Imagine a young Barry Bonds, bat in his hand, standing at the plate with the sound of a crowd buzzing around. But the real noise is in his head—his father’s voice echoing relentlessly, demanding perfection. For his father, Bobby Bonds, perfection wasn’t a goal but a bare minimum. This relentless drive for excellence weighed on Barry, but little did he know that there was another voice waiting to lift him up: Willie Mays!
Barry reflected on his journey on the All The Smoke podcast; he revealed the role his father and Willie Mays played in shaping his career. “I could come home and say I hit two home runs and I’d say, ‘Dad, did you see that?’ He’d respond, ‘How many hats do you have?’, and I’m like he ain’t even happy over the two home runs?” This was Bobby Bonds! A man who taught Barry that perfection was not just the goal but a requirement. Every time Barry stepped onto the field, he was expected to be better than before.
But then there was Willie Mays. A mentor, a guiding light in moments of doubt. Willie was the exact opposite of his father. Where Bobby demanded perfection, Mays offered encouragement. Where Bobby’s standards left Barry yearning for validation, Willie made him feel like a champion. “Willie would be like, ‘That’s great, you had a good at-bat,’” Batty recalled. “So it was always good, but my dad was the one who challenged me to a point where he expected perfection.” It was the perfect balance between Willie’s uplifting words and Bobby’s high expectations. He had two men guiding him: one who drove him relentlessly to achieve greatness and another who reminded him that he was already great.
Barry’s journey wasn’t an easy one; it was a path marked by high standards, tough lessons, and moments of doubt. But with the guiding hands of his father and Willie Mays, Barry learned to navigate the tension between ambition and affirmation. And by doing so, he became one of the baseball greats! Ultimately, Barry Bonds proved that while perfection is the chase, it’s the balance of pressure and praise that makes the perfect swing.
No rust area: Barry Bonds boldly claims 100 MPH is easy!
Imagine this: Barry Bonds, the man who once seemed to see fastballs as if they were hanging from a string, boldly claims that he could still hit a 100 MPH fastball even today! Even after nearly two decades since he stepped under the MLB lights! It’s a claim that might make some laugh, some surprised, but with Barry? Well, it’s not exactly out of his equation.
In a recent appearance in the “All the Smoke” podcast, Bonds, 60, didn’t hesitate when he made a bold claim.“Hundred? That’s easy,” he said, his confidence as sharp as it ever was during his historic career. “I don’t care how hard you throw a baseball. There ain’t no way you can throw a baseball 60 feet, six inches, that I can’t just do like this.” It’s hard not to laugh, but if you actually think about the type of player he was, you might actually wonder!
The claim might seem far-fetched, but it’s Barry the home-run king Bonds we are talking about. In a career that spanned 22 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants, Bonds made hitting look effortless. Racking up a mammoth 762 homers, 7 MVP awards, and 14 All-Star selections.
So, while he might not be actually stepping in the field, it’s clear that the king of the long ball still believes he has what it takes to hit even the hardest fastballs. In the end, in his own words, “I can hit it, as long as I can see it.” Trust me, you would not want to bet against this guy!
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