Barry Bonds Rejected a Huge Move to New York Yankees- Here’s Why

MLB legend Barry Bonds is making headlines for the past couple of days after the Baseball Writers’ Association snubbed his last chance to get his Baseball Hall of Fame induction.

Almost every baseball fan knows Barry Bonds, because of his brilliant display of game for the San Francisco Giants. But only a few know that the former Giants player could have also played for the New York Yankees. Yes, the baseball great had rejected the Yankees offer only to choose dream destination, San Francisco Giants.

Barry Bonds on why he rejected the Yankees over the Giants

In one of his old interviews, Bonds revealed why he chose to play for San Francisco Giants over the New York Yankees. Bonds said that it was his childhood dream to play for the Giants because his father, Bobby Bonds, and his godfather, Willie Mays, also played for the Giants.

“As a child, I had my godfather Willie, and I had my father both on the same team. My godfather played centerfield and my father played at the rightfield. And my dream was to have the opportunity to play at the leftfield and actually really play in the same outfit with both of them on the pitch,” said Bonds.

The Giants legend said that he was a free agent in 1993. At that time, the Yankees called him before the Giants did, but they were giving him deadlines. And all of a sudden Bonds got a call from the Giants. They offered Bonds to play for them while having his godfather as the face of the franchise. The Giants also offered Bonds’ father to be the hitting coach and his friend, Dusty Baker, to manage the team. This was enough for Bonds to sign for them.

“And I said, where do I sign? It didn’t take much, and it was a dream for me,” said Bonds when San Francisco Giants offered him to join their side.

Barry Bonds in MLB

During his 22 years of an illustrious career in Major League Baseball, Bonds has represented only two teams, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. Bonds made his MLB debut with the Pirates in the 1986 season and played seven seasons for them until his contract expired after the 1992 season.

Before the season, his dream team, San Francisco Giants, signed him as a free agent in 1993. There he played for 15 seasons until he bid farewell to the game in 2007. Notably, it was the Giants where he developed his status as a legendary player and became one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Read more: This MLB Legend Claims Barry Bonds Was the “Easiest Hitter to Pitch to”