RIP Jeremy Giambi

Jeremy Giambi wasn’t exactly a standout player in MLB. If anything, he generally seemed to be playing in the shadow of his older brother, Jason. However, Jeremy Giambi began his Major League career with the Kansas City Royals, just a few years after I first became a Royals fan and began to really pay attention to them, so the news of his death — especially at such a young age — caught my attention.

Besides the Royals, Giambi played with the Oakland A’s, Philadelphia Phillies, and Boston Red Sox during his 6-year MLB career. He finished his career with a .263 batting average, 52 home runs, and 209 RBIs. Giambi was also portrayed in the film and book versions of Moneyball.

Giambi died last night, February 9, 2022, at the age of 47.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

This day in baseball: BALCO and Bonds

On December 3, 2004, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Giants outfielder Barry Bonds admitted to a grand jury that he had used a clear substance and cream supplied to him by The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO).  Bonds also testified, however, that he was not aware that the substances were steroids.

Just the day before, slugger Jason Giambi had admitted to taking steroids provided by Bonds’s trainer.

For more information about BALCO’s history of providing steroids to professional athletes, you can check out this timeline provided by CNN.

Barry Bonds (Wikimedia Commons)