Barry Bonds Quotes

Baseball Almanac is pleased to present an unprecedented collection of baseball related quotes spoken by Barry Bonds and about Barry Bonds.

"I don't have any doubt that Barry Bonds is one of the five or six greatest baseball players who ever lived, I'm not yet convinced that he's the greatest. Honus Wagner was the Alex Rodriguez of the National League, except he was better, longer. Babe Ruth was one of the game's best pitchers for a few years, and the best hitter for more than a decade. Ted Williams, if not for World War II, would have dominated his league over a 10-year stretch like nobody before or since. Mantle and Mays ... well, you know about them. I'm excited about Barry Bonds. We're all excited about Barry Bonds, because in a sense he's ours. Our fathers had Mays and Mantle, and their fathers had Williams and DiMaggio, and their fathers had the Babe and the Iron Horse. We have Bonds, and it's natural to think that ours is the greatest. And maybe he is. But let's give us a few more years to get our bearings. And let's give Barry Bonds a few more years to put the fear of God into the pitchers. Because it looks like he's not nearly done yet." - Rob Neyer on ESPN.com (November 19, 2003)
Barry Bonds Quotes

Barry Bonds

Quotes From & About Barry Bonds

Quotes From Barry Bonds

"I like to be against the odds. I'm not afraid to be lonely at the top. With me, it's just the satisfaction of the game. Just performance."

"I need to win, man. I've had numbers, but I've never won a World Series."

"I never stop looking for things to try and make myself better."

"I think of myself as ‘catching' the ball with my bat and letting the pitcher supply the power."

"It's called talent. I just have it. I can't explain it. You either have it or you don't."

"It's not the name that makes the player. It's the player. If all sons of players could play in the major leagues, they'd all be up here, but they're not."

"I've always played for the acceptance of my godfather (Willie Mays) and father (Bobby Bonds)."

"I was born to hit a baseball. I can hit a baseball."

"Losing dad (Bobby Bonds) was the worst thing in the world.”

"My career is an open book, but my life is not.”

"Serra High school, to me, was my most enjoyable time for me in my entire life. That was the only time I was free. We just played baseball because it was fun."

"Sometimes I surprise my own damn self."

"Today's home run (number seventy), I was just in shock. The chance of hitting a home run off a guy (Dennis Springer) who throws that slow is slim. I just said, `What else can you give me, God? Enough is enough.'" - Jet (October 22, 2001)

"When I hit it (#500), I couldn't believe I hit it. Everything was in slow motion. It looked like it was stopped in midair. Then I saw it went past those people (on the left field wall) and I thought, 'Wow! I did it!'"

Quotes About Barry Bonds

"Barry did things that were amazing. He would hit a ball with topspin over the fence that would be incredible. A ball that would usually drop in front of the outfielder, but instead his went over the fences." - Arizona State University teammate Mike Devereaux

"Barry Bonds is clearly the most talented athlete I have had the pleasure to coach (at Arizona State University). We all knew he would do well in professional baseball, but how could anyone dream that his accomplishments would be this great this quickly." - ASU Coach Jim Brock in the Arizona Republic (1993)

"Barry Bonds is the best player I've ever seen. He can be pitched to, but very carefully.” - Jose Rijo

Barry is the reincarnation of Ted Williams—with more power.” - San Francisco Giants Manager Felipe Alou

"Barry Bonds was like Joe Namath or Muhammad Ali. He could make a statement and go out and back it up. Not a lot of guys can do that. In fact, managers usually cringe when guys make statements about what they're going to do. In Barry's case, I liked it. I think he did it on purpose to motivate himself. In a lot of ways, it's easy for Barry. I think he needs a little controversy around him." - Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Jim Leyland

"Barry Lamar Bonds was the best player of the decade (not Ken Griffey, Jr. in the 1990s), and entering the new century he was still the best player in the game, blasting an amazing seventy-three homers in 2001. His combination of power and speed have been matched only by his godfather, Willie Mays." - TheBaseballPage.com

"He always seems to get himself in a hitter's count.” - Manager Jeff Torborg

"He attacks the ball just the same way his dad did. It's got to be tough playing under the shadow of his dad. But he doesn't let it bother him. He's got a lot of guts just to be out there." - Mike Shannon in the St. Petersburg Times

“He's always been the best player in the game. Is he the best ever? What do I know? I only know what happened in the nineties. He's always been a complete player. He didn't have to hit thirty extra home runs to convince me of that.” - Greg Maddux on ESPN.com (April 9, 2004)

