Barry Bonds

From BR Bullpen

BarryBondsTux.jpg

Barry Lamar Bonds

BR page

Biographical Information[edit]

Introduction[edit]

"Certainly the most unappreciated superstar of my lifetime... Griffey has always been more popular, but Bonds has been a far, far greater player... When people begin to take in all of his accomplishments... Bonds may well be rated among the five greatest players in the history of the game." - Bill James, 1999

One of the greatest players of all time Barry Bonds holds the single-season home run record (73) with his 2001 performance and is first on the all-time MLB home runs list with 762. He also leads the postion-WAR column with 162.8. His lifetime Slugging Percentage of .606 ranks first among post-integration players. He was a highly controversial figure throughout his career, because of his surly demeanor, poor relationship with the media, and the allegations of steroid use that dogged his pursuit of the career home run record. He was found guilty of obstruction of justice in a trial held in early 2011 on charges stemming from his testimony to a grand jury regarding steroid use; a conviction that was later overturned in 2015.

Early Career[edit]

BarryBonds86.jpg

Barry Bonds is the son of Bobby Bonds and the godson of Hall of Famer Willie Mays. His aunt, Rosie Bonds, competed in the 1964 Olympics in track and field. He is also a distant cousin of Reggie Jackson. His brother, Bobby Bonds, Jr., was drafted but never made it to the big leagues. Rick Reuschel, Ken Oberkfell, Mel Hall, and Danny Darwin all played with both Barry and Bobby Bonds.

Barry was considered a prime prospect from an early age and was signed as the sixth overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates and scouting supervisor Jerry Gardner in the 1985 amateur draft, coming out of Arizona State. He had earlier been a second round draft choice of the San Francisco Giants - the team most associated with his father - in the 1982 amateur draft coming out of high school, but did not sign. In the 1984 Amateur World Series, Bonds led Team USA by hitting .304/.319/.565 with 16 RBI and 3 home runs in 11 games. He tied for 7th in homers and tied Lourdes Gourriel Sr. for second in RBI, 4 behind leader Roberto Bianchi. In the 1984 College World Series, Bonds tied Dave Magadan's College World Series record of 8 consecutive hits.

Bonds did not waste any time in the minor leagues. Shortly after signing with the Pirates, he reported to their Class A farm team in the Carolina League, the Prince William Pirates, and hit .299/.383/.547 in 71 games, stealing 15 bases in 18 attempts. Promoted straight to AAA at the beginning of the 1986 season, he did even better with the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League, putting up a line of .311/.435/.527 in 44 games with 16 steals in 21 attempts. He was the very definition of a "five-tool prospect", a player who had speed, could field and throw, and who could hit for both average and power. On May 30, 1986, less than a year after being drafted, he made his debut with the Bucs.

Pittsburgh Pirates[edit]

Making his major league debut at 21, Bonds immediately set himself as one of the young players to watch in the major leagues, even if his game still had major flaws as a rookie with the Pirates in 1986. His most visible weakness was batting average, as he only hit .223 in 113 games that first season; he also struck out 102 times, reminding many observers of his father's strikeout records. But the good could not be ignored: he slugged 45 extra-base hits, including 16 homers, drew 65 walks, and stole 37 bases while being caught only 7 times. In spite of his low batting average, the Pirates used him regularly as a lead-off hitter; his speed and ability to draw walks compensated for the small number of singles. After the season, Bill James joked that Bonds keeps telling people that he is not his father, but it would help if he stopped playing exactly like his father. Bonds, at the time, was very lean and athletic and reminded people of Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis, two similar players who had come into the National League immediately before him, although it was not clear whether he had the same superstar potential as the other two.

