While Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants legend, had a reputation of not being the best teammate, his unwavering love for baseball and his competitive spirit were undeniable. He consistently gave his all on the field, playing with tremendous intensity every single night. In a remarkable display of dedication, Bonds even pushed through excruciating pain to make an early return from injury at one point in his career.

Bonds’ comeback is greatly credited to the Giants trainer and resident physical therapist Stan Conte, who used a detrimental tactic that turned into a miracle for Bonds.

Barry Bonds screamed through excruciating treatment to return early from injury

In April 1999, Barry Bonds suffered a damaged triceps tendon. The injury seemed to have been a direct cause of his steroid usage at the time. He underwent surgery and was expected to return sometime in early July. But the Giants legend instead underwent an extremely painful treatment to get rid of the scar tissue after surgery. His teammate Stan Javier lauded him for his guts in the book “Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero”. Furthermore, author Jeff Pearlman shared the secret behind the recovery as well. 

According to page 207 of the book, Javier said, “The man could be very tough.” He further noted, “When you didn’t think he could do something, he’d usually do it.”

Pearlman then wrote, “The key to the early comeback was Stan Conte, the Giants trainer and resident physical therapist. At the time of the tendon injury, some thought that Bonds might need season-ending surgery to remove the scar tissue. Conte didn’t believe it. He took Bonds into the training room and manipulated his elbow so severely that the scar tissue cracked. Bonds screamed in agony, but the tactic worked.

Explaining his action, Conte said, ‘It’s not something one human being should do to another human being. I pushed it to where he couldn’t take it any longer, and then I pushed it some more.”

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Bonds made a valiant effort at returning and ended up having a great season. But the Giants did not make the postseason. Furthermore, despite his best efforts, Bonds was unable to win the World Series during his career. Most recently, he achieved a new milestone in a different sport, while putting in hard work and going through pain. 

When did Bonds start using steroids? 

Although a specific date is unknown, many signs point to Barry Bonds having started using steroids after the 1998 season. This was seemingly due to his aging body and pressure to keep up with his counterparts. Although Bonds states that he unknowingly used PEDs, the practice seemingly went on for years. 

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Well, due to his steroid usage, Bonds will most likely never make it to the Hall of Fame. But people cannot take away the determination he showed in 1999 while braving excruciating treatment. What do you think of his desire to return early from injury?