Barry Bonds faced some of MLB’s best pitchers as a prolific slugger. Furthermore, many superstar hurlers tried their best to contain him during at-bats. At times, this even included resorting to various tips and tricks. But most recently, a video of Bonds taking on one of the New York Yankees’ greatest pitchers ever has resurfaced. 

Despite his reputation as a PED user, Bonds was one of baseball’s greatest hitters. Few pitchers could beat him during an at-bat. But this Bronx Bombers legend managed to do so without using any tricks or underhanded methods. 

Mariano Rivera struck out Barry Bonds

Mariano Rivera struck out Barry Bonds when the San Francisco Giants’ legend was at the top of his game. At the time, Bonds was in the year after he hit 73 home runs and was still in dominant form.

But Rivera struck him out in the 9th inning of a close game. What makes the moment even more remarkable is that this was Bonds’ only showdown with Rivera.

A video of ‘The Sandman’ beating Bonds out from 2002 has resurfaced 21 years later. A Twitter user shared a video of the iconic moment on Twitter, captioning, “Here’s Mariano Rivera striking out Barry Bonds”. 

Although Rivera got this clutch out and won the battle, the Giants ended up winning the game. Apart from that one clash against Rivera, the home run king did his job, helping the San Francisco-based team win the contest. 

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This showdown feels even more exciting considering Bonds’ astonishing revelation of nearly signing with the Yankees. But the move did not happen, and he could face off against a Yankees pitching legend. Furthermore, Rivera faced him head-on, which not many pitchers did in clutch situations. 

Bonds leads the MLB in career and intentional walks

Barry Bonds leads the MLB in both career and intentional walks. The latter statistic talks about his dominance during his time in the League.

Unlike Mariano Rivera, many pitchers would intentionally walk him and avoid a direct face-off. This was understandable, given his immense impact as a slugger and the damage he could do with one swing. It makes his showdown with the Bombers legend all the more memorable. 

Mariano Rivera faced Barry Bonds head-on and struck him out in a confrontation. It was an iconic meeting that happened only once in MLB history. What do you think of the resurfaced video of the legendary moment?

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