Bonds Says He May Sit Out Season

Stricken by accusations of steroid use, reports of alleged tax evasion and perjury investigations, and a surgically repaired knee that has not healed, and perhaps months from resuming his home run chase of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, a leaden Barry Bonds said Tuesday he might sit out the season.

Bonds has undergone arthroscopic surgery twice since Jan. 31 and previously had doubts about starting the regular season on time. Tuesday, though, he revealed that his physical problems extended beyond his injured right knee, spoke broadly of the issues that have accompanied his quest for the all-time home run record and hinted at the toll they have taken on his life.

Bonds sat beside his 15-year-old son outside the San Francisco Giants’ training facility in Scottsdale, Ariz., directed television cameras to shoot wide enough to capture the two of them, and told reporters there, over and over, that he was “tired.”

“You wanted me to jump off the bridge,” he said. “I finally have jumped. You wanted to bring me down, you’ve finally brought me and my family down. Finally done it. From everybody, all of you. So now go pick a different person. I’m done. [I’ll] do the best I can, that’s about it.”

He had surgery last week and returned to the Giants on crutches. He met with team trainers for 90 minutes and emerged sounding beaten by the rigors of rehabilitation and more allegations regarding steroids.

While rehabilitating from his first surgery, Bonds had spoken of his desire to play opening day; in 18 full seasons, he had never missed one.

Bonds, who will be 41 in July, did not mention retiring. He is under contract for two more seasons, for which he will be paid $36 million. With 703 home runs, he is 11 from Ruth, 52 from Aaron.

“Right now, I’m just going to try to rehab myself to get back to, I don’t know, hopefully next season, hopefully the middle of the season,” Bonds said. “I don’t know. Right now, I’m just going to take things slow. I feel bad for the guys because I want to be out there for them.”

Asked whether he thought he would miss part or even all of the season, Bonds replied, “Maybe.”

There was no indication from Giant trainer Stan Conte that Bonds’ recovery would take longer than about six weeks and therefore no medical reason for Bonds to miss half a season or more.

In a statement, Conte said, “I talked to [surgeon] Art Ting this morning. I talked to Barry. His knee looks exactly as we expected it to five to six days after surgery. I expect he’ll progress as most knee patients go.”

Kimberly Bell, with whom Bonds had a long-standing affair, recently testified before the BALCO grand jury that Bonds told her of his steroid use, according to reports. Also, according to the New York Daily News, the Internal Revenue Service is investigating Bonds’ financing of a Scottsdale house for Bell.

Although he appears to have serious concerns about his knee, Bonds intermingled talk of his physical problems with that of the strain of recent months.

He has been hounded by steroid rumors. In his own federal grand jury testimony in the BALCO scandal, he reportedly told prosecutors he’d used products supplied by BALCO, though he said he believed them to be flaxseed oil and an arthritic balm. Prosecutors believed them to be designer steroids.

“I really don’t have much to say anymore,” Bonds said. “My son and I are just going to enjoy life. My family’s tired. You guys wanted to hurt me bad enough, you finally got there.”

Previously, Bonds had been defiant on the subjects of his alleged steroid use and his career. Since the 2000 season, when he turned 36, Bonds has hit 258 home runs. In 2001, he hit a record 73, 24 more than in the previous season, 39 more than in the season before that.

When he was chosen National League MVP last season, for the seventh time, he told reporters in a conference call, “I don’t owe you a response. I don’t owe anybody a response to anything.”

In a news conference when he reported to spring training in February, Bonds told reporters, “All you guys lied. Should you have asterisks besides your name? All of you lied.”

Tuesday, two weeks before the Giants open their season, one in which the team and the league had intended to celebrate Bonds’ reaching Ruth’s homer output, at least, Bonds had lost the edginess of those interviews.

Asked what had led to his weariness, Bonds said, “Inner hurt, physical, mentally. Done. I’m mentally drained. I’m tired of my kids crying. Tired.”

Brown reported from Los Angeles.