In 1987, there was a one-year surge in hitting throughout baseball, and Bonds improved his average to .261 in 150 games, and his slugging percentage rose from .416 to .492. He cut down on his strikeouts considerably, to 88 in 150 games, but his walks also went down, and as a result, his OBP was the almost same as in his rookie year: .329 compared to .330. Because of the league-wide surge in offense, his OPS+ only rose from 103 to 114. In 1988, Bonds took another step forward by hitting .283/.368/.491 with 24 homers and 97 runs scored. The Pirates were still largely using him as their leadoff hitter, depressing his RBI totals, but the rise in OBP made him a much more valuable player, as his OPS+ of 148 attests. He had a slight setback in 1989, hitting .248/.351/.426 for an OPS+ of 126, his last season as the lead-off hitter.

BarryBonds92.jpg

Bonds's first four years had been productive, but he was still not a star. That changed suddenly in 1990. He was moved to the middle of the lineup and, with Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke also having solid years, he had a lot of runners to drive in. He set personal bests with 33 homers, 104 runs scored, 114 RBI, 52 steals (the most he would have in his entire career) and a .565 slugging percentage. He became one of the stars of the National League with that tremendous season which earned him a trip to the 1990 All-Star Game, and then the 1990 National League Most Valuable Player Award. Indeed, at that point, Strawberry and Davis had hit their peaks prematurely, and would thereafter be looking up to Bonds, and not the other way around. It would take him a few more years to be as hyped as the two had been, however. The Pirates won their first division title since the 1979 World Championship, but Bonds struggled in the NLCS against the Cincinnati Reds, going only 3 for 18, all singles. It would take him until the 2002 postseason to shed the reputation, begun that year, that he could not deliver the goods in October.

The breakout season was followed by a string of other great years, as he led the National League in OPS+ four consecutive years from 1990 to 1993; he played in every All-Star Game from 1992 to 1998, finished second in the MVP voting in 1991 and then won the award in both 1992 and 1993. In 1992, he led the league in runs scored (109), walks (127), OBP (.456) and slugging (.624). There was seemingly nothing he could not do on a baseball field: he won 8 Gold Gloves in 9 years from 1990 to 1998, only missing out in 1995, and won the Silver Slugger Award 7 of 8 years from 1990 to 1997, also missing out in 1995. Originally a center fielder as a rookie, he moved to left field full time in 1988 as Andy Van Slyke took over in center, but both were outstanding defenders, giving the Pirates amazing coverage of the outfield. The Pirates won two more division titles in 1991 and 1992, but both years lost to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS; Bonds was quiet at the plate in both series, and the tendency to blame your best player for any shortcomings got attached to him. Many Pittsburgh fans considered that his lack of spark in the three NLCS was the main reason the Bucs had failed to reach the World Series. His always difficult relationship with the media did not help things. After the 1992 season, he became a free agent and decided to head to the city where his father enjoyed his greatest success, San Francisco.

San Francisco Giants[edit]

BarryBonds97.jpg

Barry's decision to sign with the San Francisco Giants was a key point in that franchise's history. The Giants had an uneasy partnership with the cross-bay Oakland Athletics since both teams began sharing the Bay Area market in 1968, with both being on the brink of moving to another city at one point. Bonds's signing, followed in 2000 by the opening of Pac Bell Park, ignited an on-field renaissance and a rise in popularity for the team that definitely ended any thought of a move. In his first season in a Giants uniform, the team won 103 games, falling to the Braves on the last day of the season, and Bonds won his third MVP award. He hit 43 homers and drove in 126 runs - personal bests at the time - and then repeated that season, with a little variation from year-to-year, every year until the end of the 1990s. Not only was he excellent, he was also consistent, and hardly ever missed a game until an elbow injury cut his playing time to 102 games in 1999. He did not win another MVP award during that stretch, even though he put up superlative numbers year after year. There was always a bigger story around, whether his teammate Jeff Kent, who was the MVP in 2000, or the epic chase of the single-season home run record between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998.

