Bobby Bonds Jr.

Bobby Lee Bonds Jr.

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 185 lb.
• School Cañada College

• Born March 7, 1970 in Palo Alto, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical information

The brother of Barry Bonds and son of Bobby Bonds, Bobby Bonds Jr. was a minor league outfielder for 11 years. Bobby Jr. had not played ball for a few years before a session of catch with Barry, Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke of the 1991 Pittsburgh Pirates. That stirred his interest and he pursued the game in college. The San Diego Padres took him in the 18th round of the 1992 amateur draft, assigning the 22-year-old to the AZL Padres (.317/~.417/.463, 5 for 5 in SB in 12 games) and the Spokane Indians (.179/~.289/.250, 13 for 15 in SB in 25 games). In 1993, Bonds Jr. moved up to the Waterloo Diamonds and produced at a .248/~.306/.331 clip and swiped 30 in 41 tries.

Bonds split 1994 between the Springfield Sultans (.276/.382/.411, 10-13 SB), the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (.175/.234/.311, 5-5 SB) and went 0 for 4 for the Las Vegas Stars. In 1995, he was with the co-op Visalia Oaks and hit .223/~.301/.375 with 114 strikeouts and 26 stolen bases in 38 attempts.

Moving to the San Jose Giants in 1996, the 26-year-old flyhawk batted .248/~.317/.389 in the organization his brother and father played for. He fanned 126 times and stole 21 in 26 tries. In 1997, Bobby returned to San Jose and improved to .317/~.421/.440 with 17 steals in 27 tries. In 1998, Bonds Jr. again moved between three teams - the Shreveport Captains (.282/~.349/.378, 6-6 in SB in his first 43 games at AA), the Fresno Grizzlies (.160/~.160/.400 in 18 games) and the Sonoma County Crushers (.189/?/.216 in 37 AB).

In 1999, Bonds set a career high for homers (12) with the Somerset Patriots, batting .289 and slugging .509 while swiping 15 bases. In 2000, the veteran hit .286, slugged .406 and swiped 31 with the Newark Bears. While his brother was setting records, Bobby saw his playing time fade with the 2001 Nashua Pride, hitting .264 and slugging .431 as a back-up. He hit just .169 for Newark the next year to end his career.

Sources: 1993-2002 Baseball Almanacs, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database, 1995 Baseball Guide, Baseball America 08/25/92