Barry Bonds retiring after this season. Get your Giants game tickets now!

[dougdirt]

Just read it on espn.com

[KronoRed]

Call me skeptical, but if he finishes within 15 of 755 he'll be back.

[dougdirt]

Krono, I was thinking the same thing, but I just dont think he gets close. I dont know if he can stay healthy with the knee problems and well, he is quite old. I dont see anyway he can stay healthy enough to hit 30 home runs, much less enough to give serious consideration to come back and take a run at Aaron.

[Jpup]

After sitting out most of last season, Barry Bonds tells USA Today he's finished after '06 -- regardless of whether he hits 48 homers to break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record. "I'm not playing baseball anymore after this," he said.

"This" could mean anything.

[Jpup]

Krono, I was thinking the same thing, but I just dont think he gets close. I dont know if he can stay healthy with the knee problems and well, he is quite old. I dont see anyway he can stay healthy enough to hit 30 home runs, much less enough to give serious consideration to come back and take a run at Aaron.

It wouldn't suprise me if he passed Aaron this season.

[dougdirt]

Really Jpup? He would need 47 home runs, at age 42. He has hit that many home runs in a season twice before. Not to mention that he is going to be 35 pounds lighter than last year to better "serve his knee". I guess thats my POv, what makes you think he can do it?

[creek14]

He would need 47 home runs, at age 42.
This should read, "He would need 47 home runs, at age 42, and off the juice". :devil:

[dougdirt]

Creek, Barry wasnt on the juice, he was on "the cream", or HGH.

[dman]

The "juice" was in the "cream" I'm sure.

[steig]

This could be a real possibility even if he doesn't set the home run record. None of knows the amount of pain he is in from all of the knee surgeries and all the steriods would only make his knee problems worse. There has been a shart decline in his range over the last couple of years and I can't really see him wanting to finish up in the american league unless the Yankees would want him to be a permanent DH. But the yankees already have about 3 players that should only DH and not play the field.

[OnBaseMachine]

I hope he is true to his word... and I hope he doesn't even pass Ruth.

Don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya, Barry.

[Newport Red]

I think passing the Babe is a given unless his knee does a total meltdown.
If he passes Aaron, I, although I loathe him, will be very impressed.

[Chip R]

Really Jpup? He would need 47 home runs, at age 42. He has hit that many home runs in a season twice before. Not to mention that he is going to be 35 pounds lighter than last year to better "serve his knee". I guess thats my POv, what makes you think he can do it?

Actually I heard yesterday that he hadn't lost any weight.

[dougdirt]

Chip, I just based that off comments make in the offseason that he wanted to lose 35-40 pounds to help his knee. That was his offseason plan. I havent heard anything really though since November about his body weight.

[kbrake]

You guys really buying this knee stuff, still? Come on. His knees get too bad to play on the first year they start some real drug testing. Then he says he is going to be 30-40 pounds lighter to help the knees? OK Barry whatever you say, more like he has lost all that weight since he is off the juice. No way he even sniffs Aaron this season and yeah I would count on him back in 2007. If he does get close this year, then I really dont see pitchers pitching to him at all. I mean even less than usual.

[harangatang]

I love the publicity stunt that Bonds is pulling. The Giants have no chance with the revamped Dodgers and the Giants need a way to put people in the stands. I guarantee if Bonds even gets remotely close to 755 he'll stay another year. I think people forget about Roger Clemens, he was supposed to retire after the 2003 season and we all saw what happened there.

[919191]

You guys really buying this knee stuff, still? Come on. His knees get too bad to play on the first year they start some real drug testing. Then he says he is going to be 30-40 pounds lighter to help the knees? OK Barry whatever you say, more like he has lost all that weight since he is off the juice. No way he even sniffs Aaron this season and yeah I would count on him back in 2007. If he does get close this year, then I really dont see pitchers pitching to him at all. I mean even less than usual.


After seeing him run in the outfield late last year, yes, I buy into the story his knees are bad. He ain't no spring chicken.

[Revering4Blue]

Then again, maybe not.