At that point, Bonds seemed to be about to wind down what had been an exceptional, Hall of Fame-quality career, but one in which he had not set any particular records. Aged 34 in 1999 and seemingly showing the first effects of aging, he was expected to begin the downside of his career, with his numbers gradually tailing down. He had hit 445 homers by the end of 1999, with a high of 46 in 1993. 500 home runs was within sight, but a normal aging process would seemingly preclude him from any more eye-popping totals. But then he hit a personal-best 49 homers in 2000 and began the most remarkable - and controversial - part of his career.

The Chase for the Home Run Record[edit]

Bonds once again became the most talked-about player in baseball in 2001 when he began to hit home runs at a prodigious rate. As he seemed able to put the ball over the fence seemingly at will, he began also to draw walks at an amazing rate - 177 for the year - but that did not stop him from piling up the dingers. By August, it was clear that Mark McGwire's apparently unbreakable record of 70 homers - set only three years earlier - was in danger. Barry hit his 50th homer on August 11 and number 60 on September 5. When Major League Baseball stopped its season for a week in the wake of the September 11 attacks, he had hit 63 home runs. It was now clear that he had a shot at the all-time record, and even though teams tried to avoid pitching to him as much as possible, he kept on hitting long balls. He victimized Jason Middlebrook three times in the span of five days to reach 68. On October 4, he went yard against Wilfredo Rodriguez to tie McGwire's mark, then the next day hit two long balls at home against Chan Ho Park to set a new record. He added another one off Dennis Springer on the season's last day, October 7, to make the record 73. His other stats for the season were just as mind-boggling, including a .515 OBP, .863 slugging, and an OPS of 1.379 for an OPS+ of 259. This time, there was no denying him a fourth MVP Award.

In 2002 Bonds continued where he had left off. He did not hit homers at the superhuman pace of the previous year - and by now the tactic of walking him every time he came up in a crucial situation had become standard - but he still connected 46 times while drawing a record 198 walks. When he did not hit home runs, he still made solid contact, as his league-leading .370 batting average attests. With all the walks and hits, his OPS+ was even higher than in his record-setting year, at 268. He won the second of four consecutive MVP Awards - his fifth overall. In the postseason, he was just as devastating, leading the wild card Giants to the brink of triumph in the 2002 World Series. After connecting 4 times and driving in 10 runs in the first two rounds of the postseason, he proved an unending headache for the Anaheim Angels' pitchers in the World Series. They walked him 13 times, but he still managed 8 hits, including 2 doubles and 4 homers, scored 8 runs and drove in 6. The Giants held a 3 games to 2 lead and were 5 runs ahead in Game 6 of the Series, then collapsed, and Bonds's amazing performance was all for naught. The Angels won the thrilling World Series, but Bonds had crushed his reputation as a postseason choker.

BarryBonds01.jpg

He had another great year in 2003, as the Giants won 100 games and a division title under new manager Felipe Alou. On his way to another MVP Award, Bonds hit .341 with 45 homers and 90 RBI, with 111 runs scored. The low RBI total was, of course, due to opposing teams' unwillingness to ever pitch to him with runners on base. He drew 61 intentional walks that season, after earning 62 the previous year. In the postseason, the Giants were surprised by the Florida Marlins in the NLDS, who walked Bonds 8 times in 18 plate appearances. It would be his last postseason appearance. In 2004, Bonds set a single-season record for the highest OPS with 1.422, breaking his own record of 1.381 set in 2002. The only other players in the top 10 in that category are Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. His single-season record for intentional walks of 120 set that year is so far above any previous totals as to be considered almost unbreakable. The record is almost 3 times the previous record (by someone other than Bonds) of 45 by Willie McCovey. The second-highest total is 68 by Bonds himself. He won the MVP award for the seventh and last time, and a second batting title; no other player has won the MVP award more than three times.

