It started out as a love affair like any other: casual flirting, sweet phone messages exchanged between the man and woman, and later, romantic getaways around the country. Only the man in the alleged relationship was anything but ordinary.
He was the godson of Willie Mays, already a seasoned big league star and the modern face of the storied Giants baseball franchise. He was Barry Bonds. For nearly a decade, the San Francisco slugger allegedly had a relationship with a woman named Kimberly Bell whom he met at Candlestick Park in , his second season in the Bay Area after arriving as a high-priced free agent from Pittsburgh. He was crazy about her. She talked exclusively with the Daily News this past week about some of the compelling details that will be included.
Jones compiled over 37 hours of taped interviews with Bell last year and says she also secured portions of material Bell recently submitted to a San Francisco grand jury for the BALCO steroids trafficking case, of which Bonds is a key figure.
Levine told the News last Monday that many of the messages are profanity-laced threats. He did not physically abuse her. Jones says that although Bell never traveled with the Giants on the team plane during road trips, she became a fixture at many away series.
Reggie Younger Jr. She has the proof of that. She stayed with him in his hotels. Bell eventually moved to San Francisco and earned a comfortable living as a graphic artist. Then came a chance meeting with Bonds in when Bell won a contest that awarded luxury seats to a Giants home game. Jones says most of that money came from memorabilia sales. I woke up every day wondering what kind of mood is he going to be in today?
