Barry Bonds and American Baseball's Image

Barry Bonds was born on July 24, 1964. He was the son of former Major League Baseball player and three time all star Bobby Bonds. Bonds grew up in California and went to Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, California and excelled in baseball, basketball, and football. He played on the jv team during his freshman year and the remainder of his high school career on the Varsity Team. He batted for a .467 batting average his senior year, and was named prep All-American. In 1983, Bonds played for Arizona State University, hitting .347 with 45 home runs and 175  runs batted in. In 1984 he batted .360 and had 30 stolen bases. In 1985 he hit 23 home runs with 66 RBIs and a .368 batting average.(Baseball rederence.com) He was a Sporting News All-American selection that year. The incredible numbers Bonds was producing soon drew the attention of tons of Major League teams.

 

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Bonds in the first round of the 1985 draft. He played one year in the minors just before getting called up to the big show in mid 1986 season. Bonds played for the Pirates for the next six years. Within those six years, Bonds would smack 176 home runs, steal 251 bags,(Baseball Refernce.com) win three gold glove awards, and two MVP awards. Despite this, though, Bond’s pirates never made it past the first round of the playoffs. And, after a heartbreaking loss to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS in 1992, Bonds began to question his future in the majors. When the season finally ended in 1992, he would be the top product on the free agent market that off-season.

 

In 1993, Bonds left the Pirates to sign a lucrative free agent contract worth a then-record $43.75 million ($71.7 million today)(Baseball Refernce.com) over six years with the Giants, with whom his father had spent the first seven years of his career, and with whom his godfather Willie Mays played 22 of his 24 Major League seasons. The deal was, at that time, the largest in baseball history, in both total value and average annual salary. Many baseball experts considered the Giants’ and Bond’s contract as “The steal of the century,” with one San Francisco reporter stating, “Barry Bonds would one day put up numbers no one will believe.”(Ken Burns Documentary) Once the offseason ended however, it was back to work for Bonds. In 1993, Bonds smacked 46 home runs while batting .336 in his first year with the Giants. (Baseball Refernce.com) He won his third MVP award with the Giants once the 1993 season concluded, and it was made clear that Barry Bonds was the greatest baseball player in the world. (Medium.com)