Barry Bonds Says He Retiring After 2006

tacomax · 02-19-06, 06:04 PM

So, he's on 708 HRs and hit 46, 45 and 45 in 2002, 2003 and 2004 respectively. Even coming back from injury last year, he was still hitting them with a pretty good percentage. Beating 755 this season might not be out of the realms of possibility. Question is, if he falls short by a few this season is he really going to retire? I doubt it.

bigboydan · 02-19-06, 06:10 PM

taco, that was the first thing i thought of too.

with him not juicing anymore maybe he knows he has no shot at beating that record, and he don't want to embarrass himself out there on the field.

i'm not going to speculate on this one at all. i'm just gonna wait til i hear his statement on this subject.

Doug · 02-19-06, 06:26 PM

No way he retires without the record unless he breaks down from injuries. I hope he fails.

bigboydan · 02-19-06, 06:29 PM

doug, i personaly hope he fails too.

this guy is a true asshole both on and off the field. i've seen this guy pull some unbelievable stuff over the years live and in person.

presley177 · 02-19-06, 08:41 PM

good. all the cheaters in baseball need to leave.

imgv94 · 02-19-06, 08:45 PM

Bonds is just going to do some other kind of roid that will not show
in the tests. His head got so huge after doing those roids. His head
looks as big as floats do in Parades. Waterhead muthafvcka

tacomax · 02-19-06, 08:56 PM

This is coming from the guy who caps better after smoking weed.

imgv94 · 02-19-06, 09:31 PM

It does make me cap better. Read the avatar!!

isetcap · 02-19-06, 09:34 PM

He really just wants to exceed Babe Ruth's total. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he left the game prior to having the overall homerun record. That having been said, people can hate all they want but there's never been an offensive power comparable to Barry during the last 5 years. When he's healthy, he's alters a game offensively more than any individual in the history of baseball.

imgv94 · 02-19-06, 09:35 PM

his on base% is sick!!

Illusion · 02-19-06, 09:36 PM

With no juice he will be the next Sosa.

imgv94 · 02-19-06, 09:38 PM

Barry bonds is one player that you can bet your life on it, that he
did roids.

Illusion · 02-19-06, 09:40 PM

Originally posted by imgv94

Barry bonds is one player that you can bet your life on it, that he
did roids.

No doubt. I also hope he doesn't break the record. He doesn't deserve it.

imgv94 · 02-19-06, 09:43 PM

Everyone I know down here always defends Bonds,and says roids doesn't
affect hand and eye coordination and that he hit like that with natural
ability.

Winston Smith · 02-19-06, 09:45 PM

Originally posted by imgv94

Everyone I know down here always defends Bonds,and says roids doesn't
affect hand and eye coordination and that he hit like that with natural
ability.

Well, they're right about that, but that only addresses one aspect of hitting a lot of home runs.

It's the old "I don't care, as long as you're cheating for my team" thing.

isetcap · 02-19-06, 09:48 PM

Go to the San Francisco area and try to talk bad about Barry. If you do, you better watch your ass (if you know what I mean). As much as he is hated everywhere else, he is equally beloved in NORCAL.

aje · 02-19-06, 11:10 PM

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060219&content_id=1315857&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

I just read the following quote. "If I can play [in 2007], I'm going to play; if I can't I won't," Bonds told MLB.com in a telephone interview Sunday. "If my knee holds up, I'll keep on going.

Illusion · 02-19-06, 11:13 PM

I'm sure when he only hits 22 homeruns this season it will be the knee. It's gonna be great watching him fall flat on his face this season.

onlooker · 02-19-06, 11:17 PM

This is just a bailout, so if he does terrible this season, he will have this to fall back on. But if he comes out and continues to play havoc on baseballs, then he will say the retirement statement was premature, and play in 2007.

tacomax · 02-19-06, 11:20 PM

Originally posted by Winston Smith

It's the old "I don't care, as long as you're cheating for my team" thing.

That's so true.

In the UK, Chelsea football club have been bankrolled by a Russian billionaire and they can buy (and have bought) any player in the world they want to - money is no object to them. They won the league by a mile last season, they'll do the same this season. And no-ones going to beat them next year either.

Everyone moans how Chelsea are ruining football but anyone who says that they wouldn't want their club to be bankrolled by a Russian billionaire are lying.

bigboydan · 02-20-06, 12:31 AM

heres just a few reasons i can think of why he might really retire next year:

his contract runs out after this year. (earns 18 million for this year)

his doctors are saying one more shot to the knee and he will never walk right again.

they have some doctors working on some sorta piss test to determaining all types of masking agents. those doctors are claiming they should have an acurate test for it with in a year.

imgv94 · 02-20-06, 12:35 AM

bigboydan · 02-20-06, 01:43 AM

give me a break...

bonds latest comments tonight to fox sports was. if his knee holds up he will be back in 2007.

onlooker · 02-20-06, 01:45 AM

Originally posted by bigboydan

give me a break...

bonds latest comments tonight to fox sports was. if his knee holds up he will be back in 2007.