Bonds hit his 700th career home run on September 17, 2004, at SBC Park. He missed almost all of the 2005 season with a knee injury, only playing 14 games in September. Already 40, his chance of increasing his career totals by much seemed slim at that point, but he made a remarkable comeback the following season. On May 28, 2006, he hit his 715th home run off Byung-Hyun Kim to pass Babe Ruth's 714 and move into second place on the all-time major league list behind Hank Aaron's 755. He hit 26 home runs that year, playing just below the exalted levels he had set from 2000 to 2004, and indicating that the career home run record was in fact well within his reach. Shortly after turning 43, Bonds hit home run number 755 off Clay Hensley, a pitcher who had been suspended in the minors for using steroids (or, more exactly, a steroid precursor). He hit his 756th home run on August 7, 2007 off Mike Bacsik Jr.. After Bonds hit the record-breaking homer, the team held a brief ceremony and played a recorded congratulatory statement from Aaron. On September 21, 2007, Bonds announced that the Giants would not re-sign him after the 2007 season. His 15-year Giant career officially came to an end on October 1, when the Giants finished their season against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played his final game with the Giants on September 27 against the San Diego Padres and ended the season with 762 career home runs.

After the Giants' lack of interest in offering him another contract, all the other teams shied away from him because of the ever-growing aura of controversy attached to his name. While columnists speculated during the 2008 season that one team or another should consider adding Bonds to its lineup, no serious offer ever turned up. This was in spite of the fact that Bonds was still a highly-productive player in 2007 (at least as a hitter), posting an OPS+ of 172 and slugging 28 homers. Bonds stated through his representatives that he was a victim of blackballing, but after the end of the 2008 season, articles about his potential return to action slowed to a trickle, as it became clear that his career had ended with a whimper. By that point, the only time his name would come up in the news was in connection with legal problems, or with speculation that he would be turned down by voters once he would become eligible for election into the Hall of Fame. This particular line of thinking became predominant after Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro did very poorly in their first years of eligibility for Cooperstown because of their association with PEDs.

In 2015, Bonds filed a grievance against Major League Baseball for collusion regarding the way his career ended; he considered that there was a concerted effort to keep him out of the game in spite of the fact he was still a productive player after the 2007 season. On August 27th, arbitrator Fredric Horowitz ruled against the grievance. In 2017, on the 10th anniversary of record-breaking homer, he repeated that his main regret was not having been able to play another year and have a shot at 800 homers.

The Steroids Issue[edit]

BarryBonds.jpg

Although Bonds never tested positive for steroids, his involvement since 2003 in the BALCO scandal made him a frequent target of the anti-steroids backlash that hit MLB in the early 2000s. In 2003, he was called to testify before a grand jury in relation with the federal investigation of charges of steroids trafficking against BALCO. This was because the name of his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, appeared on a list of BALCO clients. Part of this testimony was leaked to the press and later served as the basis for the book Game of Shadows, published early in 2006, which painted Bonds as a willful steroid user. It was then revealed in early 2007 that Bonds did fail a test for an unnamed stimulant - not steroids - in 2006, but this first positive test did not carry a mandatory penalty in accordance with MLB's drug policy. In fact, under MLB rules, this first positive test should not even have been made public.

When Bonds started closing in on the all-time career home run record, the controversy surrounding his rumored use of steroids became even greater. The public perception was that he was a user of performance drugs, even if nothing had been proved. A big question during the 2007 season was whether commissioner Bud Selig would attend the games in which Bonds had a chance to break Hank Aaron's record.

The Trial[edit]

