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Monday, September 26, 2022

Barry Bonds Reveals How Close He Was to Joining Yankees

Bonds shared the eyebrow-raising story on ESPN’s KayRod simulcast during the Yankees’ matchup against the Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball. Speaking with hosts Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez and fellow guest Roger Clemens, the 14-time All-Star revealed he considered the Yankees, albeit for a brief moment, after Kay asked if the deal was close to happening when Bonds was a free agent in 1992.

“It was very close, for about 15 or 20 minutes,” Bonds said. “Because, what happened was, and I tell people the true story, the Yankees offered me the same contract I think Ryne Sandberg had at the same time, or a little bit more than that. And, unfortunately, they said you have until 2 o’clock this afternoon to make a decision and my agent said, ‘I’ll get back to you about it.’”

Startled by New York’s urgent timeline, Bonds said he then went to grab lunch, thinking to himself, “Wow, that was kind of strange,” but insisted he thought nothing else of it. But, as luck would have it, Bonds’s agent called him back shortly thereafter to tell him a better offer had come across the table.

“By the time I got to the place to get something to eat, my agent called me back and the San Francisco Giants offered a higher contract and I said, ‘This is great, I want to go home.’”

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: September 26, 2022 at 05:24 PM | 8 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
  Tags: barry bonds, yankees

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   1. TVerik - Dr. Velocity Posted: September 26, 2022 at 08:19 PM (#6098013)
I believe they flirted with Maddux as well that year. Then they got Spike Owen instead.
   2. TVerik - Dr. Velocity Posted: September 26, 2022 at 09:26 PM (#6098017)
It was the height of "top FAs won't take NYY money!" madness.
   3. Eddie Gaedel Posted: September 27, 2022 at 02:00 PM (#6098078)
This happened a few years before the "Big Four" dynasty began in 1996, but how different would those teams have been with Bonds in LF instead of Luis Polonia and Gerald Williams?

Do the 1995 (Seattle) and 1997 (Cleveland) ALDS end up differently with Bonds in pinstripes? The 2001 7-game World Series? Instead of a threepeat (1998-2000) and four-out-of-five, are we looking at five championships in a row? Seven?

With Bonds in the Bronx, do the Yanks trade for A-Rod after the 2003 season? 2001 is when Bonds went into full "Beast Mode" (73 HR, 328/515/863 slash)... how would that have played out differently on the east coast?
   4. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: September 27, 2022 at 02:49 PM (#6098086)
how would that have played out differently on the east coast?
Well, he might never have met Victor Conte, for starters...
   5. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: September 27, 2022 at 03:11 PM (#6098090)
Does he get traded after hitting .176 in the 2000 World Series?
   6. Infinite Yost (Voxter) Posted: September 27, 2022 at 04:00 PM (#6098099)
Thank God this didn't happen. It was annoying enough when Mussina signed there 8 years later.
   7. Cowboy Popup Posted: September 28, 2022 at 04:14 PM (#6098231)
Do the 1995 (Seattle) and 1997 (Cleveland) ALDS end up differently with Bonds in pinstripes? The 2001 7-game World Series? Instead of a threepeat (1998-2000) and four-out-of-five, are we looking at five championships in a row? Seven?

The 98 team gave Chad Curtis 545 PAs, 100 games in LF. He had a 93 RC+ and wracked up 2.1 fWAR. Bonds in LF might push that team to 120 regular season wins. LF was generally a revolving door for most of the 90s too. Could not have been a better fit, although who knows how he would play with Torre/Jeter/etc.

Also amazing to be reminded of how good he was at this time in his career. He had a 10 WAR season in 93.
   8. SoSH U at work Posted: September 28, 2022 at 04:28 PM (#6098232)
Could not have been a better fit,


It's true. I even looked to see if his acquisition in 1993 would have pushed them back in the draft and they lost someone crucial. Nope.

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