Steroid clinic falls during Bonds’ visit

LOS ANGELES – It was steroids awareness day at Dodger Stadium, and it had nothing to do with Barry Bonds.

Approximately 100 Little Leaguers were at the ballpark before Thursday night’s game against Bonds’ San Francisco Giants for a two-hour session led by Los Angeles center fielder Juan Pierre, hitting coach Bill Mueller and former Dodger Lou Johnson. The boys and girls, ages 12 to 17, received a Dodger goodie bag.

“I’m the one who can tell you if you work hard you can make it,” Pierre said. “I’m not that big. I haven’t hit a home run in 600 at-bats, but I use what I can. I’m a speed guy, so I use my legs.”

The 43-year-old Bonds headed into Thursday night’s series finale with 754 home runs, one from tying Hank Aaron’s record. There are suspicions the slugger’s pursuit was fueled by steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, which he has long denied knowingly taking.

In their book “Game of Shadows,” released last year, authors Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada wrote that Bonds started using steroids because he was jealous of the attention paid to Mark McGwire’s home run race with Sammy Sosa in 1998.

The awareness event, held in conjunction with the Taylor Hooton Foundation and the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society, had been rescheduled from its original date, June 29.

“Due to a scheduling conflict with the Taylor Hooton Foundation, we had to move it. It wasn’t until 10 days ago that we realized that we were playing the Giants,” Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch said. “It was a complete coincidence. We gave the Giants a call, a heads up, just so they weren’t caught off guard, and nobody there lodged any complaints with us.”

When asked whether he thought Bonds had used steroids, Pierre responded: “I don’t know. I’m staying away from that one.”