Bonds backs off retirement talk after earlier report
February 20, 2006

Barry Bonds might retire after this season. Or, maybe not.

The San Francisco slugger gave differing accounts this weekend, first saying this year would be his last -- no matter whether he hits the 48 home runs he needs to break Hank Aaron's record.

Then Sunday night, he said he would play in 2007 if his surgically repaired knee is OK.

In a story posted on USA Today's Web site Sunday afternoon, Bonds said the game isn't fun anymore.

"I'm tired of all of the crap going on," he was quoted. "I want to play this year out, hopefully win, and once the season is over, go home and be with my family. Maybe then everybody can just forget about me."

A few hours later, MLB.com reported Bonds said his health will determine how long he plays.

"If my knee holds up, I'll keep on going," he said. "I'm playing psychological games with myself right now. I don't want to set myself up for disappointment if things don't work out this season. So I go back and forth. Back and forth every day. These are the things that are going through my mind. This is what I'm struggling with."

Bonds can be moody and sometimes changes his mind. In May 2004, he told reporters in New York that, "Half the stuff I say, I don't believe."

Bonds turns 42 on July 24. He said he plans to report Tuesday to spring training in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The All-Star left fielder was limited to 14 games last year following three knee operations. He has 708 homers, trailing only Babe Ruth (714) and Aaron (755).

"Breaking these records aren't a big thing to me," he told USA Today. "It's a great honor to pass Ruth, but it means more to baseball than it does to me. History is good for every sport, and I'm creating great interest for the game."

Bonds told MLB.com that his conversation with USA Today was just indicative of his state of mind at that particular moment.

The Giants said they would not comment on the newspaper report until they heard from Bonds directly. Giants manager Felipe Alou, speaking before the USA Today story was posted, said he was looking forward to Bonds' arrival.

"I think everybody wants to see him," Alou said. "I haven't seen him since October, but we've talked on the phone. There's no urgency to talk except for the normal welcoming. There's a lot of time to discuss things."

Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris, wouldn't say whether Bonds has discussed retirement with him.

"I'd rather those conversations between Barry and myself remain private," Borris told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Bonds has twice hit more than 48 homers in a season. He hit a record 73 in 2001 and 49 the year before.

Bonds' accomplishments, however, have come under scrutiny.

He testified in 2003 before a federal grand jury investigating illegal steroids distribution. The San Francisco Chronicle reported in December 2004 that Bonds testified he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by a trainer, but said he didn't know they were steroids.

Greg Anderson, the slugger's personal trainer, pleaded guilty last July to steroid distribution and money laundering, and in October was sentenced to three months in prison and three months in home confinement.

"I'm clean, I've always been clean," Bonds said in the newspaper report.

He added: "Right now, I'm telling you, I don't even want to play next year. Baseball is a fun sport. But I'm not having fun. I love the game of baseball itself, but I don't like what it's turned out to be. I'm not mad at anybody. It's just that right now I am not proud to be a baseball player."

Bonds didn't play until Sept. 12 last year because he was recovering from the knee operations. He hit five homers in 42 at-bats.

Bonds told the newspaper he is taking pain pills and sleeping pills.

"I don't have a choice. I can't even run that much anymore. How can I run? I don't have any cartilage in that knee. I'm bone on bone," he said. "But I can still hit. I can rake. I can hit a baseball."

Bonds was more positive about his health in the MLB.com report, raving about a new knee brace.

"Right now, I feel like I can play for another five years, another 10 years," he said. "It's given me a new lease on life. That's how I'm feeling today. I'm ready to get going."

Updated on Monday, Feb 20, 2006 12:37 am EST

[Revering4Blue]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5345550




OTHER EXPERTS:
If Barry wants to retire, he should just do it
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Ken Rosenthal / FOXSports.com
Posted: 1 hour ago

Barry Bonds once said, "I don't really believe half the (stuff) I say," so it's difficult to assess how serious he is about retiring after this season.

And it's especially more difficult now that even Bonds is questioning his retirement talk.

But if Bonds is sincere — if the physical pain and media criticism and steroid accusations are all too much for him — then he should do himself a favor, and Major League Baseball a favor, too.

