Barry Bonds

photo courtesy wikicommons

On May 30th, 1986, one Barry Lamar Bonds, son of Major League All-Star Bobby Bonds, stepped onto the baseball field as a Pittsburgh Pirate. The rest is history.

As a high school athlete, Bonds excelled in baseball, basketball, and football. His outstanding baseball performance (.467 batting average) made him an All-American and was invited by the Giants (the team with whom his father played) to go straight from high school and into the majors in the 2nd round of the draft. Bonds declined their offer of $70,000, wanting $75,000, and enrolled in college instead. At Arizona State University, Bonds continued his streak of awesome during his first year by holding a .347 batting average, 45 home runs, and 175 RBIs. By his sophomore year, Bonds had become a Sporting News All-American, tied the NCAA record with seven consecutive hits in the College World Series, and was a member of the All-Time College World Series Team. He graduated in 1986 with a degree in criminology.

Barry Bonds was the 6th pick in the first round of the 1985 draft. He was chosen by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were in dire need of serious talent. The average attendance of a Pirates game in 1986 was around 10,000. With the addition of Bonds, the fans once again became enthusiastic and by 1987 a record 52,119 fans attended the season opener. In 1988 the record was once again shattered with 54,089 at the opener thanks mostly to Barry Bonds.

His first MVP award came in 1990, with a batting average of .301 with 33 home runs, 114 RBIs, and 52 stolen bases. That same year, he won his first Golden Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award. With the Pirates' ever-increasing lineup of quality players, they were frequent contenders for the World Series. However, this never happened. In 1993, alongside pitcher Doug Drabek, Bonds demanded money that the Pirates couldn't pony up, so he instead became a free agent and landed himself in San Francisco to play for the Giants, who were, by that time, more than ready to give Barry the money he wanted ($43 million and change - the largest baseball contract at the time).

Without going deeper into the numbers and awards, (MVPs, high counts in statistics, trophies, 500-500 Club, whatever), Bonds continued to do well as a Major League Baseball player while he played in San Francisco, as expected.

What was not expected was Mr. Bonds magical growth from a nice man with an athletic build to a hulking, neckless, bulging mess practically overnight. The Incredible Hulk formerly known as Barry Bonds suddenly began putting up numbers unseen since the days of Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, and Mickey Mantle. Fans and non-fans alike took a very emotional interest in his transformation, brought in part by Jose Canseco's outstanding work of literature - Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big.

Barry Bonds holds the following records (source: www.wikipedia.org):

• Home runs in a single season (73), 2001
• Home runs against different pitchers (449)
• Home runs since turning 40 years old (74)
• Home runs in the year he turned 43 years old (28)
• Consecutive seasons with 30 or more home runs (13), 1992–2004
• Slugging percentage in a single season (.863), 2001
• Slugging percentage in a World Series (1.294), 2002
• Consecutive seasons with .600 slugging percentage or higher (8), 1998–2005
• On-base percentage in a single season (.609), 2004
• Walks in a single season (232), 2004
• Intentional walks in a single season (120), 2004
• Consecutive games with a walk (18)
• MVP awards (7—closest competitors trail with 3), 1990, 1992–93, 2001–04
• Consecutive MVP awards (4), 2001–04
• National League Player of the Month selections
  
• Oldest player (age 38) to win the National League batting title (.370) for the first time, 2002

Interested in reading more on this great American baseball legend? The Garland County Library has the following:

Cooperstown Confidential: Heroes, Rogues, and the Inside Story of the Baseball Hall of Fame

Game of Shadows : Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroid Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports

Love Me, Hate Me : Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero

The Library also has a plethora of books on baseball, from children's literature, to young adult, to 500-page whoppers packed with facts and anecdotes about The Game. Come inject yourself with some knowledge!