Barry Bonds is one of those athletes who would have today been cited as one of the greatest in history in not just his sport but across all sports. However, due to his suspected involvement in the baseball steroids scandal, his achievements have somewhat been swept under the rug although he is still considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Bonds had a Major League Baseball career that lasted for 21 years. During that time, he was selected as an All-Star on 14 occasions and was named the NL MVP seven times. Read on to find out more about the player who was known for his exceptional hitting ability.
Barry Bonds Bio
Bonds was born Barry Lamar Bonds, to Patricia (née Howard) and Bobby Bonds, on the 24th of July, 1964, in Riverside, California. He was however raised in the city of San Carlos where he attended Junípero Serra High School, San Mateo. Here, Barry Bonds excelled as an athlete as he featured heavily for his school’s baseball, football, and basketball teams, however, it was in baseball that Bonds earned an All-American selection in his senior year.
Following his exploits, the San Francisco Giants opted to draft Bonds as a high school senior in the 1982 MLB Draft. Bonds contemplated going professional and forgoing his college education but because the Giants were unable to offer him the contract he desired, he decided to attend college, enrolling at Arizona State University. In 1985, Barry Bonds was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the sixth overall pick in the 1985 MLB Draft as he went on to graduate with a degree in Criminology in 1986. He played for the Pirates from 1986 to 1992 when he joined the Giants who he played for until 2007.
Career Stats
As of 2007, Barry Bonds held career records in home runs (762), walks (2,558), and intentional walks (688). He was also at the time, leading active players in various categories, including, games (2,986), Runs Batted In (1,996), on-base percentage (.444), runs (2,227), and at-bats per home run (12.92).
It was widely thought that the 12-time Silver Slugger and 8-time Gold Glove Award recipient was going to go ahead to permanently set more records if he had been signed by another team after entering free agency in 2007. But since no other team came in for him in the two following seasons, Bonds went on to officially retire. He retired with a .298 batting average, 2, 935 Hits, and 514 Stolen Bases.
Net Worth
According to the popular Celebrity Net Worth website, Barry Bonds has a net worth of $80 million which he mostly made from his career as a baseball player.
Bonds received his first huge paycheck in 1993 when he left the Pirates for the Giants for a then-record $43.75 million contract sum over six years. In 2002, he extended his stay with the Giants for five years for $90 million. This made him the second highest salary earner in the league in 2005 and fourth-highest in 2006. In total, he is approximated to have earned about $172 million during his then 21-year career, which makes him the all-time highest paid player in baseball.
Steroids Scandal
Barry Bonds is unarguably the most popular and most successful baseball player to be involved in the steroids scandal that rocked Major League Baseball. He became embroiled in the scandal after his trainer was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with supplying a performance-enhancing anabolic steroid to athletes, including a number of baseball players.
This led to huge speculation that Bonds might have been using steroids since he had undergone freakish growth and had a changed body physique as well as increased power that saw him excel in the sport. Bonds declared his innocence and rather attributed the changes to bodybuilding, diet, and the use of legitimate supplements.
Other Facts
Barry Bonds comes from a family deeply rooted in baseball. His father Bobby Bonds played with the Giants for a long time.
Barry Bonds has been married twice. His first marriage was to Susann Margreth Branco, who he had met in Montreal, Quebec in August 1987. A few months later, in February 1988 to be exact, the pair eloped and exchanged vows in Las Vegas. Their marriage went ahead to last for about six years before the couple divorced in December 1994. Together, Bonds and Branco welcomed two children; Nikolai and Shikari.
In 1998, after the Catholic Church had annulled Bonds’ first marriage a year before, he married his second wife, Liz Watson at a lavish wedding that was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco. The two shared a home with their daughter Aisha in Los Altos Hills area of Santa Clara County, California. Bonds’ second marriage looked to be going on very well until Watson filed for legal separation after ten and a half years, in June 2009. Watson cited irreconcilable differences but soon withdrew the action. In February 2010, however, Watson formally filed for divorce from Bonds.
Barry Bonds is 6 feet 2 inches (1.88m) tall and weighs 228 lbs (103 kg). His other body measurements are not known.