Quit right now.

If Bonds' right knee is still causing him significant discomfort, if he "can't even run that much anymore," as he told USA Today's Bob Nightengale, then he isn't going to be of much use to the Giants this season.

And if Bonds is fed up with the media and all their silly questions about substances that he used and the federal government alleges to be steroids, then the solution is very simple.

Get out.

Of course, if Bonds retired, he couldn't collect the $18 million he is guaranteed in the final year of his contract or do his proposed ESPN reality show, which should be titled "American (Fallen) Idol."

Bonds' retirement also would ruin the Giants' chances of contending in the National League West — and ever the considerate sort, he doesn't want to let his teammates down.

Looking to start a pre-NCAA tournament office pool?

Here's one: Number of home runs Bonds hits this season vs. number of times he speaks with the Giants' medical staff.

Six homers short of tying Babe Ruth, 47 short of tying Hank Aaron, Bonds perhaps is starting to figure out that outside of the Bay Area, fans will applaud his record pursuits by clapping with one hand.

Bonds lamented to USA Today that he "never let fans know me," but his weekly ESPN show would be about as credible an attempt at image restoration as Dick Cheney joining PETA.

Then again, if this season is Bonds' last, Aaron's mark almost certainly will be out of reach, saving MLB the embarrassment of celebrating a tainted slugger passing one of the game's most dignified greats.

Despite protestations to the contrary, Barry Bonds appears obsessed with Hank Aaron's home run mark. ( Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images)

Bonds said, "I've never cared about records, anyway," which is a hoot, considering what he said about passing Ruth at the 2003 All-Star break:

". . . the only number I care about is Babe Ruth's. Because as a left-handed hitter, I wiped him out. That's it. And in the baseball world, Babe Ruth is everything, right? I got his slugging percentage and I'll take his home runs and that's it. Don't talk about him no more."

Slugging percentage? Good thing Barry got that sucker, not that he's keeping track or anything.

If Bonds didn't care about records, perhaps he wouldn't have reacted to the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home-run duel in 1998 by bulking up — legally or illegally— and attempting to wipe them out.

When Bonds talks, his quotes can be as biting as Eminem lyrics. Just don't expect much in the way of coherent thought.

Last September, Bonds said he wanted to lose 30 pounds. Now he says his inability to train prevented him from losing the weight, a reasonable explanation. His unreasonable postscript: "I'm just not a skinny person, dude. I'm not. I never will be."

Well, Barry, you once were . . . or maybe you're the only person in America who hasn't checked out the "Before" pictures from your days in a Pirates uniform.

Actually, the one subject that Bonds has been fairly consistent on is retirement. He spoke of retiring after this season as far back as May 2004. He hinted at retirement again last spring. And now comes yet another mention.

Maybe Bonds, who turns 42 in July, is just trying to lower expectations, knowing he no longer can be the old Barry. Or, maybe he's just a bitter soul, tired of the walls closing in around him.

Bonds can protest, "I'm clean, I've always been clean," knowing there is no proof that he used performance-enhancing drugs. The presumption of innocence has taken a hit during the steroid furor, but fans will believe what they want to believe — and many are tired of players who insult their intelligence.

If Bonds and the rest of the accused wanted a fairer trial in the court of public opinion, they should have implored their union to submit to testing long ago — and their union should have had the foresight to understand that their members' reputations were at stake.

That's what testing is — public relations. It certainly doesn't catch all of the cheaters, who come up with non-detectable substances, masking agents and whatever other goodies they can find to beat the system.

Of course, Bonds' latest concern is not with performance enhancers, but with the pain pills and sleeping pills he needs because of the discomfort in his knee. He told USA Today he has no choice but to take the pills. It can't be a pleasant existence.

Bonds can put himself out of his misery, MLB out of its misery and yes, the Giants out of their misery, too.

Enough tirades. Enough threats.

Just stay home.

Ken Rosenthal is the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com.

[Jpup]

Why should he stay home Rosenthal? Because you say so? He has every right to play the game as long as he wishes.

