One of the most remarkable things about Bonds' record chase was that every major milestone home run from 2001 til the end of his career (including #715 to pass Ruth, not shown here) was hit in San Francisco, except for home run #714, which was hit 15 miles away in Oakland. The only other major number that wasn't hit at home was the one to tie Aaron #755, but even that was hit in Southern California
Also consider that Candlestick wasn't considered a homer-friendly park, and AT&T, in spite of the "short porch" in right (309 ft. down the line, albeit with a 25' wall), has proven to be "Death Valley" to MOST left-handed hitters. Bonds hitting over a third of his career HRs while playing at AT&T is proof alone of his extraordinary power, especially since he turned 36 when they moved there. Look at the Giants team pitching stats since 2000, compare away vs. home, and you'll see just how pitcher-friendly that park is.
For sure. If MLB didn't strike in 1994 and part of 1995 he probably would have gotten there, even though he had great seasons. Plus he was out most of the year in 2005, played only 14 games. That one pretty much halted his chances for 800.
Love it or hate it, the Roid era was one of the most exciting times in baseball. McGuire, Sosa, Bonds, and many more made it exciting to watch, just waiting for them to crush it out of the ballpark. Even without him he still would’ve been a first ballot easy. Roids or not he’s the goat.
Whether he was on steroids or not. Barry Bonds should be in the hall of fame as should Pete Rose! How can you keep the all-time hits and home run leaders out and truly call it a hall of fame?
There’s no drug on this planet that can make a man hit like Barry. His hand eye coordination was second to none: his swing was bitter. He was the single most dominant baseball player that ever lived and just like number 2 Pete rose the mlb thinks it can tell it’s story without them. They can’t just erase what we saw from our minds. It’s impossible. Same for a rod who I’m sure they’ll try to do this to as well.
Whats forgotten too was how much he was walked. I used to watch all the giants games. There were times he spent 2-3 games without a chance to even swing at all. With all the walks he still got all the homers he did. A true legend.
@@123L5P I remember seeing somebody do a dive into how much he walked and they came to the conclusion that he could’ve never took one swing and led the league in on base percentage lol. His batters eye and intimidation of pitchers was second to none
Best baseball player ever. hands down. In fact, no other athlete I would rather go back in time and watch. numbers never lie and he was already a HOF player before steroids. So much nostalgia when I watch Barry's highlights on RU-vid, remembering being 9 or 10 years old and going to so many games at Pac Bell and being at so many of Barry's milestone games (#500,#600,#73), and getting his autograph at the left field flag pole before a game. I damn near cried and looked at the autographed ball the whole game. If you weren't physically attending Giants games in the early 2000's you just don't quite understand what an epic level of electric baseball player Barry Bonds was.
Your high. Ken Griffy Jr. no roids. Way better fielder, wayyy stronger arm. Bonds couldn’t play to homeplate. Mike Trout, nowadays. Definitely not saying bonds isn’t good though
my bad actually that was number 400...I think call was there in #400 and now BB is the only player to ever have 400 HR and 400 SB...he started a new category lol
Before you roast me for that comment... just look at his body of work. INSANE. 10000+ at bats. 400 Ks. That’s a real stat. 9 Gold Gloves. Never batted below 300 in a season. Hit .392 twice. Lifetime batting average... .342
@@bigglesworth06 His two best years were .394 (strike season) and .372...he was a lifetime .338 hitter and nowhere near as good as Barry Bonds no matter which way you put it.
I remember watching his 500th when I was a little kid and I loved all the stuff they did on the field afterward, I was excited to see 600 and I remember they didn't do anything compared to what they did for 500 and I was really disappointed
Yeah it does. Because he did not home runs at that time like he did after he took them. Without roids he probably hits 600 home runs and would have left the game highly respected.
@@silverguard8105 Steroids are a funny thing. Just because you have them in your system doesn't mean you were taking them to get an advantage. The MLB will take action against you regardless, but steroids can be used to treat legit medical problems. For example, steroids are used to treat inflammation of blood vessels, which is really not a good thing for you. Here's another funny thing. You don't learn how to hit home runs by taking steroids. Try taking some tomorrow, and then go up against a MLB pitcher. I guarantee you'll strike out.
@@827Drew you're right. But steroids allow you do build more muscle and shorten recovery. That extra strength helps turn doubles off the wall into home runs.
@@silverguard8105 Barry had maybe 1 inside the park home run in his entire career, lol. He wasn't really known for his speed. There's actually a lot of luck that goes into inside the park home runs.
