With his immense power and ability to hit the ball, Barry Bonds was a legendary slugger. Few could rival his prowess with a bat in hand. This, and his somewhat questionable disposition, makes it hard to believe he would take hitting advice from a player. But during a recent podcast appearance, Bonds revealed some golden advice a legend gave him. 

It was a rarity for the San Francisco Giants’ iconic outfielder to interact with other players. But even Bonds had players that he looked up to. This incident turned out to be one of the cases where he put aside his status as a superstar and listened to a legend. 

Barry Bonds reveals Tony Gwynn’s advice for him

Despite his well-known penchant for doing his own things, Barry Bonds followed the words of legends. In particular, he paid attention to advice that 8-time batting title winner Tony Gwynn gave him.

During a recent appearance on the ‘Hollywood Swingin’ podcast with Stephen Bishop and Jerry Hairston Jr., he brought up the story. Bonds remembered that Gwynn told him to chase the batting title and that those words of advice helped him shift his mindset. 

While speaking on the podcast, Bonds said, “Tony sat there and told me one time, he said ‘Barry chase the batting title. Everything else will come if you chase the batting title’. And, he was the best, he was the best player, best hitter average-wise, etc., so on.

Yeah, I could hit home runs, but I wasn’t the best hitter. Tony Gwynn to me at the moment, was actually the best hitter. And that made sense to me, that resonated into my mind.” 

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This helped the Giants’ legend change the way he approached each at-bat. The advice gave him a new way to look at the game. Despite having faced a backlash from teammates for his aloof demeanor at one point, Bonds took these words to heart. 

Bonds became a better hitter with this advice

Later on in the podcast, Barry Bonds admitted that this advice helped him become a better hitter. Not only did the mindset shift help him hit for power, but it also made him more dynamic.

Bonds won 2 batting titles during his career, which is less than expected considering his prowess at the plate. But the words of wisdom improved his batting and approach at the plate.

Barry Bonds benefited from some simple yet legendary advice from Tony Gwynn. What do you think about the thoughts he shared with Bonds?

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