Barry Bonds Biography

1964-

American baseball player

Professional baseball player Barry Bonds may be the sports world's most vivid study in contrasts. Revered for his practically unmatched athletic prowess—he appears poised to break Hank Aaron's record of 755 career home runs—he is, at the same time, despised by many for his aloof, or even downright rude, behavior both onand off-field. He has been described by a former teammate as "the greatest player I have ever played with, or will ever play with" and by other commentators as a "prima donna," "a cancer" and a "spiritual drain" on his sport. Whether a hero or quite the opposite, one fact is for certain: Bonds has not only taken his sport to new levels of athletic achievement but he has raised the financial stakes for players of his caliber as well. The left-fielder was already one of the highest-paid players in

Barry Bonds

Major League Baseball (MLB), when he signed a five-year, $90 million contract with the San Francisco Giants in February 2002, tying Chicago Cubs powerhouse Sammy Sosa for the fourth-largest paycheck in baseball. In commanding such an increasingly large salary, Bonds has also become part of an ever-growing group of players who are overcoming the financial barriers that have historically been levied against minority baseball players. In 1997, Jet reported that Bonds and three other minority players commanded five of the highest salaries in the history of professional baseball.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: c/o San Francisco Giants, Candlestick Point, 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94107-2199.