Often Divisive Barry Bonds Once Showed a Rare Sign of Affection Shortly After Winning His First MVP

Barry Bonds is a name that has many sides attached to it. It is all because of the unique character and personality Bonds had. It also put him on the list of tough people to gel with, which left him alone in many situations. Most of it was during his competition, conflict with his teammates. With brilliant power hitting, he won many awards. But he was not alone on the team with brilliant accuracy, which added to the conflicts.

But there were many situations where Bonds left his powerful personality behind and brought other sides into the picture. The book, Barry Bonds: A Biography (Baseball’s All-Time Greatest Hitters) sheds light on one incident where Bonds showed compassion for his competitive teammate after his first MVP win. 

When Barry Bonds Showed His Compassion to the World

For any MLB player, winning an MVP is an enormous achievement, especially when for the first time. The same was true for the San Francisco Giants legend Barry Bonds, who claimed many MVPs and was always eager to have it. It was visible in Bonds’ anger with his manager when he favored his teammate for the award. But Bonds was not always like this and shared a different side during his first MVP win.

On page 21 of the book, the author, John Bloom, shared one such story. It read, “Receiving 23 out of 24 first-place votes, Bonds beat out teammates Bobby Bonilla, who hit .302 with 18 home runs; Drabek (who won the Cy Young Award that year); and Andy Van Slyke (.284, 17 home runs, 77 RBIs).”

Bonds, who always wanted to be the winner, was not fully happy this time. He expressed this with his thoughts on the second-placed teammate Bobby Bonilla. Bonds said, “I wish I could split it and give half to Bobby…I wish I could share it. To me, he’s just as much of the MVP as I am.”

Bonds’ comments showed a rare side of his character, which the world was not much aware of. Though it was not the first time he did something like this. He once went straight to see his coach’s son with no intimidation.

A Rare Side of Bonds, the World Failed to Acknowledge

Bonds has always been a part of public scrutiny for his nature. He always faced open criticism from every section of society and has been treated like a villain often for his straightforwardness.

Read More:- “I Miss Him Dearly..” – Giants Legend Barry Bonds Once Displayed Raw Emotion Despite Strained Relationship With His Father

But he was one of the most beautiful personalities for many, including his Pirates coach. He showed an unbelievable gesture for his coach, who was caring for his son in the hospital after a deadly accident. Bonds reached the hospital after learning about it, leaving his coach stunned with his kindness.

Well, no matter the controversies Barry Bonds held in his accolades bag, he was truly an unfiltered personality who showed acts of kindness sometimes.

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