Sports Illustrated reports that a new book provides meticulous detail - and evidence - of Barry Bonds's steroid use over the last eight years. According to the book, Bonds began using steroids and other illegal supplements after the 1998 season, jealous that his 37 home runs received little attention in the shadow of the feats of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa that season.
I won't recount the details here - you can read the article. And if you follow sports news at all, I am sure every gory facet of this story will be unavoidable over the coming weeks and months.
Bonds is just a handful of home runs away from Babe Ruth's career mark, and if he stays healthy and plays he could even pass Hank Aaron's all time total this season or the next. But I'd put even odds that, under pressure from these new revelations, he retires before the season begins, never admitting to anything.
It's not a terrible surprise that there's evidence that Bonds used steroids. But it's still sad, another blemish on this beautiful game, and another distraction that will make baseball less fun to watch and to follow this year.
(The photo above is a picture I took of Barry Bonds two seasons ago at the ballpark formerly known as Bank One Ballpark, in Phoenix. He is the only player I took pictures of. I was just thrilled to have the chance to see him play. Today I just feel sad.)
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