Barry Bonds and Medication: What He Actually Said About TRT, HGH, and Performance-Enhancing Substances

What Barry Bonds Said Under Oath

Bonds gave sworn testimony before a federal grand jury on December 4, 2003, as part of the investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO). His statements remain the most direct public record of what he claimed about the substances he used. He described two products Greg Anderson gave him: a clear liquid applied under the tongue and a topical cream rubbed on his body.

"Flaxseed Oil" and "Arthritis Balm"

According to grand jury transcripts leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle in 2004, Bonds testified that Anderson told him the clear liquid was flaxseed oil and the cream was an arthritis remedy. Bonds stated he did not ask Anderson for further details about the products' ingredients. He acknowledged using both during the 2002 and 2003 seasons.

The Distinction Bonds Drew

Bonds consistently framed his use as unknowing. He did not dispute applying the substances. He disputed knowledge of what they contained. This distinction became central to his legal defense and to the federal perjury charges filed against him in November 2007. A jury acquitted him on three counts of perjury in 2011 but convicted him on one count of obstruction of justice for giving an evasive answer. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that conviction in 2015, ruling that his rambling response did not constitute obstruction 1.

What "The Cream" and "The Clear" Actually Were

Federal investigators, working with chemist Don Catlin at UCLA's Olympic Analytical Laboratory, identified the two BALCO substances as specific anabolic compounds. Neither was an approved pharmaceutical product. Both were designed to evade existing drug testing protocols.

The Cream: A Testosterone/Epitestosterone Topical

"The cream" was a transdermal formulation containing testosterone and epitestosterone in a ratio intended to mask abnormal testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratios on standard urine tests. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) flags T/E ratios above 4:1 as suspicious. By co-administering epitestosterone, BALCO's formulation aimed to keep the ratio within the normal detection window while still delivering supraphysiological testosterone to the user 2.

Clinical testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) prescribed by endocrinologists targets a serum testosterone level of 450 to 600 ng/dL, the mid-normal physiologic range for adult men. The Endocrine Society's 2018 guidelines recommend TRT only for men with confirmed hypogonadism, defined by two separate morning total testosterone measurements below 300 ng/dL combined with clinical symptoms such as fatigue, decreased libido, and reduced muscle mass 3. Nothing in the public record suggests Bonds had a diagnosis of hypogonadism or a clinical indication for testosterone therapy.

The Clear: Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG)

"The clear" was tetrahydrogestrinone, a synthetic anabolic steroid structurally related to gestrinone and trenbolone. THG had no medical application. It was engineered by BALCO chemist Patrick Arnold specifically to be undetectable by existing drug screens. In 2003, after a used syringe was anonymously mailed to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), Catlin's lab developed a test for the compound. THG binds androgen receptors with high affinity and produces anabolic effects (increased lean mass, strength, recovery) at doses well below those of older anabolic steroids 4.

The FDA classified THG as a Schedule III controlled substance in 2005. A study published in the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology found that THG was approximately twice as potent as dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in androgen receptor binding assays 5.

The HGH Allegations

Human growth hormone became a second major element of the Bonds medication narrative. Court documents filed in the BALCO case included allegations that Bonds used injectable HGH, though Bonds denied this in his grand jury testimony.

What the Evidence Showed

Greg Anderson's personal notes, seized during federal raids, reportedly included references to "G" and "GH" alongside Bonds' name and training schedules. Prosecutors argued these abbreviations referred to growth hormone. Anderson never testified against Bonds. He served multiple jail terms for contempt of court rather than cooperate with investigators.

Clinical Context for HGH

Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) is FDA-approved for specific conditions: adult growth hormone deficiency, Turner syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and HIV-associated wasting, among others 6). The distribution of HGH for performance enhancement or anti-aging in the absence of a diagnosed deficiency violates federal law under the 1990 Anabolic Steroids Control Act, amended in 2004.

A meta-analysis of 44 studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that HGH increased lean body mass by an average of 2.1 kg but did not improve strength or aerobic capacity in healthy adults 7. The combination of HGH with testosterone, however, produces synergistic anabolic effects. A 2012 study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism showed that co-administration amplified fat-free mass gains beyond either agent alone 8.

