Controversial slugger Barry Bonds signed a one-year deal with the San Francisco Giants on Monday, allowing him to chase the all-time US home run record in the upcoming Major League Baseball season.
Bonds, who has denied wrongdoing despite numerous links to the BALCO steroid scandal, will enter his 15th consecutive campaign with the Giants only 22 career homers shy of breaking Hank Aaron's all-time US record of 755.
"I'm excited," Bonds said. "I'm glad we could get it worked out."
But the deal, worth US$15.8 million with incentives that could bring him near US$20 million, also gives the club protection in case Bonds misses games due to the ongoing BALCO investigation.
The seven-time Most Valuable Player will not be allowed to have his entourage in the Giants' locker room, a sticking point that had kept Bonds from completing a deal that was otherwise settled on Dec. 7.
Bonds, 42, is the subject of a perjury investigation by a grand jury after telling the BALCO grand jury that he never knowingly took performance-enhancing drugs.
"The agreement was finalized only after we achieved reasonable assurances and protections, and only after we were convinced that the Giants' players will be able to function as a team committed to supporting each other and dedicated to doing everything they can to succeed on the playing field," Giants president Peter Magowan said.
Bonds' historic homer totals from seasons before steroid tests were implemented by Major League Baseball are being met with skepticism since Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, is one of five men to serve jail time in the BALCO scandal.
Contract terms would also ban Bonds' personal trainers from the clubhouse, so long-time aides Harvey Shields and Greg Oliver will not be hanging around Bonds at the ballpark.
Adding to the stress surrounding the contract talks was a New York Daily News report earlier this month saying Bonds failed an amphetamine test last year and suggested it was due to a substance taken from a teammate's locker.
Bonds issued an apology statement but the situation gave the Giants an upper hand in getting the items they wanted into the pact -- a ban on Bonds' pals in team areas and safeguards in case the BALCO case comes back to haunt Bonds.
Bonds would not face a ban and miss games under major league rules unless he commits a repeat amphetamine violation. A first violation does not even require confirmation of the positive, a far cry for global anti-doping rules.
"The process of negotiating this contract was complex, lengthy and highly unconventional," Magowan said. "We spent significant time evaluating all of the elements and circumstances surrounding the negotiations before we made a final determination to move forward."
Last season, Bonds batted .270 with 26 homers and 77 runs batted in over 130 games. He has hit at least 22 homers in 16 of his past 17 seasons, failing only in an injury-shortened 2005 campaign.
"We are confident that Barry will be a major contributor to our success on the field," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.
A panel led by former US Senator George Mitchell is looking into baseball's steroid past but the panel, created last March by commissioner Bud Selig, has been unhappy with a lack of cooperation in the probe.
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