Victimized Pitcher Had Tainted Past

SAN DIEGO (Aug. 5) - Clay Hensley became an unusual footnote in baseball history when he served up Barry Bonds' record-tying 755th home run Saturday night.

While Bonds has been shadowed by suspicions of steroid use for several years, which some fans feel has tainted his chase for Hank Aaron's home run record, Hensley got caught when he was in the minor leagues.

In April 2005, Hensley was one of four Padres farmhands who were suspended for 15 games for using performance-enhancing substances, either steroids or steroid precursors.

Overall, 38 minor leaguers were suspended that spring for violating baseball's minor league steroids policy.

"To me, that's not very smart when you know you are going to be tested," Padres general manager Kevin Towers said at the time. "It's good the names are out there. Public disclosures are going to be beneficial. I hope it embarrasses the heck out of them."

Hensley made it to the big leagues later that year, picking up his first win, coincidentally, against the Giants that Sept. 27 by throwing 3 2-3 scoreless innings in relief.

Hensley originally was an eighth-round draft pick of the Giants before being traded to the Padres on July 13, 2003, for Matt Herges.

Now he's known as the 445th pitcher to allow a homer to Bonds.

The 27-year-old Texan came into Saturday night's game with a 13-16 career record and a 3.71 ERA. He was on the opening day roster for the second straight season before straining a groin muscle in a start against Washington on May 2 and going onto the disabled list. He was sent to Triple-A after being activated, then was called up on July 25 after All-Star Chris Young went on the DL.

Hensley was making his first start since May 2.

It was perhaps fitting that Bonds hit a historic homer in San Diego, since he's victimized the Padres so many times before.

Bonds has hit 87 homers against the Padres, his most against any team, and 43 in San Diego, his most in any road city. However, it was just his fourth in 78 at-bats at Petco Park, which opened in 2004.

And to think, Bonds despises Petco Park. The Padres joked before Petco opened in 2004 that they had made it "Bonds proof." After Bonds got his first futile crack at the spacious park, he said the Padres had made it "baseball proof."

The left-hander's shot went an estimated 382 feet to left-center field. The deepest spot at Petco is the gap in right-center, where it's 400 feet.