These are the same guys that were praising McGwire and Sosa for their amazing year. How great it was for America, how great it was for baseball. They brought the fans back to the game. That's what they said, but now these guys should stay home. It's OK for these damn sportswriters to talk out of both sides of their mouth, but Barry Bonds can't? Please, Mr. Rosenthal, just shut up.

[Jpup]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2336586


Barry Bonds is preparing to enter spring training for his 21st -- and, he says, final -- Major League Baseball season.

The Giants slugger, who is 47 home runs shy of Hank Aaron's all-time record, told USA Today on Sunday he plans to retire after this season -- with or without the home run record.

"I'm not playing baseball anymore after this," Bonds told the paper in a telephone interview from his California home. "The game [isn't] fun anymore. I'm tired of all of the crap going on. I want to play this year out, hopefully win, and once the season is over, go home and be with my family. Maybe then everybody can just forget about me."

Bonds, who is in the final year of a five-year, $90 million contract, told the newspaper he is worn out -- tired of being a focal point because of his pursuit of Aaron's record and allegations of steroids use that have dogged him for years.

"I've never cared about records anyway," Bonds told USA Today, "so what difference does it make [if he finishes shy of Aaron's 755 career homers]? Right now, I'm telling you, I don't even want to play next year. Baseball is a fun sport. But I'm not having fun.

"I love the game of baseball itself, but I don't like what it's turned out to be. I'm not mad at anybody. It's just that right now I am not proud to be a baseball player."

USA Today Baseball Writer Bob Nightingale discusses his interview with Barry Bonds, in which the slugger said he would retire after this season.

Bonds, however, later tried to soften that stance.

"If I can play [in 2007], I'm going to play; if I can't I won't," Bonds said in a story posted Sunday night on MLB.com after USA Today posted its story. "If my knee holds up, I'll keep on going. I'm playing psychological games with myself right now. I don't want to set myself up for disappointment if things don't work out this season. So I go back and forth. Back and forth every day. These are the things that are going through my mind. This is what I'm struggling with."

Bonds told MLB.com he thought his conversation with the USA Today reporter was personal and that he was simply trying to convey his state of mind at that time.

Bonds, who said he plans to report Tuesday to the Giants' camp in Scottsdale, Ariz., missed most of last season after undergoing three knee operations and said he is still in pain. He said he isn't sure how many games he'll be able play this season.

"I can't even tell how you may pain pills I am on or how many sleeping pills I'm taking," he told USA Today. "I don't have a choice. I can't even run that much anymore. How can I run? I don't have any cartilage in that knee. I'm bone on bone.

"But I can still hit. I can rake. I can hit a baseball."

Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris, wouldn't say whether Bonds has discussed retirement with him.

"I'd rather those conversations between Barry and myself remain private," Borris told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Bonds set the single-season homer record in 2001 with 73 homers that season, but hit only five in 14 games last season.

He enters this season with 708 career home runs, third all-time behind Babe Ruth (714) and Aaron. He admits it would be a "great honor" to pass Ruth and knows his pursuit of history is great for the game, but he told the paper breaking the record "means more to baseball than it does to me."

"When Wayne Gretzky did his thing, how many kids wanted to play hockey? When Michael Jordan played, how many kids said they wanted to be the next Michael Jordan? Hopefully, some kid out there will watch me, thinking he can do what I did, and become a good baseball player, too.

"That's what the game is supposed to be about in the first place, isn't it?"

Playing baseball hasn't been that simple for Bonds in years.

The outfielder, who turns 42 on July 24, has long been in the spotlight for his ability to hit the ball in monumental fashion, but in recent years the attention he has received has had more to do with accusations of steroids use and the BALCO scandal.

Bonds testified in 2003 before a federal grand jury investigating illegal steroids distribution. The San Francisco Chronicle reported in December 2004 that Bonds testified he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by a trainer, but said he didn't know they were steroids.

Greg Anderson, the slugger's personal trainer, pleaded guilty last July to steroid distribution and money laundering, and in October was sentenced to three months in prison and three months of home confinement.

