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Former Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds arrives for the first day of his perjury trial on March 21, 2011 in San Francisco

In a smooth baritone that filled up the federal courtroom, Allen Ruby, Barry Bonds’ lawyer, laid out the defense of the home-run king, charging the U.S. government and some of Bonds’ ex-friends with rigging up a baseless perjury case against his client. 

Ruby repeated Bonds’ assertion that the slugger used steroids but didn’t know what they were at the time he injected and ingested them. The defense strategy was clear: discredit the government, its witnesses and the media’s portrayal of Bonds — without going so far as to say Bonds is a nice guy.

“Whether the evidence in this case persuades you that he's an admirable man or not an admirable man, we can all agree that it has nothing to do with the charges that are brought against him,” Ruby told the jury.

Ruby’s polished opening argument, replete with dramatic pauses and strategic insinuations, contrasted with the bland presentation of federal prosecutor Matt Parrella, who preceded the defense by delivering a sometimes-halting overview of the government’s case against Bonds.

As Bonds, who throws and bats left-handed, took notes with his right hand, Parrella gave a tutorial on the illicit substances that the player allegedly ingested. He told the jury that the former Giants trainer, Stan Conte, will help the government show how Bonds sought to “get his story straight” in a premeditated plan to lie to the grand jury.

“All he had to do was tell the truth,” Parrella told the jury. “That’s all. All he had to do was tell the truth. But he couldn’t do it. And the evidence will show that he planned not to do it.”

Parrella, who has close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair and speaks with a New York accent, seemed to lose his train of thought at times. But he spoke forcefully when he openly questioned Bonds’ assertion that he didn’t know what he was taking.

Parrella called the contention “utterly ridiculous, an unbelievable story.” The comment resulted in an objection from Ruby, which was sustained by Judge Susan Illston.

One of the government’s key witnesses is Steve Hoskins, a longtime friend of Bonds’ who ran the baseball player's memorabilia business. In his opening argument, Ruby fired squarely at the credibility of Hoskins, who was fired by Bonds after the slugger accused him of forging signatures and stealing money.

Ruby said that Bonds reported Hoskins to the authorities but that prosecutors let Hoskins off the hook when they investigated Bonds for perjury.

“You will learn that sometime in 2005, the government made a decision to give Steve Hoskins a form of amnesty,” Ruby said. “Right after that happened, Mr. Hoskins enthusiastically provided his services to the government.”