Barry Bonds Convicted of Obstruction of Justice, but Jury Hung on Other Charges

April 13, 2011 -- Barry Bonds, Major League Baseball's all-time home run leader, was convicted of obstruction of justice by a San Francisco jury -- but the jury was unable to reach a verdict on other charges.

Obstruction of justice carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, but it is unlikely Bonds will see anywhere near that amount of prison time, if any at all.

The jury spent four days deliberating on the obstruction charge, plus the three counts of lying to a grand jury in 2003, for which it did not reach a verdict.

Prosecutors claimed the seven-time Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player knowingly lied when he denied taking steroids and human growth hormone, and that Bonds also lied when he said that his doctor was the only person ever to have injected him with anything.

The obstruction charge alleged that Bonds hindered the grand jury's investigation by lying.

The case, which was eight years in the making and cost millions of dollars, culminated in a three-week trial filled with seedy and embarrassing details.

There was testimony from Bonds' ex-girlfriend about his sexual organs and from a Giants' equipment manager about the slugger's ballooning hat size, all of which the government claimed was evidence of steroid use.

The government highlighted the fact that Bonds began his career as a wiry, speedster in 1986 before bulking up, gaining more than 50 pounds and breaking home run records in the process.

"The government's case was basically that Barry Bonds knew what he was doing," said ESPN reporter T.J. Quinn, "[that] there's no way an athlete of his stature, with his money, would not know what's going on to his body."