![]() ![]() Sure, he too could see the physical differences in many players, including some on his own team. As the pressure to indulge in performance-enhancing drugs mounted, the man known as The Kid stayed clean. At age 29, he was at the top of his game, fresh off a season in which he compiled 56 home runs and 146 RBIs. Then I'll get out of the game and be done with it."Īccording to others in the room, Griffey was uncertain how to react. I'm just gonna start using some hard-core stuff, and hopefully it won't hurt my body. I've got three or four good seasons left, and I wanna get paid. As much as I've complained about McGwire and Canseco and all of the bull with steroids, I'm tired of fighting it. ![]() "I had a helluva season last year, and nobody gave a crap. He sounded neither angry nor agitated, simply frustrated. With Griffey's framed memorabilia as a backdrop, and Mark McGwire's obliteration of the single-season home run record a fresh memory, Bonds spoke up as he never had before. On an otherwise ordinary night, over an otherwise ordinary meal, Griffey, Bonds, a rep from an athletic apparel company and two other associates chatted informally about the upcoming season. After spending a day toting his two kids around Disney World, he headed to Griffey's house for dinner. In the winter following the 1998 season, Bonds brought his family on vacation to Orlando, where he could also visit his longtime buddy. I fly my mom in because Barry loves the way she cooks macaroni and cheese and fried chicken. "And when he comes to Cincinnati, I'll take him out. "Now whenever I go to San Francisco, Barry takes me out to dinner," Griffey says. "He probably treated me to four or five dinners." The two bonded over baseball and the identity crisis that comes with having a renowned parent. "Barry would come by and pick me up in his white Acura Legend," Griffey recalls. Bonds, a young Pirate at the time, was living near Phoenix, and he took the future star under his wing. Griffey's friendship with Barry Bonds dates back to 1987, when Griffey was a 17-year-old Mariners prospect playing in the Arizona Instructional League. Video games line the walls of an entertainment center outside, a large in-ground swimming pool begs for balmy days. Decorated in serene linens and creams, the place features floors of marbled Macedonian stone and a miniature movie theater. Few spreads match the splendor of the 13,000-square-foot mansion owned by Ken Griffey Jr. Shaquille O'Neal, Tiger Woods, Wesley Snipes-they all flock to this gated community of multimillion-dollar homes. The concentration of sports and entertainment superstars living in the 800-acre Windermere, Fla., enclave known as Isleworth can make an afternoon stroll down one of its sidewalks seem like a redcarpet rehearsal. In his upcoming biography, Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero, Pearlman examines why, and pinpoints when, one of the most talented and dominant players in baseball history went over to the dark side. To illuminate his motivations, we turn to writer Jeff Pearlman. Thanks to two enterprising San Francisco Chronicle reporters who cast a spotlight into the shadows, we have a pretty good idea of what Barry Bonds did to himself to pump out those big numbers. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |