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!
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