"He's beginning to make a case for himself as arguably being maybe the greatest player to ever play the game." - Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Jim Tracy

"He's the most remarkable offensive player in my lifetime. With the power he possesses and his compact swing, it's almost impossible to control bat speed. The only other player who approached this 'zone' was McGwire the year he broke Maris' record." - Houston Astros General Manager Gerry Hunsicker

"He's the one guy in our league I would pay to watch." - Matt Williams

"I can't imagine what it was like seeing Ruth, Williams, Aaron, Mays, DiMaggio, Cobb, etcetera in the prime of their careers, but somehow, it must have been like what we see Barry doing right now. He completely dominates the game, just as all the great stars of their day did." - Former Pitcher / ESPN analyst Tom Candiotti

"I don't know how good Mickey Mantle was, or Hank Aaron, or Willie Mays. But Barry is a great player. And Barry has been a great player. I've always looked at Barry's numbers and been amazed by them. Just now, he's hitting more home runs, so people are talking more about him." - Tom Glavine

"I don't think there can be an argument for what he is—hands down, the best player in the game today. I think, when considering where he fits in among the all-time greats, you may have some arguing. The problem is the difference in the game today, versus earlier years. Barry is a superstar in any era. But I don't know if he hits seventy (70) riding trains, playing in those old huge parks, with a ball that's twice as soft as the new balls, with the older larger strike zone. And let's face it, 15 years ago, you could drop a hitter and never think twice about it. ... The game is just so different today. But for my money, there's no one even close to him right now." - Curt Schilling

"I don't want to be on ESPN for the next 20 years." - Russell Martin (On the possibility that Barry Bonds might hit homer #755 against the Dodgers prior to a 3-game Dodger-Giant series)

"If you ask me, he's a bargain. I know they paid him a lot of money, and everyone expects wonders. But after watching him play, we got a bargain. He can pretty much do it all. His baseball instincts are unbelievable. And he's not just trying to get a hit, he's trying to crush the ball. If you make a bad pitch, he'll hit a home run and he'll embarrass you. If Barry hits a pop fly to the infield, he won't run a full-out sprint to second base. No one will. But if he hits a shot to left and the outfielder doesn't come in and field it cleanly, he'll be at second base. We got a bargain." - Jeff Brantley (1993)

"I know exactly what my son's gone through, because I went through the same damn thing myself. They said I was supposed to be the next Willie Mays. When they told me that, it was an honor. You're talking about the guy I consider the greatest player to ever wear shoes. I probably had more success than anyone they ever put the Mays label on. You show me another guy who's going to go 30-30 five times. I sure hadn't met him until my son did it. But all the writers kept talking about was my 'potential'...'You haven't reached your potential,' they would say. Well, unless you (writers) win a Pulitzer Prize, you haven't reached your potential, either!" - Bobby Bonds

"In my lifetime, I haven't seen anybody like him, with the career he's had and the things he can do—and he's getting better at this time in his life. To me, what he did last year was probably the most remarkable thing that's ever happened in the game. To walk one-hundred seventy times and hit seventy-three home runs? It was like: The only times he swings, he hits a home run. When they throw him a strike, he hits it out of the ballpark. And when they throw a ball, he doesn't swing. I don't think anyone has ever been in a zone like that. The guy has almost hit eighty home runs in a year, a year and a week. He's got as many home runs in one year as I've got my whole career, in twenty-three years." - Tim Raines

"Is he better than Babe Ruth? Hell, I don't know. Who does know? Barry never pitched and won twenty games. I know that. But in his era, there ain't nobody close. And I mean nobody." - Atlanta Braves Manager Bobby Cox

"Whenever we talk on the phone, Barry knows I've been there. I've stood sixty feet, six inches, from Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale. There's no situation that comes up for Barry that I haven't gone through myself." - Bobby Bonds

"Most times, when you talk about an intelligent player, you're talking about a guy who doesn't play too good. Here's a guy who I equate to Michael Jordan or Mario Lemieux.'' - Dusty Baker in the Houston Chronicle

“Nobody has ever been better than this guy.” - San Francisco Giants Manager Felipe Alou

"One day, he will put up numbers no one can believe." - Pirate Teammate R.J. Reynolds

“Sometimes he says things before he thinks. That's why I'm here—to remind him other people have feelings, too.” - Hall of Famer WIllie Mays

