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Hello and happy Friday.
It was 13 years ago today that Barry Bonds ignored the sign in right-center field that said “triple’s alley,” and blasted a mammoth home run to make history. It was home run number 756 in his career, making him the all-time leader in home runs.
His 762 home runs is a record that’s going to stand for a very long time. Only four active players are within even 400 home runs of Bonds, and neither of those four has any chance of catching him: Albert Pujols (103 behind, 40-years old); Miguel Cabrera (282 behind, 37-years old); Edwin Encarnacion (347 behind, 37-years old); and Nelson Cruz (358 behind, 39-years old).
And, on that note ...
Did Barry Bonds hit a home run today?
Well, yeah. We kind of already established that. But there are more!
August 7, 1993: Against the Houston Astros, Bonds hit a 3-run home run in the 7th inning off of Greg Swindell, scoring Will Clark and Matt Williams. It cut the Giants deficit to 6-4, and they would los 6-5. It was his 34th homer of the year.
August 7, 1994: Against the Houston Astros, Bonds hit a solo home run in the 1st inning off of Doug Drabek. It gave the Giants a 1-0 lead, but they would lose 7-4. It was his 37th homer of the year.
August 7, 1996: Against the Cincinnati Reds, Bonds hit a grand slam in the 6th inning off of Scott Service, scoring Mark Gardner, Bill Mueller, and Glenallen Hill. It gave the Giants a 9-2 lead, which was the final score. It was his 32nd homer of the year.
August 7, 2001: Against the Cincinnati Reds, Bonds hit a solo home run in the 11th inning off of Danny Graves. It gave the Giants a 4-3 lead, and they would win 9-3. It was his 48th homer of the year.
August 7, 2007: Against the Washington Nationals, Bonds hit a solo home run in the 5th inning off of Mike Bacsik. It gave the Giants a 5-4 lead, but they would lose 8-6. It was his 22nd homer of the year, and made him MLB’s all-time home run leader.
Old, random MCC article to read
Today I was browsing the traffic data on the site, and went down a rabbit hole, looking at the articles that had only gotten a click or three. There’s usually something old and bizarre in there that somehow got clicked on. Bryan or Grant wrote about one such article a few years ago, though I can’t remember what it was so I can’t even link to it.
So I’m adding another segment to the morning threads, linking you to an old and random article that apparently someone else is reading today. Maybe it will trigger a funny memory, or lead you to read some weird conversations. Either way, enjoy. Or don’t. Your call.
Buster Posey disapproves of everything Tim Lincecum stands for (maybe) (okay, probably not) — (Feb. 13, 2013 — Grant Brisbee)
Giants links
- Podcast: Roger Munter talks with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson about the Giants development in Sacramento, and the future of the organization (There R Giants)
- Grant Brisbee on how the Giants are getting hurt by the shift, but it’s early (The Athletic, subscription required)
- Mark W. Sanchez on the 2019 demotion that never came for Mike Yastrzemski (KNBR)
- Dalton Johnson on why Farhan Zaidi hasn’t promoted Joey Bart yet (NBC Sports Bay Area)
- Henry Schulman on how Steven Duggar thinks the Alternate Training Site is highly competitive (SF Chronicle)
- Alex Pavlovic on Gabe Kapler’s early-season strategy (NBC Sports Bay Area)
- Dalton Johnson on how Farhan Zaidi expects the team to be aggressive with young pitchers (NBC Sports Bay Area)
- Mark W. Sanchez on why the Giants chose to option Steven Duggar and Andrew Suarez (KNBR)
Have a great Friday, everyone!