Bonds Barred?

The most feared hitter in baseball isn't even in the Major Leagues.  Barry Bonds, the all-time homerun king, has been on the outside looking in all summer without a job, and his agent Jeff Borris is beginning to wonder if the powers that be aren't colluding against his client.

Borris can't fathom why a Major League team wouldn't be willing to take a chance on Bonds, who owns 762 career homeruns, more than any player in baseball history.  And even though he's 44 years old, Bonds showed few signs of slowing down last season, hitting .276 with 28 homeruns, 66 RBIs, and a league-best .480 on-base percentage in 126 games with the San Francisco Giants.  He would seem to be the ideal designated hitter for an American League team in need of a little extra offense.  

Of course, Borris and other Bonds supporters conveniently forget about all the slugger's off-field problems.  Bonds has been at the heart of baseball's steroid scandal, and he was indicted by a San Francisco grand jury last November on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying under oath during a federal investigation into steroids.  Bonds pleaded not guilty to the charges in June, but he faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if convicted.  Not many teams are going to want to bring that sort of baggage along with them on their road to the playoffs.  

Bonds' mere presence in the locker room would create a media circus each and every day.  Mix in his history of knee problems and his reputation for being one of the biggest jerks in sports, and it becomes painfully obvious why no teams want him.