@@827Drew nobody is talking about inside the park home runs. I'm talking about a hit that was once a double off the wall is now a home run over the way because of the extra strength...
Ya know, the electricity bonds created wherever he performed is magic! The home run I'll remember best is the one he hit gainst Troy Percival in the 2002 world series!!
the guy was 22 when debuted. i’m sure over a 21 year career, it wasn’t just roids that got him bigger or better. there is such a thing as lifting weights and dieting.. regardless of peds, bonds is one of the best to play this game. i’ll tell you what, go out there and find somebody who’s never played this game, juice him up with roids and bring him into the big leagues.can guarantee it won’t help hand/eye coordination or pure natural talent..
My routine when I was up to bat was copied after Barry Bonds. I was so thankful I was watched him hit 756 live on TV. My chance I saw that they were on and knew he needed one more. Turned it on and he hit it like 2 pitches later
Barry is undeniably the G.O.A.T. The fact that the baseball writers won't vote him into the HOF says more about them than it does about Bonds. He knows that when baseball PLAYERS vote, he'll be voted in and rightfully so.
Mark was a bum! And Sosa I don't respect because he juiced and used a corked bat that super cheating! Bonds was the GOAT before any steriod talk arguably the best to ever play the game
Ruth would easily be in the 800 club by himself if 1. Live ball was around when he started 2. 162 Game seasons vs 154 Games during Ruth's career 3. Ruth not spent the first few seasons as a HOF Pitcher Ruth also did it on hot dogs and beer
Baseball is a game of feats, and one of America's greatest games. Many people thought that Babe Ruth's 714 home runs would be the record for over a century. It was barely a record for 50 years. Hank Aaron's record was supposed to last 100 years. Nope, it didn't even last 40 years. Barry's 762 lifetime homers is a lofty goal, but we have a lot of young sluggers that will probably make a run for Bonds' record. Nelson Cruz Giancarlo Stanton Ryan Braun Ryan Howard Josh Donaldson P. S. So what if Bonds was tied to the BALCO scandal. His actions put butts in the seats of Candlestick and Pacific Bell Parks.
He would have got to play in more World Series if it weren’t for The Braves. Before the current playoff system I felt sorry for Giants one year. They had like 105 wins and didn’t make it to the post season because of the Braves but he was sure fun to watch. A hitting machine. ⚾️ Beginning with the Pirates then on to San Francisco.
So glad I got to see that, and Griffey got railroaded as well, sometimes strikes should not happen. Players association should have thought more about the history. To Griffey's credit he took the decision like a champ and a real union member!
Marcus Mariota I think when I made this comment I was being sarcastic, implying it was steroid use, I don't even know, but I didn't wanna cause a shitstorm lol
Bonds was one of the best of all time before steroids and belongs in the hall of fame but he certainly wouldn't have been the homerun king without steroids. He hit over 40 one time in the first HALF of his career. He was at 334 after his 10th season and added on 428 the next ten and thats with missing all of 2005 😅
Barry bonds is a good baseball player…. He is so talented and he is the king 👑 of home runs,I don’t care about any one said this dude is good baseball player….
Steroids don’t help players hit home runs off of great pitchers like Greg Maddox, Randy Johnson, Curt schilling, Pedro Martinez, etc... he was a great hitter
It's to bad he isn't in the Hall Of Fame because he was a great player and if he took those drugs like they said he did it is a shame because he didn't need them to play. And on a side note I have a you tube channel type in Russell Mills May 22, 2017
Barry had God given talent. His timing his swing. The guy could crush any pitch and he played more than half his career in a huge ball park. The fact he isn't in hall of fame is deplorable. I no longer watch baseball for the bullshit they pull. The ped favors and helps the pitcher alot more than the hitter.
I'm genuinely surprised we have never seen another left-handed hitter try to mimic Bonds' swing to some degree. Get up on the plate, choke up, short and lightning fast to the ball. I get that you can't teach bat speed, but there are way too many guys in the league right now swinging out of their ass trying to hit a homerun every time up with limited success (I'm looking at you, Joey Gallo). I'm not interested in the PED talk... at the end of the day, Bonds was the most feared modern-day power hitter we have ever seen. To think that young kids growing up haven't been learning to shorten their swing to hit the ball hard is a shame.
I honestly wish they’d let everyone in pro sports do any performance enhancing substance they want, imagine how much more exciting baseball would be….. still have the talent they earned from relent-lace practise, just makes their skill super human
