In the history of baseball and MLB, there is probably no more animated character than the former San Francisco Giants legend Barry Bonds. Though Bonds was one of the best in the league but his controversial nature made him one of the infamous personalities. People criticized openly and at times, even went too far, causing enormous problems for Bonds.

In the book Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds, author Jeff Pearlman shared one incident which involved not only his then-manager Dusty Baker but the FBI as well. It happened after Bonds received a death threat that put not only life in danger but also of his wife.

A death threat before a trip to Houston

Barry Bonds remained in the highlights since making his MLB debut. A lot of it was due to exceptional hitting skills, that made him different from the rest. But with time, the reason for the media attention changed because of incidents on and off the field, including the death threat.

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On page 237, Pearlman talks about it. He wrote, “The death threat came in early September, at a time when almost everything in Bonds’s life was going beautifully. The Giants were visiting the Astros in Houston when Baker and an FBI agent arrived at Bonds’s suite at the Westin Galleria.”

The information was scary, as it possessed a significant risk to Bonds and his family, including his wife. It happened after a person called Houston television station and revealed his intentions to shoot Bonds. Though holding his composure, he informed his wife, comforting her not to worry about anything. But within his heart, Bonds was in fear. The reason for his fear was the close distance between the fans and the players.

Reportedly, the man did not want Bonds to break the single-season home run record of 70 set by Mark McGwire and Hank Aaron.

Fearless Barry Bonds and the home run record.

Even though fear gripped Bonds but he never lost himself. Bonds eventually broke this record to become the highest home run scorer in a single season, with 73 home runs to his credit in 2001. Even after two decades of its making, the record stands still and adds more glory to his MLB career record. This incident was one of many off-field incidents which put him under media scrutiny. But his on-field glory puts him in a league that only a few baseball players could get in.

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