Nov 17, 2007 12:37 am US/Pacific
Indictment Won't Stop Bonds From Playing Next Year
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
We don't know if Barry Bonds will be convicted. We don't know if Barry Bonds will go to prison. We don't know if Barry Bonds will get to the Hall of Fame.
Here's something we do know: His indictment Thursday on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice may not keep baseball's greatest home run hitter off the field next season.
The charges against Bonds for allegedly lying to a grand jury in the BALCO steroids investigation certainly darken the shadow over the game's most storied record. They definitely give fans a further reason to shout about drugs.
As for hurting his job prospects? Not likely.
Be it a top-name slugger say, Jason Giambi or a middle reliever as in, Guillermo Mota the taint of scandal has hardly ever stopped anyone from playing. Especially if they keep producing.
Sammy Sosa got another chance. So did Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Dave Parker and Keith Hernandez. Even Steve Howe got another try after being suspended seven times, including once for life.
About the only one who never made it back was Rafael Palmeiro. He tested positive, but did something far worse in many players' eyes he implicated a teammate.
At 43, Bonds can still play. He hit 28 home runs last season and reached base 48 percent of the time, the best mark in the majors.
With those numbers, the indictment won't make him a pariah. Instead, it's more likely to merely lower his price.
Bonds' attorney, Michael Rains of Pleasant Hill, said that the court process will allow the "whole truth" to come out in the case, which has been the subject to media speculation since the federal steroids probe began in 2003.
``It stinks for (Barry),'' added former Giants teammate Steve Kline. ``I don't feel happy for it. It's bad for baseball. The witch hunt was out there for a long time. They were trying to get him on anything. I feel bad for Barry and his family.''
Bonds played for the Giants from 1993 through this season, but his last few years in San Francisco were littered with controversy. In December 2004, the San Francisco Chronicle first reported Bonds used a clear substance and a cream given to him by his trainer, Greg Anderson, during the 2003 baseball season.
Under intense scrutiny this year, Bonds broke Hank Aaron's home run record with his 756th home run on Aug. 7.
Sure, the Giants then told Bonds late in the season that they didn't want him back next year. Go add to your 762 home runs somewhere else, they said.
But in a way, being a free agent now could help Bonds. A lot. Consider this: If no team bids on him, the players' union could well file a costly collusion grievance against all 30 clubs.
``I'm not a legal expert or a legal analyst, but there's a big bull's-eye on Barry Bonds just for the fact that he is as good as he is,'' Mets star David Wright said.
``He's one of the premier players to ever play the game. Obviously, everywhere Barry Bonds goes there's going to be criticism. I'm a big fan of Barry. I have Barry's autograph,'' he said.
Bonds, a seven-time MVP, eight-time Gold Glove winner, 14-time All-Star and two-time batting champion owns seven single-season major league records, most notably a 73-homer season in 2001 with the Giants.
Bonds made $19.3 million this year with a contract that included a provision that would've allowed the Giants to terminate it had he been indicted. Clearly, any team that signs him for next season would put in protection against Bonds missing time for court appearances or prison.
Because of baseball's complex rules and arbitration decisions, commissioner Bud Selig's options are far more limited than the NFL's Roger Goodell, who's had to deal with Michael Vick's federal indictment on dogfighting charges.
The NFL told Vick to stay away from the Atlanta Falcons training camp before he even suspended him. That doesn't work in baseball either a player is suspended or he's not.
"I take this indictment very seriously and will follow its progress closely," Selig said in a statement. "It is important that the facts regarding steroid use in baseball be known."
If Selig does penalize Bonds, the union would have a decent chance to overturn it. Going back to a 1980 case involving future Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins, it generally takes a conviction, not just an indictment, for discipline to hold up.
"An indictment contains only allegations, and in this country every defendant, including Barry Bonds, is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until such time as he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," said the union's executive director, Donald M. Fehr.
Bonds is set to appear before Judge Maria-Elena James in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Dec. 7. A trial would likely be months away.
So that leaves any team free to sign him, particularly any AL club that needs a designated hitter.
Even though they cut him loose, the Giants issued a statement saying Bonds "was an important member of our team" for many years and remains "one of the most talented baseball players."
"These are serious charges. Now that the judicial process has begun, we look forward to this matter being resolved in a court of law," the Giants said.
Like many fans, 91-year-old Julia Ruth Stevens also hopes it gets sorted out soon so the focus gets back to the field. She's Babe Ruth's daughter, by the way.
``I feel bad for Bonds,'' she said, noting that she's reserving judgment on the slugger's guilt until all the facts are known. ``The fact is, is that his career is tarnished completely now that the indictment has come down. That is going to be a tremendous punishment for him.''
``I don't think anything like this is good for baseball,'' she continued. ``It casts a shadow. I hope it will all be ironed out and taken care of before spring training starts so people will just forget about it and we can just play ball.''
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