Stop and Wait – Barry Bonds Once Dealt With a Curveball in This Insane Fashion

If the Internet is to be trusted, Barry Bonds deserved to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. And if another portion of the Internet is to be trusted, he ended his career in infamy. But love him or hate him, you can’t ignore him. The left fielder who spent a majority of his time with the San Francisco Giants has his hitting record in the major leagues virtually untouchable. Even though Bonds may not have been inducted by the Baseball Writers into the Hall of Fame, he has definitely endeared himself to most baseball fans with his play.

The nature of Bonds’ exclusion from the Hall of Fame has been hotly contested. Not just because he was kept on the ballot for 10 years without an induction, but also because of the rule change in 2014. Nevertheless, most pundits agree that Bonds was a great player, irrespective of the second half of his career.

Not to forget, Barry Bonds was called the greatest hitter in baseball for a reason. The timing of a swing and the pop off a barrel is perhaps the sweetest sound to any batter. And Bonds played that instrument like nobody’s business.

Read More: Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens Can Still Get Into the Hall of Fame- Here’s How

All Star Game 1994 – When Barry Bonds shocked the world

In the 1994 All-Star game, when Bonds made his way to home plate, everyone was expecting that he would make contact. Everyone was expecting the ball to fly. But no-one could have expected quite the order of events that was to follow.

Barry Bonds always timed his hits to perfection. And this was yet another example of why Bonds had been so successful. He just had an extra second to adjust. The video captures the moment that Bonds sees the pitch and is ready to swing for a certain type of ball.

However, you see him recalibrate almost instantly. He sees the pitch start to dip and recognizes it is a curveball. Most batters would resign their fate of getting a strike and prepare for the next pitch at this point. But not Bonds. He saw the pitch, stopped mid-swing and then took another swing at it. Here’s the crazy part; he still made contact. The ball turned to deep left field for a sac fly to the warning track.

Bonds scored 762 homers across his career and his non-induction in the Hall of Fame is not indicative of his skill in any fashion. Maybe just his legacy. But the way we see it, his legacy is plenty secure to fans that enjoy the game.