Controversial Barry Bonds’ Pirates Teammate Predicted Greatness for the Giants Legend Years Before His MVP Turn: “Without Question…”

Barry Bonds was undoubtedly one of the most dominating hitters in MLB history. Though his controversies sometimes made things twisted, his skills were unquestionable. This Power Hitter began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and later shifted to the San Francisco Giants. His performance in his first team made his teammates foresee his greatness in the sport years before he got the first MVP.

Bonds was always in disputes, whether in the Clubhouse or outside it. However, his performance never got hugely affected because of these issues, which even made things clear to his teammates that he would be a great legend. Jeff Pearlman, in his biography of Bonds, has registered an incident where a teammate of his predicted correctly about his future years before he achieved his MVP award.

Jeff Pearlman Described an Incident of Bonds’ Career Prediction by His Pirates Teammate

The 7xMVP legend was the most controversial baseball character. He has numerous MLB records in possession, but the drug scandal dimmed his glory to some extent. However, as a beginner, when this legend started his journey with the Pittsburgh Pirates, his teammates used to laugh at him and mock him for meeting his wife in a Strip Club.

The book recorded, these incidents didn’t seem to have affected Barry, at least his performance. His hitting skills and scores stopped everybody. Pearlman recorded several surprising incidents in Bonds’ life in his book, Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds.

On page number 97 the author wrote, “He led off seven of the Pirates’ first eight games of 1988 with hits, going 14-for-34 over the span,” and dedicated all the credit to his wife.

After 1987’s strong finish, the team performance deteriorated, and the 14x All-Star was carrying the entire load alone. Watching his efficiency and performance, one of Bonds’ former teammates Van Slyke, predicted him to be one of the top 5 players of the league.

He continued, “I say that without question. In fact, I’ll put it in gold letters. And you can put that in capitals.” His prediction came true much later when Barry won his first MVP, and later his achievements list only increased. He received two MVPs with the Pirates and the remaining with the San Francisco Giants.

Read More: Controversial Barry Bonds Failed to Change Locker Room Relations Despite 2001 Dominance Rewriting History

Even if he started his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, this legend didn’t continue for a long time. After his journey with them for 6 years, he left the Pirates and went to the San Francisco Giants, where he stayed until his last MLB game.

Why Did Barry Bonds Leave the Pittsburgh Pirates?

Breaking his 6 years of relation with The Pittsburgh Pirates, Barry Bonds signed a record-breaking contract (as of then) with the Giants. Well, he had achieved two MVP awards with this team, but the legend was not happy with his arbitration experience. Switching teams is not a shocking thing in MLB. It often happens.

But coming to Bonds, he was angry and slammed the team in public. Broke the contract and went to San Francisco Giants. The same book, records the words of the Home Run King towards his former team, before leaving. On page number 112, he said, “The Pirates can’t keep crying, ‘Broke,'” and continued, “You can’t own half of Pittsburgh and say you’re on welfare.”

The dispute happened when the Pirates could not satisfy the requirement of Bonds. It was not because they wanted him to leave, it was mainly because they were going through a bad time where their revenue generation dropped suddenly. During those years, the city witnessed population decay which directly affected the revenue of the club. While in a bankrupt condition, the Pirates refused the amount the 7xMVP demanded, and he left.

Do you think Bonds’ future prediction was a challenging task based on his performance? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

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