Barry Bonds Barry Bonds, born in 1964, American professional baseball player, one of the greatest hitters of all time but who was indicted on criminal charges relating to performance-enhancing drugs.

Barry Bonds Barry Bonds, born in 1964, American professional baseball player, one of the greatest hitters of all time but who was indicted on criminal charges relating to performance-enhancing drugs. Among his many major league records are his career home run total, set in 2007, and single-season mark of 73 home runs, set in 2001. Bonds is the only major leaguer to win the league most valuable player (MVP) award more than three times. He has won seven times: in 1990, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Bonds was also notable for combining power hitting with speed, becoming the first player to have more than 500 home runs and more than 500 stolen bases. However, his home run records became tainted due to allegations that he took steroids and human growth hormone. Barry Lamar Bonds was born in Riverside, California. He was seemingly destined for baseball greatness from birth; his father was major league star Bobby Bonds and his godfather, Hall of Famer Willie Mays. Barry Bonds attended Arizona State University before leaving to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. After a brief period in the minor leagues, he began his major league career in 1986 with the Pirates. That year he led National League (NL) rookies in home runs (16), runs batted in (RBIs, 48), stolen bases (36), and walks (65), although he failed to capture the NL rookie of the year award (won by St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Todd Worrell). In 1990 Bonds won the NL's MVP trophy after hitting .301 with 33 home runs and 113 RBIs. The outfielder earned his second MVP award in 1992. He also helped lead the Pirates to three consecutive NL Championship Series appearances during this period (1990-1992). After the 1992 season, Bonds became a free agent and signed a lucrative contract with the San Francisco Giants. In 1993 Bonds earned another MVP award, his third in four years, after hitting .336 with 46 home runs and 123 RBIs. In 1996 he hit 42 home runs and stole 40 bases, making him only the second player in major league history (José Canseco was the first) to have at least 40 in both categories in the same year. Bonds continued his solid play, leading the Giants to the playoffs in 1997 (40 home runs, 101 RBIs) and 2000 (49 home runs, 106 RBIs). In 2001 he exploded for 73 homers, breaking the major league record of 70 set by Mark McGwire in 1998. Bonds also topped McGwire's record of at-bats per home run, hitting a homer every 6.52 at-bats (compared to 7.27 for McGwire in 1998). In addition, the Giants slugger had 177 walks and a slugging percentage of .863, eclipsing long-standing records held by the legendary Babe Ruth. Bonds finished the season with a .328 batting average and 137 RBIs, and won his fourth MVP award. Although he dropped off in home runs the following season with 46, Bonds passed the 600 mark for career homers and moved into fourth place on the all-time list (behind Hank Aaron, Ruth, and Mays). He easily broke his own walks record in 2002 with 198 while winning his first batting title with a .370 average and setting a major league record for on-base percentage (.582). The slugger also led the Giants to the World Series, where they lost in seven games to the Anaheim Angels. At the end of the season Bonds was a unanimous choice for a fifth MVP trophy. In 2003 Bonds won the MVP award for a record third consecutive year after hitting 45 home runs, batting .341, and driving in 90 runs. He led the major leagues with a .529 on-base percentage, a .749 slugging percentage, and 148 walks despite missing a number of games due to the illness and death of his father. During 2003 Bonds also became the first major league player to have more than 500 career home runs and more than 500 career stolen bases. At the beginning of the 2004 season Bonds passed Mays on the all-time list with his 661st career home run. He finished the season with 703, just short of the 714 career home runs hit by Ruth. For the year Bonds clubbed 45 home runs and won the NL batting title with a .362 average, even though he was walked a record 232 times (120 times intentionally, a total eclipsing that of any entire team in 2004). The 40-year-old Bonds collected his seventh MVP award, becoming the oldest winner ever to win the award and adding to his unprecedented total. In 2006 Bonds surpassed Ruth on the career home run list and set his sights on Aaron's record of 755 career home runs. In August 2007 Bonds reached his milestone, hitting his 756th home run off Washington Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik. Despite all of his outstanding achievements and awards, Bonds was continually plagued by accusations that his late-career success was attributable to the use of performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids. These suspicions were heightened in February 2004 when Bonds's personal trainer and several employees of the sports nutrition company Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) were indicted for distributing steroids, human growth hormone, and other drugs to high-profile athletes. Bonds acknowledged he had been a BALCO client but denied using such drugs, attributing his bulked-up physique to rigorous weight training and legal nutritional supplements. In November 2007 Bonds was indicted on five felony charges--four counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice--for denying to a federal grand jury in 2003 that he had taken steroids and human growth hormone. The indictment claimed that Bonds had tested positive for steroids in blood test results seized as evidence during an investigation of BALCO. Each count of perjury carried a possible five-year prison sentence, and the count of obstruction of justice carried a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.