March 16, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO (APCSN) -- Federal prosecutors have released dozens of voicemail messages Barry Bonds left for his former mistress during their nine-year relationship.
They don't portray Bonds in a flattering light.
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Most of the messages released Wednesday are Bonds angrily inquiring about Kimberly Bell's whereabouts. Prosecutors say the voicemails are evidence of Bonds' steroid use because the drugs supposedly induce rage in some users.
Prosecutors want to play 11 of the voicemails for the jury during Bonds perjury trial, which starts Monday.
Bell also is scheduled to testify that her relationship with Bonds was a stormy one marked by the slugger's increasing verbal abuse. She also will tell the jury of physical changes she witnessed Bonds go through, such as male pattern baldness that prosecutors attribute to steroid use.
Bonds' attorneys are seeking to exclude the recordings.
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Bonds, a former Giant, set the all-time Major League Baseball home run record of 762 in 2007. He set the single-season mark of 73 in 2001.