Jim Leyland, Barry Bonds discuss famous spring training argument

I fully understand that this is a niche topic that appeals to about five of you, but I’m nerding out over this. One of my favorite baseball YouTube videos is this classic, in which Jim Leyland yells at Barry Bonds a lot. (Note: very, very naughty words, repeated over and over again. Might not be safe for work.)

Meanwhile, Bonds’ teammate is keeping his head down, just trying to be a nice young man.

The fury of Leyland has always stuck with me, as his default mannerisms usually err on the side of surly, not enraged. What did Bonds do? You can tell he’s a little sheepish when Leyland is yelling, though not willing to give in for obvious, “I’m Barry Bonds” reasons.

We have answers! MLB Network is rolling out a new profile of Jim Leyland, and they’ve included interviews about this cult-classic video:

My only regret is that we don’t have an interview with Old Bonds, considering that New Bonds is just too nice and reflective. He credits Leyland for assisting his ascent to stardom, fully realizing with the benefit of hindsight that almost any other manager would have been a disaster.

Kirk Gibson might have taken an ear, for example.

I recommend you watch both videos — again, make sure the kids are out of the room for the first one — and I hope that you’re as fascinated as I am. I’m not sure who the hero was that kept the cameras trained on Bonds when the argument started, but bless that man or woman. More than 25 years later, it’s the video that keeps on giving.