San Francisco Giants: Our Favorite Barry Bonds Memories

From The Editor, Daniel Sperry:

I was trying to think of a moment that I could pull that would unearth a potentially covered up memory by some fans. But I repeatedly come back to THAT moment. The moment that pretty much defines his career.

So where were you? Where were you when Mike Bacsik’S 3-2 fastball leaked back over the heart of the plate? Where were you when 42k+ raised their arms in sync with the greatest hitter ever? Where were you?

More from Around the Foghorn

• SF Giants: The closer of the present and future has arrived
• BOGO 50% off on San Francisco Giants shirts at BreakingT
• SF Giants: Brandon Belt hits IL with fractured thumb
• SF Giants: 2021 team is approaching franchise milestone
• SF Giants: Brandon Belt is a qualifying offer candidate

I was in my living room. The 12 year old me had just came off his greatest little league season, hitting six homers, all inside the park. That might have been the end of my baseball playing days, but it was just the start of my fervor for the game of baseball. The whole summer I had my eyes glued to the TV when Barry Bonds came to the plate. I remember being on vacation and texting google (because that’s how I got sports scores when away from ESPN, in the times prior to phone Apps).

I found out Barry Bonds hit 755 because of a conversation I overheard at the rest stop at Casa De Fruita, our most frequented bathroom pit-stop along highway 152 and Pacheco Pass. I was so angry that I missed it, that I vowed to not miss a game until Bonds finally hit 756. I remember that Tuesday night being frustrated that Bonds hadn’t done it yet.

There were so many close calls, and you could tell he was pressing. Until that moment. That 3-2 fastball that came back over the plate. Off the bat I knew it was gone. I didn’t need to see it. There is a way the ball comes off the bat in that split second that the TV Producer has yet to flip over to the high camera view, and I felt like I had a good enough beat on it. Boy did I.

I ran around the living room, half crying tears of joy, and half yelling. It finally happened. A moment I’d been dreaming of as a Giants fan for a few years. In the end, I credit Bonds’ pursuit of 756 keeping me invested in Baseball at a time where I could easily have been swayed elsewhere.

I stopped playing baseball because I wanted to pursue competitive soccer, as I enjoyed playing soccer more than I loved baseball. But that never meant I didn’t like baseball. But I can easily think back and wonder what would’ve been with my own fandom if Bonds’ chase wasn’t there for me from 2003-2007.

A bad team is hard to follow for a little kid. But Bonds made that team a reason to follow. Then later in 2007 we were all introduced to Tim Lincecum, and Matt Cain had started to get going. All of a sudden the early bricks to the San Francisco Giants eventual dynasty were in place. Bonds kept me a Giants fan. And who knows if that’s the case for others? But let’s go back to my original question: Where were you?

You can answer that question on Twitter for us, or in the comments below.