Bobby Bonds dies at 57

Yahoo! Sports ^ | 08/23/03

[socal_parrot]

August 23, 2003

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Bobby Bonds, one of the first major leaguers to blend home-run power with base-stealing speed and the father of one of baseball's greatest sluggers, died Saturday. He was 57.

Barry Bonds' father had been ill for nearly a year with a brain tumor and lung cancer, but he never lost his love for baseball. He was at Pacific Bell Park as recently as Wednesday night, watching his superstar son and the San Francisco Giants.

Bobby Bonds died shortly before 9 a.m. PDT, a Giants spokesman said. Barry Bonds will be away from the team indefinitely. <p

[socal_parrot]

RIP

[prarie earth]

Hope Barry learned something in those last days with his dad over the weekend.

[Tuxedo]

Rest easy, Bobby. I remember fondly your days with the Cleveland Indians.

[CounterCounterCulture]

What a bummer. RIP Bobby

[Dog Gone]

I'm a Dodger fan, and even I am saddened.

[socal_parrot]

I remember the SI cover the week Bonds got traded to the Yankees. It showed him with a Top Hat and cane, headed for Broadway.

[montag813]

Hope Barry learned something in those last days with his dad over the weekend.

Barry spent every moment away from the field with hid Dad over the last months. They shared a extremely rare bond (and some amazing DNA). That Barry was able to almost singlehandedly defeat Atlanta three games in a row while his father lay dying is a testament to his talent and discipline.

[John W]

the rest of the story....

In early June, Bobby Bonds spent time in the hospital while fighting pneumonia. He underwent surgery on a brain tumor in April, all while fighting lung cancer.
Bonds, a three-time All-Star and the MVP of the 1973 game, hit 332 home runs and stole 461 bases for the Giants, New York Yankees, California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Texas, Cleveland, St. Louis and the Chicago Cubs.
He hit .268, had 1,024 RBIs and won three Gold Glove awards as an outfielder.
Bonds became the second NL player to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in the same season in 1969 with the Giants. Willie Mays, his close friend and Barry Bonds’ godfather, was the first to do it.
Bobby Bonds reached the 30-30 mark four more times in his 14-year career. Barry Bonds has also done it five times; no other player has reached the mark more than three times.
A native of Riverside, Calif., Bobby Bonds signed with the Giants in 1964 out of high school. He played seven seasons with San Francisco and has remained with the Giants after retiring. He served as the club’s hitting coach from 1993-96, and since then has been a special assistant to general manager Brian Sabean.
Bonds is survived by his wife, Pat, and three sons: Barry, Ricky and Bobby Jr.
Bonds’ declining health in recent months had been a shock to the veteran Giants, who knew him as a friend and a wise presence in their clubhouse.
“There’s a man who’s been coming into this clubhouse since I’ve been here,” Giants outfielder Marvin Benard said. “He was my hitting coach my first two years. He’s healthy and everything’s great, and then, bam. It’s been hard on us. I can’t imagine what it’s been like for Barry. It’s one of those things that’s hard to explain. There are no words to describe what people are going through.
“Heck, he’s been around here forever. He played here. He coached here. His son, Barry, becomes what he is here.”
Funeral arrangements are pending.

[hole_n_one]

Bobby Bonds

Born: March 15, 1946
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Search player by last name:
Return to History Index  

CAREER STATISTICS
YEAR	TEAM	LG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	BA
1968	SF	N	81	307	55	78	10	5	9	35	38	84	16	7	.254
1969	SF	N	158	622	120	161	25	6	32	90	81	187	45	4	.259
1970	SF	N	157	663	134	200	36	10	26	78	77	189	48	10	.302
1971	SF	N	155	619	110	178	32	4	33	102	62	137	26	8	.288
1972	SF	N	153	626	118	162	29	5	26	80	60	137	44	6	.259
1973	SF	N	160	643	131	182	34	4	39	96	87	148	43	17	.283
1974	SF	N	150	567	97	145	22	8	21	71	95	134	41	11	.256
1975	NY	A	145	529	93	143	26	3	32	85	89	137	30	17	.270
1976	CAL	A	99	378	48	100	10	3	10	54	41	90	30	15	.265
1977	CAL	A	158	592	103	156	23	9	37	115	74	141	41	18	.264
1978	CHI/TEX	*	156	565	93	151	19	4	31	90	79	120	43	22	.267
1979	CLE	A	146	538	93	148	24	1	25	85	74	135	34	23	.275
1980	STL	N	86	231	37	47	5	3	5	24	33	74	15	5	.203
1981	CHI	N	45	163	26	35	7	1	6	19	24	44	5	6	.215
			G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	BA
14 Seasons			1849	7043	1258	1886	302	66	332	1024	914	1757	461	169	.268
Career Rankings			277	223	113	274	315	421	77	206	133	10	45	12	--

   Awards:
   • 1971: National League Gold Glove at OF
   • 1973: National League Gold Glove at OF
   • 1973: All-Star Game Most Valuable Player
   • 1974: National League Gold Glove at OF

   Notes:
   - All statistics through the 2002 season.
   - To sort by a category, click the column header
   - Season totals listed in red denote the player led the entire ML in that category.

