Prosecutors want postponement in Barry Bonds case – MLB News
Barry Bonds’ prosecutors are seeking no less than a two-month postponement of his next court appearance. Bonds, who is also facing the charges of obstructing the justice, got his trial deadlocked after a month’s worth of legal proceedings in April.
Another court that is hearing his case is scheduled for July to assess the argument Bonds wish to offer that the jury had erred in laying a conviction on him for making a misleading statement. Important to remember is that he was accused of having taken
a steroid or performance enhancing drug during his career in Major League Baseball.
The prosecution on Tuesday asked the judge to postpone the case hearing until August 26 as the request was opposed by the attorneys representing Bonds.
Bonds is a former out-fielder in the MLB, playing from 1986 to 2007. Initially a part of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bonds later joined the San Francisco Giants.
His debut came in 1986 when he started playing for the Pirates and later opted for being a part of the Giants in 1993. His stay in San Francisco continued for over a decade --- going as far as 2007 when he formally announced retirement.
While remaining a thoroughly controversial entity, Bonds’ accomplishments are far greater than the controversies that have surrounded the player and his career. He is touted to be among the all-time best players of baseball.
Among other things, he received Most Valuable Players’ awards seven times. An eight-time Gold Glove winner, Bonds remains to date a 14-time All-Star with a variety of other MLB records.
Above all, he had a record 762 home-runs, something rare for baseball hitters that also included a season high 73 runs in 2001. Bonds is also a career leader in both walks and intentional walks which are 2,558 and 688 respectively.
However, his career got marred by a detrimental controversy in 2007 where he was accused of having used steroids. He was subsequently faced with charges such as obstruction of justice and perjury for lying to the investigators.
Bonds pleaded not guilty by asserting he never knowingly got any illegal steroids "... If it's a steroid, it's not working," he told the grand jury.
Various sources have claimed that Bonds said he never paid trainer Greg Anderson for drugs but that he paid him $15,000 in 2003 for doing weight training and a bonus of close to $20,000.
"And I was like, to me, it didn't even work," he said. "You know me, I'm 39 years old. I'm dealing with pain. All I want is pain relief, you know? And you know, to recover, you know, night games to day games. That's it. And I didn't think the stuff worked.
I was like, 'Dude, whatever,' but he was my friend.”
Only time will tell if the prosecutors get their wish to delay their case against Bonds. The use of steroids in professional sports is now facing the heat and criminal charges is being pursued against athletes and trainers involved with the selling and use
of performance enhancing drugs.
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