Bobby Lee Bonds (March 15, 1946 – August 23, 2003) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball from to , primarily with the San Francisco Giants. Noted for his outstanding combination of power hitting and speed, he was the first player to have more than two seasons of 30 home runs and 30

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, doing so a record five times (the record was matched only by his son Barry), and was the first to accomplish the feat in both major leagues; he became the second player to hit 300 career home runs and steal 300 bases, joining Willie Mays. Together with Barry, he is part of baseball's most accomplished father-son combination, holding the record for combined home runs, RBIs, and stolen bases. A prolific leadoff hitter, he also set major league records for most times leading off a game with a home run in a career (35) and a season (11, in ); both records have since been broken.

Baseball career

Born in Riverside, California, Bonds played varsity high school baseball at

Riverside Polytechnic High School Riverside Polytechnic High School is a four-year public high school in Riverside, California, United States, and part of the Riverside Unified School District. The current facility, located on Victoria Avenue, was opened in September 1965; the t ...

and signed with the Giants in . His sister, Rosie, was a 1964 Olympic hurdler. His brother, Robert, won two gold medals in the hurdles at the high school track and field state finals in 1960, and was an NFL Draft pick in 1965. In 1964, he was a High School All-American in track & field, while also being named Southern California High School Athlete of the Year. Playing in the Giants' minor league system, he was Most Valuable Player of the class-A Western Carolinas League. He hit a grand slam in his third at bat in his first major league game, June 25, 1968, becoming just the second player, and the first in MLB's modern era, to hit a grand slam in his debut game. The first was Bill Duggleby in 1898. Bonds was named to the 1968 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. Bonds was remarkable during his era for his combination of power and speed, but also for his propensity to

strike out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denot ...

. In his first full season in , he set a major league record with 187 strikeouts, while also leading the NL in runs. He broke his own strikeout record a year later with 189. That record lasted until , when

Adam Dunn Adam Troy Dunn (born November 9, 1979), nicknamed "Big Donkey", is an American former professional baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nation ...

broke it by striking out 195 times. This mark now belongs to Mark Reynolds with 223 in 2009. Bonds' 1970 total currently ranks tenth on the all-time single-season strikeout list. When Bonds retired, he ranked third in career strikeouts with 1,757, behind Willie Stargell's 1,912 and

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cali ...

's 1,810. Bobby Bonds hit 39 home runs and had 43 stolen bases in 1973 — the highest level of home runs and stolen bases (39+ of each) until José Canseco of the Oakland Athletics in 1988. Barry and Bobby had 1,094 combined home runs through 2007 — a record for a father-son combination. He was a three-time

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

winner (1971, 1973–74), and a three-time All-Star (1971, 1973 and 1975, winning the All-Star MVP award in 1973). Bobby Bonds 1969

In 1970, he stole a career-high 48 bases, the highest total by a Giant since Frankie Frisch in 1921. Bonds was second in the NL in runs (134), third in triples (10) and stolen bases (48), and fourth in doubles (36) and total bases (334). He also set a major league record with 189 strikeouts, which stood for 34 years until it was broken in 2004 by

. In 1971, he finished fourth in the NL in runs batted in and second in runs, leading the Giants with a .288 average as they won the National League West title, earning their first postseason berth since the

1962 World Series The 1962 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1962 season. The 59th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in spor ...

. A bruised rib cage limited his play in the

1971 NLCS The 1971 National League Championship Series was a best-of-five series that pitted the East Division champion Pittsburgh Pirates against the West Division champion San Francisco Giants. The Pirates won the Series three games to one and won the 19 ...

, his only postseason appearance; he was a late-inning replacement for rookie Dave Kingman in Game 1, and did not play in Game 2 before starting the final two games, batting 2-for-8 in the series. That season, he placed fourth in the NL

MVP award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

voting. In 1972, Bonds scored 118 runs, which was second in the NL (the third straight season he was second in runs scored) and his 26 home runs was ninth in the circuit while his 44 stolen bases was 4th in the league. In 1973, he placed third in the MVP voting after hitting a career-high 39 home runs, 11 of them to start a game, and leading the league in runs a second time. Bonds was named the NL Player of the Year by '' The Sporting News'' in 1973 and was also named an outfielder on ''TSNs American League All-Star Team in 1977. In 1975, Bonds broke

Eddie Yost Edward Frederick Joseph Yost (October 13, 1926 – October 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played most of his Major League Baseball career as a third baseman for the Washington Senators, then played two ...

