Although Barry Bonds has not been elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame for his use of steroids, “The Sultan of Shot” was awarded a consolation prize as the San Francisco Giants retired his number 25.
.@BarryBonds returns to a familiar spot. #Bonds25 pic.twitter.com/0iB2j3iADz
— MLB (@MLB) August 12, 2018
Bonds spent 15 of his 22 seasons with the Giants, and what he was able to accomplish on the diamond is nothing short of spectacular.
Bonds crushed home runs like the world had never seen. In fact, he was such a threat at the plate, that managers would sometimes contemplate intentionally walking him with the bases loaded rather than pitch to him.
20 years ago today, the #Dbacks pulled off the…unconventional:
Intentionally walking Barry Bonds with the bases loaded. pic.twitter.com/TGIJObhu6V
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 28, 2018
He was a menace at the plate, breaking several MLB records during the course of his career. Bonds is baseball’s all-time leader in home runs (762), walks (2,558), and intentional walks (688).
11 years ago today, @BarryBonds hit HR #756.https://t.co/KLX5oabqjY pic.twitter.com/K0Hg7snsKw
— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 7, 2018
His list of career accolades seems endless. Bonds is a 14-time All-Star, 7-time NL MVP, 12-time Silver Slugger, but his productivity wasn’t just limited to his offensive game. He was also recognized as a Gold Glover eight times between 1990-1998.
His best season as a pro would come in 2001 when he hit 73 home runs and 137 RBIs in 153 contests. If you do the math, that’s about one long ball every other game.
Bonds is very grateful for this honor as he showed his appreciation on the field during the ceremony.
“I am overwhelmed with emotions as the reality of this day sets in,” said the 3-time Hank Aaron Award winner. “This may come as a surprise to a lot of people but as a child, I didn’t even want to play baseball. I wanted to play all sports — basketball, football, ride my bike, all the things that kids do. But once my mom signed me up … I got my first taste of what would be my lifelong passion.”He would continue by saying that he “knew it was coming at one point. No one’s wearing it,” he said. “What they did is fantastic and how they did it was first class.”
While his career numbers will likely never be matched, his career as a whole will always be tainted over his use of performance-enhancing drugs. Despite this, 24-time All-Star and first ballot Hall of Famer Willie Mays endorses the notion of his godson being voted into Cooperstown.
“Give somebody honor that deserves to be in the Hall of Fame,” said Mays. ” The Hall of Fame is a type of fraternity that, when you get there you’ll say ‘Man, how did I get here?’ And I want him to have that honor. On behalf of all of the people in San Francisco and the country, vote this guy in.”
Featured Image Via Flickr/goinslo
