SAN FRANCISCO — It used to be that hardcore baseball fans counted the home runs Barry Bonds hit during batting practice for the Giants, even at spring training before he had begun to find his real groove that came in the regular season.
That’s how much interest surrounded Bonds’ pursuit of Babe Ruth in the second spot on the all-time home runs list and later Hank Aaron’s previous top mark of 755 - broken by the San Francisco star on Aug. 7, 2007.
Before that, Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001 for Major League Baseball’s single-season record, a mark Yankees manager Aaron Boone believes might one day be broken by his own slugger Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani.
Bonds is having a blast keeping close tabs on the next generation of big stars like Judge and Ohtani.
Judge is thrilled Bonds is now watching him, because it used to be the other way around when the New York outfielder was a boy playing ball in California’s Central Valley.
“He was one of my favorite baseball players growing up,” Judge said. “Things he did on the baseball field, he made it look so easy. To have a guy that I watched every single night, me and my dad would turn on the Giants game and watch what he’s doing.
“Now, he’s saying that he’s kind of doing the same thing flipping it and watching what I’m doing is pretty, pretty surreal.”
And Judge isn’t counting on passing Bonds’ 73, saying: “I’ve been through this now eight, nine seasons it’s not that easy. He made it look a lot easier than it is. That’s why he’s the greatest to ever play.”
Whether it’s Mookie Betts making a dazzling diving catch or impressing on the basepaths, or Judge and Ohtani clearing fences at remarkable rates, Bonds is tuning in to watch baseball becoming more relevant in 2024.
“There ain’t going to be a Judge all day, there’s only so many of those people that are going to be those types of players,” Bonds said recently after working with the Giants hitters at Oracle Park, where he is a regular and member of the front office serving as a special adviser.
“They’re big boys, they’re strong. They touch the ball, it’s going to go. If you’re a different player then be a different player. I don’t care what they do. I’d rather be a .300 hitter, hit 20 home runs and do that for the next 15 years, 20 years. That’s consistency.”
Bonds’ pursuit of the Babe and Hammering Hank was tainted by accusations of performance-enhancing drug use - though Bonds has long denied ever knowingly taking any throughout his career.
Judge set an American League record with 62 home runs in 2022 and just finished the recent regular season with 58, while Ohtani hit 54. The Japanese two-way star became the first player in major league history with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, accomplishing the feat when he homered three times and stole a pair of bases in a playoff-clinching 20-4 pounding of the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19.
Sure, Judge’s quest hardly resembles the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998 nor brings back memories of Bonds hitting his 73 homers three years later. Yet Bonds can still appreciate the hype surrounding his sport during this unique time of mega contracts, social media and high ratings.
He hit his 715th homer to pass Ruth for second on the all-time list in 2006 before overtaking Aaron the following year. The seven-time NL MVP has loved being back at the ballpark, regularly guiding San Francisco hitters and offering his insight both in group and individual settings.
One of his pupils is Heliot Ramos. In his first full major league season, the 25-year-old outfielder from Puerto Rico had 22 homers and 72 RBIs while batting .269 for the Giants.
“I’m a fan of baseball and I’m a fan of those guys as players, too. You’ve got Mookie Betts, a lot of guys, all the players here, too. What Ramos is doing here is phenomenal,” Bonds said. “That kid should have been here a long time ago. I’m just a fan of baseball. I don’t try to judge one person.
“… They can learn from the guys that have been there and gone through it. The great thing they’re seeing is we don’t act like we’re better than them. We know who we are.”
Bonds, who said last month he is no longer bothered by not being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, is thrilled with all the interest around baseball at the moment - with so many new faces and new rules.
“It’s working, right, if the ratings are high. Baseball wouldn’t be doing it if it’s not,” he said. “They don’t change things if it’s working.”
Not that he has any interest in pulling on the bulky body armor again and stepping into the batter’s box against any of today’s flame-throwing pitchers. Or trying to one-up superstars Judge and Ohtani.
Behind the scenes is where Bonds is most passionate at this stage of life.
“This is the part that I like. Being in the batting cage and working out things and the technique and spending time is what I like more than anything, because we can make a whole lot of mistakes to get it right, which is fun for me,” he said. “It’s like a puzzle. I’m used to that puzzle, I like that puzzle to put together. That’s what’s fun for me.”
Then, he added: “I’m 60, I’m trying to just wake up tomorrow.”
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