SAN FRANCISCO — For years, Barry Bonds insisted to anyone who would listen that this day would never come. Deep down, he truly believed it.
Acknowledging reality has never been his strong point.
The home run king publicly said again and again he had no fear of the feds digging up enough evidence to indict him. Athletes often have that attitude of invincibility.
“Let them investigate. Let them; they’ve been doing it this long,” Bonds said after his first spring training workout in February. “It doesn’t weigh on me at all – at all.”
On Thursday, prosecutors caught up with him. They charged the slugger with four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice, stemming from a four-year investigation into steroids.
Bonds might have thought he was home free. His personal trainer, Greg Anderson, had kept quiet for so long and was serving a prison term for refusing to testify against his 43-year-old friend.
The Giants knew this was a reality, writing into his contract language that protected them from an indictment. It took months of negotiating for the sides to reach agreement.
Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s home run record in August. The next month, the Giants told Bonds he would not be brought back next year.
Bonds’ arrogance and prickly personality have kept him from becoming a beloved fan favorite such as 49ers great Joe Montana or Giants Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.
In my five years covering Bonds, he played the victim and the race card, saying he’s the black man taking the brunt of blame for every major-leaguer who might have used performance-enhancers.
Bonds was so used to special treatment and calling his own shots that he became spoiled. He told managers when he would play and when he needed time off to rest his tired legs or achy knees. He rarely stretched with his teammates before games or stood for team photos.