"The real debate isn't over National League MVP, but over which of Barry Bonds' seasons should be considered his finest. There's 2001, when he hit his record seventy-three home runs. There's 2002, when he hit .370 and won his first batting title. And now there's 2004, when the San Francisco Giants slugger is preparing to shatter his season record for on-base percentage, hitting for nearly as high an average as Ichiro and missing fewer pitches than ever." - Ken Rosenthal in The Seattle Times (September 2, 2004)

“The rest of us play in the major leagues. He's at another level.” - Teammate Rich Aurilia

"The rest of us should spend all of our time in the dugout bowing to him.” - Benito Santiago

"You can't tell me the Babe was any better than this guy. You can't tell me this guy isn't the best player in the history of the game." - Florida Marlins Manager Jack McKeon

"We've told him, 'Man, you've just got to loosen up. You've got to relax and be yourself. Let them see what you're all about.' I said, ‘Here's an opportunity for you to let these people get close, but will you do that? No!' And he said, 'You're right, I won't.' I know what's going on up there in his head, and I can be a little more sympathetic than most people. I still say he's the best player in our league, no question." - Tony Gwynn

"Where Barry has truly affected the entire team is the way he has fun just practicing the game. He truly loves to play. And his defense is contagious. In one game, he made a game-saving catch and cut three sure doubles off at the line and held them to singles; in a couple of cases, his plays saved what would have been runs. He's made everyone in the field more aggressive. Defense is the most contagious aspect of baseball, and Barry has dramatically affected the way the Giants play the game." - San Francisco Giants Owner Peter Magowan in the Boston Globe

"You walk Barry. Just walk him.” - Greg Maddux

Quotes From & About Barry Bonds



Baseball fan Charles Murphy caught home run ball number seventy and when ESPN asked he felt when he caught it Murphy replied, "The rush of estrogen was incredible." Sports Center reminded HIM that it was testosterone he probably felt.

Countless interviews have been conducted by countless individuals, organizations, and groups. Each one shows us a brief glimpse into the life and mind of one of the single greatest players in the history of baseball. The following recent interview is a Q&A with Barry Bonds done by the Tribune-Review:

      Polite, cordial, even borderline charming, Barry Bonds was everything but a surly slugger when he spoke with the media before the start of this week's Giants-Pirates series at PNC Park. Bonds, 40 and in his 19th major-league season, talked about his reputation, his return to Pittsburgh and his connection to the city of San Francisco. Here are some excerpts from Bonds' interview with the media:

      On his reputation as being difficult to get along with:

      "There's nothing wrong with me. I know from what my family says. I don't know what you guys say, but at home, life is way different from baseball. Baseball is just my job. A lot of people are a lot different at work than they are at home. You've got to go to work, you've got deadlines to meet, you've got bills to pay. It's a lot different at home. At home, it's peaceful."

      On whether he will break the all-time home-run record:

      "I don't know if the record is going to happen. I don't really think about the record. There are other things I worry about."

      On whether he is the greatest player of all time:

      "I don't think that's a fair label on anyone. Babe Ruth was great in his era. Hank Aaron was great. Willie Mays was great. In every era, someone comes along and sits on top of that hill. When I'm gone, someone else is going to sit on top of that hill."

      On whether he is starting to feel his age:

      "Not really. I'm still playing, still playing a lot of games. I get tired a little easier, but I'm still out there."

      On his return to Pittsburgh, and if it has any meaning to him:

      "I've been gone too long. San Francisco is my home. This will always be the first place that I played, and that's great. This is where I started my career, and I have some fond memories here. Everytime I here, I see all my friends, which is good. But that's where it stands now."

      On his relationship with the fans in Pittsburgh:

      "The fans have always embraced me here in Pittsburgh, always. I don't ever remember having any bad times here in Pittsburgh. That's just the Pittsburgh media. It's depressing all the time. That's just how it is. I don't think the people take it to heart."

      On coming back to have his number retired by the Pirates:

      "I'm going to retire whatever uniform I end up in. That's the number I'm going to retire. Hopefully, it's San Francisco."

      On his connection to the city of San Francisco:

      "My history is San Francisco. That's my father, my godfather. Every friend in the world that I grew up with is there. There's no place in the world like San Francisco for me, right now. I don't know if there ever will be."

What does one baseball legend do when hanging out with another baseball legend? Lets see what Ken Griffey, Jr. said, "Barry took me out to dinner when I was seventeen (17). I think it was his rookie year. We just talked family. We don't talk much baseball. Just like now. I'll call him a few times in the offseason, sometimes write him letters. Family's always the main topic, but I do get on him about his golf game."

     

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