Barry Bonds is a divisive name in baseball. Although he was one of the game’s most outstanding player, the PEDs ruined his reputation. Putting aside the scandal, Bonds had a supreme talent that few could match. But despite this level of skill and aptitude, the San Francisco Giants legend was not interested in baseball early on in life. He revealed this fact during an interview in 2018.
This may be a surprise, seeing as both his father and godfather were game legends. Bonds was focused on other things at the time and played multiple sports. His love for baseball only came later.
Barry Bonds was not interested in baseball early on
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Even at a young age, Barry Bonds had a talent for sports. He excelled in baseball, football, and basketball in High School before he focused on just baseball. However, according to Bonds, he was not interested in a professional career during his young days. While appearing in ‘Forever Giants: Barry Bonds,’ the iconic outfielder revealed this fact. During the interview, he shared that he was interested in other things.
During the interview, Bonds said, “Not at first. No, it was just to ride my big wheel down the hill, skateboard. I played hockey, we used to ice skate every Friday, you know what I mean? At Belmont Ice skating rink. When I was a little kid, we used to cardboard slide down the hill and I wanted to be like this, the number one best cardboard slider. We used to rope swing off the cliffs, which is crazy nowadays. But you had the downhill, and we used to tie ropes up on these trees and swing and see how far we could swing.”
But despite not wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps initially, he eventually grew to love baseball. Bonds once revealed a popular demand he had to fulfill as part of an athletic family. This demand ultimately helped him achieve his iconic career.
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Bonds achieved legendary feats despite his initial disinterest in baseball
Despite his nonchalant attitude toward baseball early on, Barry Bonds achieved legendary feats. He earned 14 All-Star appearances and an MLB record 7 NL MVP awards. Furthermore, he holds the record for most career home runs in MLB history with 762.
Although he did not win a title, he played in the World Series once. PEDs may have stained his career, but they cannot take away the achievements that he picked up over the years.
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Well, Barry Bonds went from being disinterested in a baseball career to becoming an MLB legend. What do you think about the fact that he was not interested in the game early in his career?
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