[hole_n_one]

[freebilly]

Hope Barry learned something in those last days with his dad over the weekend.

Barry and his father were always extremely close, and I think Bobby instilled in his son this wisdom: "Let your bat do your talking."

Bobby was a talented ballplayer with speed and power. So sad to see him go so young.

[harpu]

Hmmmmm....

Former Giant Barry Bonds dies
WebPosted Sat Aug 23 14:47:45 2003

CBC SPORTS ONLINE

Bobby Bonds, father of of baseball great Barry Bonds, died on Saturday.

He was 57.

The former major leaguer, one of the first baseball players to combine speed and power, had been ill for nearly a year with a brain tumour and lung cancer.

Bonds, a three-time all-star and MVP of the 1973 game, hit 332 homers and stole 461 bases for the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.

He finished his career with a .268 career batting average, 1,024 RBIs and three Gold Glove awards for his defensive prowess in the outfield.

Bonds became just the second National League player to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases with the San Francisco Giants.

Willie Mays, his close friend and Barry Bonds' godfather, was the first.

Bonds worked with Barry as a special assistant to the San Francisco Giants before he became ill.

The word of Bonds' death came as a shock to many in the Giants clubhouse.

"There's a man who's been coming into this clubhouse since I've been here," Giants outfielder Marvin Benard said. "He was my hitting coach my first two years. He's healthy and everything's great, and then, bam. It's been hard on us. I can't imagine what it's been like for Barry. It's one of those things that's hard to explain. There are no words to describe what people are going through.

"Heck, he's been around here forever. He played here. He coached here. His son, Barry, becomes what he is here."

Bonds is survived by his wife, Pat, and three sons: Barry, Ricky and Bobby Jr.

[Reagan Man]

What a shame.

I enjoyed watching Bonds play for the Ynaks, It was just one year, but he was fine ballplayer.

RIP Bobby Bonds.

[socal_parrot]

He becam an California Angel after that, in exhange for Micky Rivers and Ed Figueroa. Although I like Mickey Rivers and was sorry to see him go, I remember the excitement over Bonds coming home to So Cal like it was yesterday.


With all the teams he played for, he'll always be a SF Giant.

[nicksaunt]

I remember Bobby Bonds hitting a grand slam at his very first game as a Giant in 1968.

I remember Bobby Bonds signing autographs for kids at spring training in Arizona.

I remember Darren Lewis and Royce Clayton "high-fiving" each other like little kids because their coach Bobby Bonds hit a beautiful home run over the left field fence during a Old Timers Game at Candlestick Park.

God Bless You Bobby Bonds. You were a pleasure to watch over the years and a gentleman and class act til the very end.

[StarCMC]

Cardinal fan memories here -- RIP Bobby.

[Eccl 10:2]

"I remember Bobby Bonds hitting a grand slam at his very first game as a Giant in 1968."

And I remember the headline of the article from that game: "The Giants future is in Bonds"

Quite prescient.

My greatest memory of Bobby was a night braodcast of a home game against the Dodgers, who ran up an 8-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth. Th Giants scored 6 in the bottom of the eighth, with the help of multiple Dodger errors, to close to 8-7. In the ninth, Bobby hit a walk off grand slam to win 11-8. I remember I was playing solitaire on a chair cushion in my lap while watching the game. When Bobby hit the slam, I threw the cushion and all the cards into the air. My mother walking by got mad, but my Dad just started laughing. When my Mom heard the story and saw the replay, she started laughing too.

[line drive to right]

I won't say what my job is, but I knew Bobby Bonds pretty well when he played for the Indians in 1979 and when he was the Indians' batting coach from 1984-87. Bobby was a nice guy. He drank too much when he was a player, and that may have prevented him from having a Hall of Fame career--although it was, indeed, a very good career. Once, when he was the batting coach, I went out for dinner with him in Tucson during spring training (the Indians have since moved their spring training to Florida). There was a piano in the restaurant, and Bobby played it, and played it very well. I had always been told he was a versatile guy with a lot of abilities, and I saw one that night....I talked with Andre Thornton, the former Indians slugger, recently. He was fond of Bobby, and enjoyed having him as a teammate and then hitting coach. I asked Andre if he knew if Bobby had accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. Andre didn't know. He had witnessed to Bobby about Jesus, as I'm sure many others have over the years. During this final year, Bobby certainly had to consider what his eternity would be....And I pray that anybody on this thread would consider their eternity, and understand that you need to know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior so that you can spend eternity with Him in Heaven, and not spend eternity being separated from God.

[jhtaylor2000]

The man's father passed away, give him a break, you are heartless...What a crude comment. I have known the Bond's family and they are wonderful people, they just don't play into the systems rhetoric. Get a life dude.

[PetroniDE]

From a Red Sox fan.

RIP Mr. Bonds. 57 is too young for this.

You know you are getting old when all the people you watched growing up start passing away at frightening intervals.