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Last Updated: Feb 18th, 2008 - 14:39:01 |
LOS ANGELES (Reuters)- Baseball superstar Barry Bonds was jeered on Friday night in his first game after news broke that a federal grand jury is considering perjury charges against him.
The fact that a grand jury is looking into whether Bonds gave false testimony during his 2003 testimony in the BALCO steroids case only gives Dodgers fans more to jeer about, said Chrystal Flores, 23, a former usher at Dodger Stadium near downtown Los Angeles.
"Liar. Liar," fans in the stands nearest Bonds yelled in unison while he played leftfield for the Giants.
"Guilty. Guilty," was another cheer not heard last year, but longtime Dodgers fans said that chanting invective at Bonds, 41, has been a Dodger Stadium pastime since he joined the Giants in 1993. Those cheers joined old standbys of "Steroids. Steroids," and "Barry Sucks."
"I like to sit here every time so I can heckle the leftfielder," said Steve Molinet, 29, of Sanger, California. "It's more intense and more fun when the leftfielder happens to be Barry."
No one tossed a syringe at Bonds, as one fan in San Diego did two weeks ago.
"I have a cigar in my pocket and I'm thinking of throwing it at Bonds and telling him, 'That's the strongest thing Babe Ruth used before games. Not steroids," said Molinet.
Bonds with 708 is only six home runs behind Ruth in baseball's standings for career home runs and both trail Henry Aaron, who hit 755.
Major League Baseball is investigating if Bonds was using performance-enhancing steroids while he hit some of those home runs. A new book, "Game of Shadows," alleges that Bonds actively used steroids for at least five seasons, including 2001 when he hit 73 home runs, the baseball single-season record.
Bonds has never had a positive test for steroid use and has denied ever knowingly using steroids.
HEAVY SECURITY
Bonds received immunity for his closed-door testimony to a grand jury that's investigation led to convictions of steroid distribution charges for the head of a San Francisco area firm, BALCO, and Bonds' personal trainer.
The two men, BALCO head Victor Conte and trainer Greg Anderson, served prison time and have since been released.
Bonds declined to comment on the news of the grand jury before the game.
Out in the leftfield stands on Friday night, five men including Yasha Emami, 27, of Anaheim, California, wore baseball jersey type T-shirts saying "Cheaters" on the front in the same script as the Giants' uniforms and "Juiced" atop the numeral 25, which Bonds wears.
"A cop came down and said I had to take the shirt off," Emami said. "It's not profanity."
Security guards and police were conspicuous. Kevin Hallinan, who oversees security for Major League Baseball, said security is very intense around Bonds this year. He declined to say how many security officers and police were on hand on Friday night.
Most of the players are keeping mum about Bonds, said Jeff Kent, the Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman who often feuded with Bonds during his six years on the Giants, ending in 2002. Kent hit his 332nd career home run on Friday night, tying him with Barry Bonds' father, Bobby Bonds at 81st on baseball's all-time list.
"I don't know if you'll get any answers asking (players) about Bonds," Kent said before the game. "Players don't talk about Barry much. It's not for me to say how this affects Barry. We're not on the same team anymore.
"Things are happening for Barry right now and nobody else needs to be included," said Kent, 38.
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