Muscle Sport Magazine

Another Setback for Barry Bonds

Home Run King Recovering from Hip Surgery

The cards are stacked against him so high that it would be a miracle if he ever steps on a baseball diamond again, but that hasn’t deterred the 44-year-old slugger from attempting a comeback. The latest hurdle will be recovering from hip surgery that was performed recently that will sideline Bonds at least until spring training. According to reports, he should be 100 percent by Opening Day.

The outfielder, who hasn’t played since September 26, 2007, has publicly stated that he is not retiring. Between his age, health, upcoming court case and obvious collusion, it would seem that even his staunch refusal to hang it up may not be in his total control. Any team that would dare to sign him would be looked at every which way by commissioner Bud Selig, one of Bonds’ biggest rivals.

Not being able to play in the spring is not going to effect Bonds, who is going to be tied up in the legal system answering to perjury charges in U.S. District Court starting on March 2.

The biggest question is can Bonds still play. His best case scenario would be to sign with an American League team so he can be a designated hitter and not have to play left field. He is close to many milestones and even a full season may not give him enough at-bats to reach them. They include 38 home runs shy of 800; 65 hits to 3,000; four RBI to 2,000; 69 runs scored away from Ricky Henderson’s record and 38 extra-base hits from Hank Aaron.

Bonds, the poster-boy for the media in the witch hunt against performance-enhancing drugs, will most likely see another summer pass by without him. He surely can help someone even at his advanced age and assorted injuries. He obviously has taken care of his body in the gym (if you believe he used steroids or not is not the issue here), which is not always the case with baseball players. Overweight hurlers such as CC Sabathia – who recently signed the richest contract in history for a pitcher – has not seen the inside of a gym on a steady basis his entire life. Is that so much better than Bonds working out and taking advantage of something that – at the time – was not against the rules?

Photo by Jim Leary

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