for more details, see Trial of Barry Bonds In March 2011, the trial of Barry Bonds for perjury and obstruction of justice began in San Francisco. The charges stemmed from his testimony before a federal grand jury in the BALCO investigation in 2003. Bonds's personal trainer, Greg Anderson, refused to testify, earning imprisonment for contempt of court, but others provided very damaging testimony. Associates such as childhood friend and business partner Steve Hoskins and former mistress Kimberly Bell both testified to Bonds's consumption of PEDs and associated physiological and psychological changes which ensued. A number of former players confirmed that Anderson had supplied them with PEDs, and the prosecution introduced a urine sample containing traces of various substances as evidence. Hoskins' sister even testified to having personally seen Bonds being injected by Anderson. Still, the defense declined to call any counter witnesses and in his final statement, defense lawyer Allen Ruby argued that the prosecution had failed to prove its case. On April 13th, the jury announced its verdict of guilty on the count of obstruction of justice, although it could not come to an agreement regarding the three remaining perjury charges. On August 26th, Judge Illston upheld the conviction after hearing oral arguments from both sides, leaving the defense to consider an appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On December 16th, she sentenced Bonds to two years' probation, 30 days of house arrest, a $4,000 fine and 250 hours of community service. Bonds's lawyers appealed the verdict and, after a protracted process, his conviction on the felony charge of obstruction of justice was overturned on April 22, 2015.

Hall of Fame Candidacy[edit]

BarryBonds06.jpg

Based on numbers alone, there is no doubt that Barry Bonds belongs in the Hall of Fame; he is in fact one of the inner-circle Hall of Famers, whose name should be mentioned when discussing the few greatest players of all-time. Even if one elects to dismiss the latter part of his career, during which evidence that he took PEDs is nearly incontrovertible, his accomplishments still present an extremely strong case for induction.

However, that is counting without the widespread disgust that the steroid era left among fans in general, and sportswriters in particular. Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro had already felt the wrath of voters before Bonds first became eligible for election to Cooperstown, finishing with vote totals well below what they would have received under normal circumstances. Bonds's presence on the ballot for the first time in 2013, alongside other first-timers Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa, resulted in that ballot being dubbed the "steroid ballot". All of the avowed or suspected users were punished by voters, receiving very low vote totals in a year during which no player was elected by the BBWAA. In Bonds's case, he got 36.2% of the vote, a total nearly identical to that of Clemens, and well behind other first-year candidates Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza and Curt Schilling, whose statistical accomplishments were nowhere near his. In 2014, he failed to progress at all, falling to 34.7% of the total. With the very strong climate against PED users continuing to prevail among BBWAA members, it was unclear at that point that Bonds would be able to overcome their aversion and gain election in the foreseeable future. In 2015, he received 36.8% and in 2016, 44.3%. In 2017, he finally passed the 50% mark, just behind Clemens, obtaining 53.8% of the vote. Like Clemens, he stalled in 2018, with 56.4%, his percentage only going up because there were fewer ballots that year. He did move up a bit more in 2019, to 59.1%, just 2 votes behind Clemens, as the two were clearly moving in tandem. In 2020, he was up to 60.7%, now just one vote behind Clemens and he passed him in 2021, albeit by just one vote, while still falling short, at 61.8% in a year when no one was elected. He thus entered his final year of eligibility in 2022 unlikely to make up the ground still needed before his case was to be passed to the Veterans Committee. Indeed, his vote total was 66%, still significantly far from the needed total.

Post-playing Career[edit]

The first few years after Bonds' retirement were dominated by news of his legal problems and the controversy surrounding his Hall of Fame candidacy. Bonds made a timid return to baseball in 2014 when he was named a special instructor by the Giants, spending a week with the team during spring training. His name finally was mentioned again for baseball reasons after the 2015 season when reports emerged that the Miami Marlins were considering hiring him as an assistant hitting coach. His hiring as coach for the 2016 season was confirmed on December 4th. He lasted just one year in the job, being let go immediately after the season ended.

In 2017, he returned to the San Francisco Giants as a special assistant to CEO Larry Baer and part-time hitting instructor. In 2018, his rehabilitation continued as the Giants retired his uniform number, 25, on August 11th. On that day, an 87-year-old Willie Mays spoke to an enthusiastic crowd asking for his statue to be erected alongside his outside AT&T Park, and for Bonds's election to the Hall of Fame. He was back as an instructor in spring training in 2020, and, for a rare time, opened up about his thoughts in an interview with The Athletic. He said he felt like a pariah and "a ghost in a big empty house, just rattling around", missing out on a lot of things because he was still shunned, not just by the Hall of Fame, but by the baseball community at large. He compared his treatment to a "death sentence". While he was proud of his accomplishments, he explained that, in retrospect, he would likely have done some things differently off the field.