's career record of 28 leadoff home runs. His eventual record of 35 stood until Rickey Henderson broke it in 1989, and his NL record of 30 was broken by Craig Biggio in 2003. His single-season mark of 11 was broken by Brady Anderson in 1996. His 32 home runs was fourth in the AL and his 30 stolen bases were eighth in the league. He was voted honorable mention on AP's ALl-MLB team. Bobby Bonds with the Yankees

After being traded to the New York Yankees for

Bobby Murcer Bobby Ray Murcer (May 20, 1946 – July 12, 2008) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball between 1965 and 1983. He played the majority of his career for the New York Yankees, whom he later ...

after the 1974 season, Bonds became one of the sport's most-traveled figures, playing for seven more teams over seven seasons, with more than one season for only the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

(1976–77). With the Angels needing right-handed power hitters, he was acquired from the Yankees for Mickey Rivers and Ed Figueroa on December 11, 1975. In 1977, he tied the Angels club record for home runs in a season (37). He was acquired along with Richard Dotson and Thad Bosley by the Chicago White Sox from the Angels for Brian Downing, Chris Knapp and

Dave Frost Carl David Frost (born November 17, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player and a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The , right-hander was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 18th round of the 1974 Major League Baseb ...

on December 5, 1977. The transaction was part of

Bill Veeck William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Br ...

and Roland Hemond's rent-a-player strategy in which they attempted to get one productive campaign from a star player who was expected to become a free agent at season's end. It had worked the previous year when Richie Zisk and Oscar Gamble helped to keep the White Sox in contention into September, but it failed when the team opened

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

with Bonds as its right fielder and a 9–20 start. He was sent to the Texas Rangers for Claudell Washington and Rusty Torres on May 16, 1978. Bobby Bonds Cardinals

Bonds, along with Len Barker, was dealt from the Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for Jim Kern and Larvell Blanks on October 3, 1978. His trade to the St. Louis Cardinals for John Denny and Jerry Mumphrey on December 7, 1979, was the sixth in just over five years. After his contract was purchased by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

from the Rangers on June 4, 1981, he had played with eight different MLB teams in eight years. This prompted a line in the lyrics to Terry Cashman's 1981 hit song "

Talkin' Baseball "Talkin' Baseball (Willie, Mickey & The Duke)" is a 1981 song written and performed by Terry Cashman. The song describes the history of American major league baseball from the 1950s to the beginning of the 1980s. The song was originally released du ...

", in which the line in part reads "And Bobby Bonds can play for everyone." Bonds' 461 career stolen bases ranked 12th in major league history upon his retirement. He was hitting instructor for the Indians from 1984 to 1987, and rejoined the Giants as a coach in 1993 when his son Barry signed with the team as a free agent. As a player, coach, scout and front-office employee, he was with the Giants franchise for 23 seasons. Barry Bonds is the only other player in major league history to hit 300 home runs and steal 400 bases, and also the only other player to have five 30–30 seasons. Eleven times Bonds was in his league's top 10 in stolen bases, with eight of those season in the top six. Seven times he was among the league top ten home run hitters and nine time he was among the top ten in runs scored, leading the NL in 1971 and 1973. He was in the top ten in total bases eight times, leading the NL in 1973. He had as of 2018 the fifth-highest career power–speed number, behind his son Barry, Rickey Henderson, Willie Mays, and Alex Rodriguez, at 386.0.

Personal life

On May 3, 1963, he married Patricia Howard. They had three sons: Barry went on to become one of the greatest major league players of all time; Rick; and Bobby Jr. who played eleven years of pro ball but never made it to the major leagues. Bonds died of complications from lung cancer and a brain tumor at age 57 in

San Carlos, California San Carlos (Spanish for "St. Charles") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population is 30,722 per the 2020 census. History Native Americans Prior to the Spanish arrival in 1769, the land of San Carlos was occupi ...

. He is interred at Skylawn Memorial Park in

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...

.NNDB
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References

* ''Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia'' (2000). Kingston, New York: Total/Sports Illustrated. .

External links

Bobby Bonds
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)

– Player Profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonds, Bobby 1946 births 2003 deaths African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players American League All-Stars Arizona Instructional League Giants players Baseball players from Riverside, California California Angels players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians coaches Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Deaths from lung cancer in California Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Fresno Giants players Gold Glove Award winners Lexington Giants players Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVPs Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball right fielders Minor league baseball managers National League All-Stars New York Yankees players People from San Carlos, California Phoenix Giants players San Francisco Giants coaches San Francisco Giants players Sportspeople from Riverside, California St. Louis Cardinals players St. Lucie Legends players Texas Rangers players Track and field athletes from California Waterbury Giants players Wichita Aeros players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people Riverside Polytechnic High School alumni

Baseball career

Personal life

See also

References

External links