10-16-2004, 11:02 PM
Quote:SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) - San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds has used performance-enhancing drugs, according to quotes from his personal weight trainer.
The San Francisco Chronicle report said trainer Greg Anderson claimed in a recorded conversation last year that the slugger used an undetectable drug during the 2003 season.
"The whole thing is, everything that I've been doing at this point, it's all undetectable," Anderson said in a recording provided to the newspaper. "See, the stuff I have, we created it, and you can't buy it anywhere else but you can take it the day of (the test), pee, and it comes up perfect."
Bonds, who has frequently denied using steroids, hit 45 homers in 130 games in 2003. This past season, the 40-year-old batted .362 with 45 home runs and 101 RBI in 147 games and became only the third major leaguer to reach the 700-homer plateau in a career.
The 38-year-old Anderson is a defendant in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) steroids conspiracy case, in which Bonds, along with Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees , has testified. Anderson was charged with taking part in a steroid distribution ring that provided the substances to professional athletes.
The federal probe of BALCO, a California nutritional supplement lab, has put MLB under scrutiny and was a key component to Congress passing The Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 on Monday.
In 2001, Bonds set the major league record for home runs in a season with 73, eclipsing the mark of 70 reached by Mark McGwire three years earlier. He has won the National League Most Valuable Player award six times and is a favorite to win a seventh this year.
I don't doubt the fact that Bonds and other players know beforehand about the tests. This has honestly just become a huge cloud over his legacy, I know the whole "innocent till proven guilty" but it's kinda become ridiculous at this point. I believe the whole argument that steroids can not make you hit home runs, it doesnt help your hand eye coordination or make you as smart a hitter as bonds is. But it can make a really decent to good homerun hitter into an amazing homerun hitter. I mean all the past greats were pretty consistent in their careers, but its kinda fishy for a guy who never was a 40 homer season guy for 15 years of his career all of sudden closes in on the twilight of his career turns into the greatest power hitter ever. It's not like maybe he was a great hitter for 4 or 5 years and honed his skill and developed into what he is now. He played for 15 seasons before the 73 homer season, 15 years is a career in itself.
It's great to be witness to what he is doing cause its history, its like being have been alive to see Ruth, Mays and all of the rest play but it's kinda sad at the same time.