Well thats no surprise. Its a bailout type of comment. If he does well , Im telling you he will be back in 2007. If he doesnt, he will blame the knee and retire. Simple as that.

imgv94 · 02-20-06, 01:53 AM

Originally posted by onlòóker

Well thats no surprise. Its a bailout type of comment. If he does well , Im telling you he will be back in 2007. If he doesnt, he will blame the knee and retire. Simple as that.

It is pretty simple. I agree 100% buddy!! Typical Bonds attitude..

I hope he never has another at-bat!

I hate the fvcking giants!!

onlooker · 02-20-06, 03:37 AM

Here is the clarification of his retirement statement from MLB.com.

Originally posted by By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com

Bonds clarifies retirement talk
Slugger says arthritic right knee will determine his future

Barry Bonds on Sunday qualified a story that appeared on USA Today's Web site that he intends to retire after the 2006 season whether or not he sets the all-time home run record.

"If I can play [in 2007], I'm going to play; if I can't I won't," Bonds told MLB.com in a telephone interview Sunday. "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 was quoted on USA Today's Web site Sunday as saying: "I'm not playing baseball anymore after this. The game [isn't] fun anymore. I'm tired of all of the [stuff] 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 said he thought he was having a personal conversation with the USA Today reporter involved and was just trying to portray the state of his own mind on that particular day. He said he has been fitted with a knee brace to protect his thrice surgically repaired right knee and is beginning to feel secure as the Giants begin preparing for the 2006 season. Bonds heads into the season with 708 home runs, six behind Babe Ruth's 714 and 47 in arrears of Hank Aaron's all-time leading 755.

"The brace feels great, it's awesome," said Bonds, who will turn 42 on July 24. "Right now, I feel like I can play for another five years, another 10 years. It's given me a new lease on life. That's how I'm feeling today. I'm ready to get going."

Bonds said he expects to report to Giants camp this week in Scottsdale, Ariz., saying he had some personal business to attend to. Position players are supposed to report Monday and have their first full workouts Tuesday, but Bonds wasn't sure if he'd be in camp on time for that.

In various conversations during the past few weeks with MLB.com, Bonds said he is considering retirement, but needs to have those conversations later in the season with the people closest to him. Bonds has one year remaining on his multiyear deal with the Giants worth $18 million and can become a free agent after the season.

"All I can say is that I have a contract for this year, so as far as I know, I'm committed through this year," Bonds said. "If my knee doesn't hold up, then it's over. But if it does, I'll keep going. No one can predict what's going to happen. Even I can't speculate until I get out there. I'm going to be 42 years old. I've got to be realistic. Since I don't have a contract for next year, then this could be my last year."

Bonds underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee three times this past year and played in only 14 games, all in September, as the Giants made a late and unsuccessful run at the Padres for the National League West title.

Bonds told MLB.com weeks ago that the knee is his greatest concern about the future.

"I went to the Bahamas for a vacation and I was walking down the beach with my wife," he said. "I slipped in the sand and my knee swelled up for two days. That's the kind of thing I'm dealing with."

Bonds added that he had to change his rigorous training schedule this offseason, cutting down on his running and legwork. He said he spent another week in rehab earlier this month, but Giants general manager Brian Sabean noted last week that Bonds has been given full clearance by his physicians to play full time this season.

Though Bonds said near the end of this past season that he wanted to lose about 30 pounds to take pressure off his legs, in reality he said he'd lost only five pounds during the offseason.

"I'm a little leaner, but I can only do what I can do," he said.

Bonds missed the first five months of the 2005 season coping with the repeated surgeries and rehabilitation of his knee.

He rejoined the team at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 5 to resume batting practice and returned on Sept. 12 to hit five home runs in his first 36 at-bats. He finished 2005 with a .286 batting average (12-for-42), including a double, the five homers, eight runs scored, 10 runs batted in and nine walks, three of them intentional.

JoshW · 02-20-06, 08:04 AM

If my knee was close to causing harm to my long term ability to walk, I would give up even now personally.

Willie Bee · 02-20-06, 10:07 AM

Originally posted by isetcap

He really just wants to exceed Babe Ruth's total. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he left the game prior to having the overall homerun record.

I agree, 'cap. If he tops Aaron's mark more people will pooh-pooh him than if he finishes #2 all-time.

Of course, he's already lied about when he would retire, so who knows if he might pull a Rocket and keep going after this year. Back in the late 90s, Bonds was quoted as saying he was going to walk away from the game as soon as he reached the 500 HR/500 SB club. Wish he had.

bigboydan · 02-20-06, 01:55 PM

Originally posted by lakerfan

If my knee was close to causing harm to my long term ability to walk, I would give up even now personally.

i wouldn't laker

his contract is for 18 million dollars this season. all he has to do is show up to camp. then he just has to go see the team doctor and tell him he's knee hurts, and they put him on the DL. the he gets paid regardless.

Willie Bee · 02-20-06, 04:31 PM

Got a kick outta' this quote from an article at ESPN ESPN.com News Services :

Bonds - "I'm playing psychological games with myself right now."

bigboydan · 02-21-06, 01:43 PM

After makes that statement, Bonds stays away from spring training like a pussy.