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • 14-time NL All-Star (1990, 1992-1998, 2000-2004 & 2007)
  • 7-time NL MVP (1990, 1992-1993, 2001-2004)
  • 8-time NL Gold Glove Winner (1990-1994 & 1996-1998)
  • 12-time NL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1990-1994, 1996-1997 & 2000-2004)
  • 2-time NL Batting Average Leader (2002 & 2004)
  • 10-time NL On-Base Percentage Leader (1991-1993, 1995, 2001-2004, 2006 & 2007)
  • 7-time NL Slugging Percentage Leader (1990, 1992-1993 & 2001-2004)
  • 9-time NL OPS Leader (1990-1993, 1995 & 2001-2004)
  • NL Runs Scored Leader (1992)
  • NL Total Bases Leader (1993)
  • 2-time NL Home Runs Leader (1993 & 2001)
  • NL RBI Leader (1993)
  • 12-time NL Bases on Balls Leader (1992, 1994-1997, 2000-2004, 2006 & 2007)
  • 20-Home Run Seasons: 19 (1987-1988, 1990-2004, 2006 & 2007)
  • 30-Home Run Seasons: 14 (1990 & 1992-2004)
  • 40-Home Run Seasons: 8 (1993, 1996-1997 & 2000-2004)
  • 50-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2001)
  • 60-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2001)
  • 70-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2001)
  • 100 RBI Seasons: 12 (1990-1993, 1995-1998, 2000-2002 & 2004)
  • 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 12 (1990, 1992-1993, 1995-1998 & 2000-2004)
  • 50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 1 (1990)


NL MVP
1989 1990 1991
Kevin Mitchell Barry Bonds Terry Pendleton
1991 1992 1993
Terry Pendleton Barry Bonds Barry Bonds
1992 1993 1994
Barry Bonds Barry Bonds Jeff Bagwell
2000 2001 2002
Jeff Kent Barry Bonds Barry Bonds
2001 2002 2003
Barry Bonds Barry Bonds Barry Bonds
2002 2003 2004
Barry Bonds Barry Bonds Barry Bonds
2003 2004 2005
Barry Bonds Barry Bonds Albert Pujols

Records Held[edit]

  • Most Valuable Player awards, 7
  • Player of the Month awards, 13
  • Home runs, career, 762
  • Home runs, left handed batter, career, 762
  • Home runs, left fielder, career, 725
  • Home runs, season, 73, 2001
  • Home runs, left handed batter, season, 73, 2001
  • Home runs, left fielder, season, 71, 2001
  • On base average, season, .609, 2004
  • On base average, left handed batter, season, .609, 2004
  • On base plus slugging, season, 1.422, 2004
  • On base plus slugging, season, left handed batter, 1.422, 2004
  • Slugging average, season, .863, 2001
  • Slugging average, left handed batter, season, .863, 2001
  • Total average, season, 2.250, 2004
  • Total average, left handed batter, season, 2.250, 2004
  • Extra base hits, left handed batter, career, 1,440
  • Walks, career, 2,558
  • Walks, left-handed batter, career, 2,558
  • Walks, season, 232, 2004
  • Walks, left handed batter, season, 232, 2004
  • Seasons with 100 or more walks: 14
  • Intentional walks, career, 688
  • Intentional walks, season, 120, 2004
  • Most seasons leading league in walks, 12

Further Reading[edit]

