's. That's a better way to compare instead of games per season IMHO.
I wondered how long it would take you to call me out on that one. lol
Good job!
This whole thread has been a good discussion. While we're throwing out stats, let's look at walks. Ruth was walked 0.82 times a game, Bonds 0.85, Aaron, 0.43. What Ruth and Bonds did as far as HR's is quite amazing. Aaron just lasted a hell of a long time as he had almost 4,000 more AB's than Ruth.
At that rate in 13 years one player would play 156 more games {more than a season}
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