Why Detection Was Difficult

MLB did not implement HGH blood testing until 2013, a decade after the BALCO investigation. HGH cannot be detected via urine. It has a serum half-life of approximately 3.8 hours, making detection windows extremely narrow even with blood testing 9.

Why This Case Is Not a TRT Story

The public often conflates the Bonds case with testosterone replacement therapy. That conflation obscures important clinical distinctions.

TRT Dosing vs. Performance Dosing

Legitimate TRT protocols typically deliver 50 to 100 mg of testosterone cypionate or enanthate per week via intramuscular injection, or equivalent doses via transdermal gel (1% testosterone gel, 50 to 100 mg daily application). The goal is to restore testosterone to the physiologic range, not to exceed it 3.

Performance-oriented testosterone regimens documented in the sports doping literature use 300 to 600 mg per week or more, producing serum levels of 1,500 to 3,000 ng/dL. A landmark 1996 study by Bhasin et al. In the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated that 600 mg/week of testosterone enanthate for 10 weeks increased fat-free mass by 6.1 kg in men who did not exercise, and by 9.3 kg in men who combined the drug with resistance training 10. That study remains one of the most-cited references distinguishing supraphysiological dosing from replacement.

The Medical Risk Profile

Supraphysiological testosterone carries cardiovascular, hepatic, and hematologic risks absent at replacement doses. A 2010 study in the New England Journal of Medicine was stopped early after men over 65 receiving high-dose testosterone gel experienced significantly more cardiovascular adverse events than controls 11. The Endocrine Society recommends monitoring hematocrit (target below 54%), PSA, and lipid panels during TRT. At performance doses, polycythemia (hematocrit above 54%) occurs in a substantially higher proportion of users 3.

BALCO's custom formulations bypassed medical oversight entirely. No blood work monitoring. No dosage titration. No informed consent documentation.

What Bonds Has Said Since

Bonds has rarely addressed the substance allegations in detail since his legal proceedings concluded. His public comments have focused on his baseball legacy, Hall of Fame exclusion, and current role as a hitting instructor.

The 2017 Interview Pattern

In interviews during his years on the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) Hall of Fame ballot (2013 to 2022), Bonds typically declined to discuss BALCO directly. He told USA Today in 2017 that he felt his accomplishments spoke for themselves and that "everything I did was between me and my trainer." He was not elected by the BBWAA. In December 2022, he was referred to the Today's Game Era Committee and was not elected in that cycle either.

Absence of a Direct Admission

As of mid-2026, Bonds has not made a public statement acknowledging the intentional use of anabolic steroids, testosterone, HGH, or any controlled substance for performance enhancement. This places him in contrast to contemporaries such as Jose Canseco (who detailed his steroid use in a 2005 memoir), Alex Rodriguez (who admitted steroid use in a 2009 press conference), and Mark McGwire (who acknowledged using androstenedione and later admitted to steroid use in 2010).

The Broader Clinical Lesson

The Bonds case illustrates a pattern that endocrinologists and sports medicine physicians continue to encounter: the use of testosterone and peptide hormones outside medical supervision, without baseline lab values, without monitoring, and without clinical indication. The Endocrine Society explicitly recommends against prescribing testosterone to men without documented hypogonadism or to enhance athletic performance 3.

Compounding and Oversight Gaps

BALCO operated as an unlicensed compounding operation. The substances it produced were not subject to FDA cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) standards. The 2012 New England Journal of Medicine fungal meningitis outbreak linked to the New England Compounding Center underscored the risks of compounding facilities operating outside regulatory oversight 12. While that case involved contaminated steroids rather than anabolic formulations, it demonstrated the systemic risk when compounded injectables or topicals bypass standard pharmaceutical quality controls.

What a Monitored Protocol Looks Like

For men with confirmed hypogonadism, current evidence-based TRT includes: baseline total and free testosterone (drawn before 10 AM), complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, lipid panel, and PSA. Follow-up labs at 3 months, 6 months, and annually thereafter. Hematocrit checks every 6 months. Bone density assessment if indicated. The goal is symptom resolution within physiologic testosterone ranges, not supraphysiological dosing 3.

None of that framework applied to BALCO's distribution model.