  • Lisa Doris Alexander: "Barry Bonds and R–E–S–P–E–C–T", in Race on First, Class on Second, Gender on Third, and Sexuality up to Bat: Intersectionality and Power in Major League Baseball, 1995-2005, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, thesis, 2006, pp. 116-142. [1]
  • Lisa Doris Alexander: "Barry Bonds: Of Passion and Hostility", in David C. Ogden and Joel Nathan Rosen eds.: Fame to Infamy: Race, Sport, and the Fall from Grace, University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, MS, 2010, pp. 8-29. ISBN 978-1604737516
  • Andrew Baggarly: "‘Like a ghost’: Barry Bonds comes to terms with his legacy in a changing sport", The Athletic, March 8, 2020. [2]
  • Chris Ballard: "'He's Barry, But He's Our Barry'", Sports Illustrated, Volume 106, Number 21, May 21, 2007. pp. 50-56. [3]
  • Allen Barra: "The Strange Case of Barry Bonds", in Brushbacks and Knockdowns: The Greatest Baseball Debates of Two Centuries, St. Martin's Press/T. Dunne Books, New York, NY, 2004, pp. 259-290. ISBN 978-0312322472
  • Adam Jerome Bauer: A Rhetorical Analysis of Print Media Directed Towards Major League Baseball Player Barry Bonds and His Alleged Steroid Use, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Clarion, PA, thesis, 2008.
  • Ted Berg: "Hall of Fame countdown: Barry Bonds our runaway No. 1 - but can he ever reach 75%?", USA Today Sports, January 22, 2018. [4]
  • Barry Bloom: "By Next Season, Barry Bonds Expects to Be Paid Accordingly", The San Diego Union-Tribune, May 25, 1992, pp. C14-.
  • Barry Bloom: "BB King: Bonds Hits Home Run No. 756", MLB.com, August 8, 2007. [5]
  • John Bloom: Barry Bonds: A Biography, Greenwood Press, Westport, CN, 2004. ISBN 978-0313329555
  • Christine Brennan: "Say it ain't so: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens nearing Hall of Fame threshold", USA Today Sports, December 28, 2016. [6]
  • Zev Chafets: "Bad, Bad Barry Bonds", in Cooperstown Confidential: Heroes, Rogues, and the Inside Story of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Bloomsbury USA, New York, NY, 2009, pp. 110-136. ISBN 978-1596915459
  • Eric Chesterton: "25 years ago, Barry Bonds signed with the Giants -- and got even better", "Cut4", mlb.com, December 6, 2017. [7]
  • Victor Conte, with Nathan Jendrick: "Barry Bonds", in BALCO: The Straight Dope on Steroids, Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, and What We Can Do to Save Sports, Skyhorse, New York, NY, 2008. ISBN 978-1602392953
  • Zach Crizer: "Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens off the ballot, the Baseball Hall of Fame is in trouble", Yahoo!Sports, January 25, 2022. [8]
  • David Ezra: "The People Versus Bonds", in Asterisk: Home Runs, Steroids, and the Rush to Judgment, Triumph Books, Chicago, IL, 2008, pp. 59-82. ISBN 978-1600780622
  • Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams: Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroid Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports, Gotham Books, New York, NY, 2006. ISBN 978-1592401994
  • Mark Feinsand: "Game's controversial greats fall off Hall ballot", mlb.com, January 25, 2022. [9]
  • Scott Fletcher: "Is Barry in Babe's Class?: Just Three Years Ago, the Notion Would've Been Absurd, but Bonds' Numbers Make a Case", The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, CA, August 11, 2002, pp. C1-.
  • Nancy Gay: "Weary Bonds Taking Stock: Giants Star Airs His Feelings", The San Francisco Chronicle, September 15, 1995, pp. E1-.
  • Maria Guardado: "Top 10 moments of Barry Bonds' career", mlb.com, February 14, 2022. [10]
