Baseball Musings: More on Bonds

February 27, 2007

More on Bonds

The Authors of Game of Shadows write an afterword for the paperback version of the book. Apart from congratulating themselves for doing such good work, there's this very interesting bit about Bonds' growth:

The government subpoenaed the Giants to get the club's medical records on Bonds. Three team employees were ordered to testify - athletic trainer Stan Conte, equipment manager Mike Murphy and "Conehead" Harvey Shields, Bonds' stretching coach.
Like Ting, Conte could describe the changes in Bonds' body, and the Giants' trainer had expressed his own concerns about steroids on the ball club. In 2000, after the Giants heard rumors that Greg Anderson was a steroid dealer, Conte had wanted him banned from the clubhouse; fearing Bonds' wrath, the team's executives backed down.

For his part, Murphy could document Bonds' physical changes via the changes in his uniform size. Since joining the Giants, Bonds had gone from a size 42 to a size 52 jersey; from size 10 ½ to size 13 cleats; and from a size 7 1/8 to size 7 ½ cap, even though he had taken to shaving his head. The changes in his foot and head size were of special interest: medical experts said overuse of Human Growth Hormone could cause an adult's extremities to begin growing, aping the symptoms of the glandular disorder acromegly. Shields, meanwhile, had spent years hanging around the Giants clubhouse with Anderson and Bonds; Novitzky believed Shields knew about Bonds' use of drugs.

The foot growth seems quite unnatural.

Posted by David Pinto at 05:25 PM | Cheating | TrackBack (0)

Comments

The foot growth seems quite unnatural.

Ya think?

I really hope he doesn't break the record.

Posted by: Josh at February 27, 2007 05:54 PM

I'd be pretty freaked out if my shoe size changes 2.5 sizes after I turn 35.

Posted by: Nate at February 27, 2007 06:42 PM

Well we finally received confirmation of Bonds' bloated head.

The people who run the Giants are complete whores. Can you imagine watching an employee turn himself into a total freak for his job and not say anything. If he started growing horns, would they just cut holes in his batting helmet and let him keep playing?

I will not be supporting the Giants anymore.

Posted by: GEB4000 at February 27, 2007 08:07 PM

The change in shoe size is unreal. Maybe I'm not ambitious enough, but wouldn't you care about your own well-being when you outgrow your shoes in your late 30's? Wouldn't that make you stop?

Posted by: Tom G at February 27, 2007 09:50 PM

Tom G: You're not ambitious enough.

Posted by: NBarnes at February 27, 2007 11:17 PM

Actually, they originally stated the cap size went from 7 1/8 to 7 1/4. The original is quoted in Verducci's article on CNN SI and also quoted on McCovey Chronicles.

When you're writing non-sourced fiction, you can change things to anything you want at any time. Even the next day. I think they realized the average full grown man's hat size is probably about 7 1/2 and they didn't want to admit that all the "big head" writers might as well use the term "uppity nigger". Seriously doubt that Barry Bonds has had a 7 1/8 cap since he was in junior high. That's almost a girl's size.

Posted by: CJ at February 28, 2007 08:06 AM

CJ nailed it.

AND i got a real hard time believing that a 6'2" grown man got a foot size of 10.

Posted by: lisa gray at February 28, 2007 10:36 AM

forgot to say - i don't know whether or not anything that bonds wore BEFORE the strike is in the HOF, but that really would give unbiased info. same with any records from the pirates

Posted by: lisa gray at February 28, 2007 10:41 AM

The hat thing is goofy. It was 7 1/4 earlier. Now it's 7 1/2.

My hat size has gone up from 7 1/4 - 7 3/8 back in the day to a 7 5/8 or 7 3/4 today.

In my case, I know it's a function on New Era's inconsistency in sizing. I have hats in my closet of different sizes that fit me the same. And I don't wear any of those hats as much or sweat in them as much as Bonds surely does.

Convicting Bonds in the court of public opinion based on "facts" that these "reporters" are publishing is horribly unfair.

Posted by: Mike at February 28, 2007 01:18 PM

I'm with Mike. I'm suspicious of the claim about Bonds' feet for two reasons.

1) The convenient fuzziness of the date interval "since joining the Giants." Bonds joined the Giants in 1993 and is not alleged to have taken PEDs until 1998. To make a cause and effect claim, they should have evidence that his shoe size was stable between 1993 and 1998 or so, and only increased starting in 1998 or later. It seems likely that they lack such evidence, or they would have made a more exact claim.

2) I have found on-line listings of Bonds' shoes for sale covering the interval 1999 to 2004 and all claim that his shoes being sold are size 11.5. Isn't this the period when we should see most of the supposed 2.5 size growth of Bonds' feet? Examples 1999, 2001
2004.

As with cap size, shoe size needed for an effective fit can vary across brand by up to a full size; Bonds switched from Nike to Fila in 1999. A change in shoe size that year does not prove his foot had changed size.

Posted by: JoeArthur at February 28, 2007 10:29 PM

Well, I am a full-grown man, exactly 6 feet tall, and I wear a ten & 1/2. My brother is 5'10, and he wears a size 13. I know it's a small sample size (& I fear that the old proverb about men w/ big feet may damn me here), but it wouldn't seem that shoe size really relates absolutely to height. Also, when the arches fall, the shoe size increases, and sneaker makers do have different sizing (anybody who ever bought a pair of Chuck Taylors or Doc Martins knows all about that quandry). Still, all things considered, I think that growth of this nature, if true, is a big red flag. Also, it would seem to me that Bonds' race has little to do with the fact that he was a steroid abuser. He's also a prima donna, an asshole, and the best hitter who played in my lifetime. Joey Belle was also Black, an asshole, and for a period of time, possibly the second best hitter who ever played in my lifetime. But noone remembers joey, Mitchell's goons ain't beating down his door, and for good reason. His body fell apart when he was in his early 30s (much like McGwire's & Canseco's). Bonds' body improved in his late 30s, meaning his prolific offense threatens career numbers (much harder to swallow than a single season total like 73). As a side note, there have been many intelligent studies of race in America. Kneejerk retorts about "uppity niggers" degrade this work. Bonds courts the public opinion he receives through his own actions (on film, or otherwise). He has never been accessible, polite, or accomodating to fans/family/entourage/reporters/really anyone save his dad & Willie Mays, and seemingly goes out of his way to chafe everyone around him. Sorry CJ, but race relations aren't improved by the like of Ron Artest, Barry Bonds, & T. Owens. In fact, these athletes magnify/perpetuate many of the negative, racist associations generations of ignorant white people have thrust on African Americans. Black and proud has nothing to do with it. The Black Panther party had intelligence, articulate philosophy, and poetry behind their measures. Amiri Baraka Bonds is not. Bonds' actions lean more than a little towards ignorant egocentrism.

Posted by: Jacob Knabb at March 1, 2007 05:11 PM

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