"I'm clean, I've always been clean," said Bonds, who has repeatedly denied knowingly taking steroids. "But it never ends. It seems like every reporter from last season to this season has reported and opened up a new can of [expletive]. And I haven't even been to spring training. At least let me get to spring training and [expletive] up before you crucify me.

"Thank you for all of your criticism. Thank you for dogging me. The latest thing is that ESPN says that Barry is still big. They say I didn't lose weight. Well, you know what? I am still big. I'm fat [6 feet 2, 230 pounds]. I can't do much. I can't train like I used to. So the weight stays. I'm just not a skinny person, dude, I'm not. I never will be.

"So what [are] they going to say now? Are they going to say, 'Wow, I guess it can't be steroids anymore because he didn't lose all that weight?' Or are they going to be mad that I'm fat. Come on, which one is it?"

Commissioner Bud Selig told USA Today over the phone Saturday that Bonds has never failed a steroids test.

"I know there's a lot of conflicting things out there," Selig told the paper, "but there is no empirical data that Barry did anything wrong. People can have their own ideas, and they are free to draw their own conclusions. I understand that. But there should be a sense of fairness.

"People say that we ought to conduct investigations and do this and that. We have the toughest [drug-testing] program in American sports now, but before 2003 there is no data. We can have all of the investigations in the world, but there is nothing to investigate. I am not going to play God, and that's what some people are doing."

It seems the constant questions, as well as other off-field issues -- including a custody battle over his son, Nikolai, and the questions surrounding his health -- have become too much for the seven-time NL MVP.

"I think that's been my only downfall in all of this. I never let people know me. I just wanted to do my job and get the [expletive] out. Don't get me wrong. I love Michael Jordan, and I respect Michael Jordan. But I never wanted all that attention."

Bonds, who plans to hold a press conference once he reports to San Francisco's spring training camp in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Tuesday, won't speculate on how many games his ailing knees will be able to handle.

"I'll play how many games God lets me play," he told the paper. "I can't predict how many. If I can play 160 games, I'll do it. If I can play only 100, I'll do that. I'll play what my body lets me play.

"All I know is that I'm trying to get to the World Series again. I want that ring. So I don't want to sit on no bench. When I sit on the bench, I hurt my teammates. I want to win."

Bonds chose not to join the United States team in next month's inaugural World Baseball Classic, telling USA Today he decided against playing because of his knee.

At first, he said he planned to play for the United States in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, then changed his mind Jan. 24 and withdrew.

He said his decision had nothing to do with the more stringent drug testing he would face in the international competition.

"This has nothing to do with drug testing," Bonds said. "I just don't want to do it. Come on, the World Cup isn't the Olympics. Who cares? Does it mean anything?

"Is it going to cost me in endorsements? Whoop-de-doo. I never had any endorsements, anyways. I don't base my life on that. I go to work like every other American."

The Giants said they would not comment on USA Today's interview with Bonds until they hear from Bonds directly. Manager Felipe Alou, speaking before the story was posted on the Internet, said he's looking forward to Bonds' arrival.

"I think everybody wants to see him," Alou said. "I haven't seen him since October, but we've talked on the phone. There's no urgency to talk except for the normal welcoming. There's a lot of time to discuss things."

[MartyFan]

If his knees are as bad as he says they are he should be an easier out....of course that means he has to take off the body armor and pitchers have to pitch in and then out and up and down....you know move the ball around on him...tough adjustment with bad knees...that said he still has incredible ability to read pitches and I imagine his bat speed is still very good....he may be MORE HUMAN though.

[REDJAKE]

The best things about 05 for me were no Barry and no hockey oh well i am still looking forward to 06 and a great year just will have to ignore the Barry stuff and hockey will end soon. GO CINCY!!!!

[MartyFan]

The best things about 05 for me were no Barry and no hockey oh well i am still looking forward to 06 and a great year just will have to ignore the Barry stuff and hockey will end soon. GO CINCY!!!!

I'm with you...I don't get the fascination with Hockey...I blame it's current popularity on the 1980 USA Olympic team!;)