  • Bill Gutman: "Bonds Raises the Bar Amid a Growing Home Run Controversy, 1999-2004", in It's Outta Here!: The History of the Home Run from Babe Ruth to Barry Bonds, Taylor Trade Publishing, Lanham, MD, 2005. ISBN 978-1589792067
  • Chris Haft: "Remembering Bonds' 5 biggest Giants homers", mlb.com, August 8, 2018. [11]
  • Chris Haft: "Giants honor Bonds by retiring No. 25: Mays, McCovey, other Giants legends on hand for ceremony", mlb.com, August 12, 2018. [12]
  • Carl T. Hall: "Bonds and the Babe: Giants Slugger's Season Rivals Ruth's Prodigious 1920 Output, Statistical Analysis Shows", The San Francisco Chronicle, September 5, 2001, pp. A1-. [13]
  • Hank Hersch: "30/30 Vision: Pittsburgh's Barry Bonds Sees Those Numbers Coming", Sports Illustrated, Volume 72, Number 26, June 25, 1990, pp. 59-65. [14]
  • Richard Hoffer: "The Importance of Being Barry: The Giants' Barry Bonds Is the Best Player in the Game Today, Just Ask Him", Sports Illustrated, Volume 78, Number 20, May 24, 1993, pp. 12-22. [15]
  • William McNeil: "Barry Bonds: The Early Years", "Barry Bonds: The Home Run King", "Barry Bonds in 2001", in The Single-Season Home Run Kings: Ruth, Maris, McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2003, pp. 130-160, 161-188, 225-226. ISBN 978-0786414413
  • Andrew O'Toole: "Thank You, But You Missed the Show: Barry Bonds", in The Best Man Plays: Major League Baseball and the Black Athlete, 1901-2002, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2003, pp. 128-148. ISBN 978-0786414949
  • Bob Nightengale: "Barry Bonds is free, so punch his ticket to Cooperstown", USA Today Sports, April 23, 2015. [16]
  • Bob Nightengale: "Barry Bonds arrives with Marlins, ready to once again chase the unknown", USA Today Sports, February 18, 2016. [17]
  • Bob Nightengale: "It's past time for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens to earn Hall of Fame induction", USA Today Sports, January 22, 2018. [18]
  • Bob Nightengale: "Giants fans, former players, coaches ready to fete Barry Bonds, retire No. 25", USA Today, August 10, 2018. [19]
  • Bob Nightengale: "Giants' jersey retirement ceremony was the send-off Barry Bonds always wanted", USA Today, August 12, 2018. [20]
  • Bob Nightengale: "Baseball Hall of Fame: MLB's home run king Barry Bonds is running out of time", USA Today, January 16, 2020. [21]
  • Jeff Pearlman: Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero, Harper Collins, New York, NY, 2006. ISBN 978-0060797522
  • Joe Posnanski: "Like it or not: A case for Bonds, Clemens: Greatness on diamond too great to not be in Cooperstown", mlb.com, January 10, 2018. [22]
  • Henry Schulman: "His Surge Rarely Stuttered", The San Francisco Chronicle, October 8, 2001, pp. D8-. [23]
  • Josh Suchon: This Gracious Season: Barry Bonds & the Greatest Year in Baseball, Winter Publications, Los Angeles, CA, 2002. ISBN 978-0971872905
  • K.P. Wee: The Case for Barry Bonds in the Hall of Fame: The Untold and Forgotten Stories of Baseball’s Home Run King, Sports Publishing, New York, NY, 2021. ISBN 978-1626015821
  • Mike Weiss: "Very Barry", The San Francisco Chronicle, July 8, 2001, pp. A1-. [24]
  • Steve Wilstein: "Q&A with Barry Bonds", Associated Press, June 6, 1993. [25]
  • Dave Zirin: "Barry Bonds Gonna Git Your Mama: When Steroids Attack!", in Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and, Promise of Sports, Haymarket Books, Chicago, IL, 2007, pp. 148-170. ISBN 978-1931859417

Other Resources[edit]

  • Road to History: Home Run 756, ESPN Home Entertainment, Bristol, CN, DVD, 2007.
  • SportsCentury Greatest Athletes: Barry Bonds, ESPN Home Entertainment, Bristol, CN, DVD, 2007.

Related Sites[edit]