Despite how you personally feel about the means by which he got there, Barry Bonds is arguably the greatest batter of all time. Let’s face it, I could take all the steroids the world could offer and I’d still never be an athlete. Bonds was an absolute phenom to watch, and while he played for the San Francisco Giants, the stands of both Candlestick Park[1] and then Oracle Park were filled with fans there to witness one of Bonds’ home runs and/or steals.
Bonds was born on July 24, 1964 into a family of baseball royalty. His father was former major leaguer Bobby Bonds, who played his first seven seasons with the Giants. Barry’s godfather is Willie Mays[2] and Barry’s distant cousin is Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson. Bonds grew up in San Carlos on the Bay Area Peninsula and attended Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, excelling in baseball, basketball and football.
In 1982, Bonds was drafted by the Giants in the second round as a high school senior, but unable to get the salary he was looking for (a mere $5000 per season more), Bonds decided on attending Arizona State University. He was by far the best baseball player there, but with such talent came the personality to match. He was considered inconsiderate and self-centered and when he was suspended for breaking curfew his teammates initially voted against his return. But he was the best player on the team and exceptions were made. The school lifted Bonds’ suspension so he could play.
Bonds graduated from Arizona State in 1986 and was drafted with the 6th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played his initial season in center field but switched to left field his second season where he remained for the remainder of his career. Fan enthusiasm had been dismally low prior to Bonds’ arrival, but game attendance surged as he began racking up home runs. In 1988 Bonds married the mother of his two children.
Bonds was a member of the Pittsburg Pirates from 1986-1992. In 1993 he left the Pirates as a free agent and signed a six-year contract with the San Francisco Giants for $43.75 million. When he arrived in San Francisco he intended to wear #24, the number he wore for the Pirates but also the retired number of Willie Mays. Mays gave his blessing, but fan outrage forced Bonds to chose #25, his father’s number, instead.
Bonds’ career with the Giants lasted from 1993-2007. Among his records were most career home runs (762) and most home runs in a single season (73). In 1996 he became the second Major Leaguer to ever hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season, the first being Jose Canseco. He became the 4th player to hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases after Willie Mays, Andre Dawson, and his father Bobby. On May 28, 1998 he became the fifth player in baseball history to be intentionally walked in the bottom of the 9th with two outs and bases loaded.
Bonds and his wife divorced in 1994 and had their marriage annulled in 1997. Their son Nikolai would remain a batboy throughout Bonds’ Giants career, always sitting next to his dad in the dugout. Bonds married Liz Watson in 1998 and bought a house in Los Altos Hills where he lived with Watson and their daughter until their separation in 2009. They reconciled for a short time but finally divorced in 2011.
In 1999 Bonds tore the tendon in his bicep which required surgery and had him out of the game for 15 weeks. When he returned at the end of the season he struggled. In 2000, Bonds hired personal trainer Greg Anderson and Bonds burst back onto the field, improving each season and continuing to break both career and major league records.
In 2002, Bonds re-signed with the Giants for a 5-year, $90 million contract. A year later, Greg Anderson, an employee of Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), was indicted after an FBI investigation uncovered that not only was BALCO manufacturing an undetectable anabolic steroid, but its employees were supplying the drug to professional athletes. Bonds testified before the Grand Jury that he had never used anything manufactured by BALCO. The innuendo that Bonds might have taken steroids did not impact his performance. In 2004, aged 40, Bonds had the best batting season ever. That year he passed Willie Mays’ home run total.
The steroid scandal was made public in the offseason before the 2005 season. Bonds immediately declared his innocence, attributing his changed physique and newfound strength to body building, a proper diet, and legitimate supplements. While rumors continued to swirl about did he or didn’t he, Bonds suffered a knee injury and had multiple surgeries. When he returned, he was as strong as ever.
In 2005, Anderson and other BALCO employees struck a deal with federal prosecutors that did not require them to reveal the names of the athletes they supplied steroids to.
In January 2007, the New York Daily News reported that Bonds had tested positive for amphetamines. Baseball rules at the time excused a first time offense, and it was never meant to be made public, but public criticism was swift and harsh. In his defense, Bonds claimed that he had gotten the substance from fellow teammate Mark Sweeney’s locker, thinking it was something other than what it was. Bonds would later retract this claim and make a public apology to Sweeney. On August 24, 2007, Barry Bonds broke the all-time home run record when he hit his 756th home run. The City celebrated this milestone with a rally in Justin Herman Plaza. At the end of the season, however, Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice for lying while under oath about his alleged use of steroids. On September 21, 2007 the Giants confirmed that they would not be re-signing the 43-year-old player. Though Bonds desperately wanted to be signed on with a new team, no Major League team was interested.
Bonds went to trial in 2011. The perjury charge had been dropped, but Bonds was tried and convicted of obstruction of justice. He admitted under oath that he used BALCO steroids, but insisted that he believed he was taking flaxseed oil and a supplement for arthritis. He was sentenced to 30 days house arrest, two years probation, and 250 hours of community service, but the district judge overseeing the case delayed the sentence pending appeal. The conviction was ultimately overturned 10-1 by the 9th District of the US Court of Appeals (located in San Francisco) in 2015. Soon after his conviction was overturned, he was hired as a hitting coach for the Miami Marlins. He was let go after one season.
In 2017 Bonds rejoined the Giants as Special Advisor to the CEO. In 2018 his jersey was retired. At the ceremony, Willie Mays gave an impassioned speech as to why Bonds should be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Despite Bonds’ contribution to the game, and the pure joy he brought to millions of people who watched him play, he and other suspected steroid users have yet to be voted in. If he is not selected in 2022, his chance will be lost forever. When asked about this in March 2020 Bonds replied, “My heart, it’s broken. Really broken.”
[1] Candlestick Park: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3712
[2] Willie Mays: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3266
