Barry Talks About His Father Bobby Bonds

Bonds' father, who passed away from complications of cancer on Aug. 23, 2003, had a 14-year career, the first seven with the Giants. Later in life, the dad became a batting coach and inspiration to his son, who signed with the Giants as a free agent on Dec. 8, 1992, after playing seven seasons in Pittsburgh.

A symbol of Mexican pride, the slugging Espino (honorary 500 Home Run Club®Member) is the all-time Minor League home run hitter with 484 long balls. After being named the Mexican League Rookie of the Year in 1962, he led the league in home runs in 1964 and 1972; batting average in 1964 and in 1966-68; and in RBI in 1962 and 1973. His Mexican League homerun record of 46 long balls, set in 1964, stood until 1986.

Aging But Still Splendid Babe Stars at 1st All-Star Game

The first All-Star Game was held as part of the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago and was the brainchild of Arch Ward, then sports editor for The Chicago Tribune. Thirty-eight-year-old Babe Ruth, a crowd pleaser to the end, belted the first All-Star home run in the third inning of the inaugural All-Star Game in 1933 (Chicago, Comiskey Park).  Ruth also made a dazzling late-inning catch to secure the 4-2 win for the American League.    The spectacle and excitement generated by this first All-Star Game ensured that it would be an annual event.

On July 12, 1955 Aaron played in his first All-Star Game and went 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI in a 6-3 win for the National League. It marked the first of a record-tying 24 All-Star Games for Aaron. Only Willie Mays and Stan Musial appeared in as many All-Star Games.

April 8, 1974 - Aaron was 15 months old when Babe Ruth hit the last of his record 714 homers. Thirty-eight years later, in the summer of '73, Aaron's chase to beat the Babe heated up.  The year ended with Aaron at 713 homers. Hammerin' Hank was determined not to let the threats distract him from his quest. On his first swing of the 1974 season, he tied Babe's record in Cincinnati.

Career Statistics for "Hamerin'" Hank Aaron 

Ranks first all-time (755); ranks first in NL (733); ranks first among NL outfielders (661); he and brother Tommie rank first in homers by siblings (768); combined with Mathews to hit most homers as teammates (863); he and Mathews are the only teammates to hit 400 homers each as teammates (442 for Hank, 421 for Eddie); hit 385 in home parks, 370 on the road; hit 185 homers in Milwaukee County Stadium as a Brave, 10 as a Brewer; hit 190 homers in Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium; he hit exactly 400 solo homers (53%); 242 two-run homers (32%); 97 three-run homers (13%); 16 grand slams; hit two homers in a game 61 times (3rd, behind Ruth and Mays); hit three homers in a game once (6/21/1959); hit 14 extra-inning homers; one inside-the-park home run (1967); three PH-homers (1962, 1966, 1973); hit 534 homers off RHP (71%); 221 homers off LHP (29%); victimized 310 pitchers in 32 ballparks; hit three homers in the World Series and three more in the 1969 NLCS; blasted two All-Star game home runs.

4th of July Fireworks

While pyrotechnics are still popular on the 4th of July, scheduled doubleheaders began to fade in the 1970s.  Which helps to explain why the players with the most homers on our nation's birthday -- Duke Snider 9, Willie Mays 8, Larry Doby 7, Mickey Mantle 7 -- all started their careers in the 1940s or '50s. Other players with the most July 4th HRs are: Rafael Palmeiro 5, Edgar Martinez 4, Moises Alou 4, Reggie Sanders 4, Jim Edmonds 4 and Brian Giles 4.  Barry Bonds has hit just three Independence Day dingers: in 1991 off the Cubs' Greg Maddux, in 1994 off the Mets' Mike Remlinger and last season off the Padres' Jake Peavy.

"I just hope no one (has) to go through what I went through," Aaron said during the 2002 season. "It was inhuman and uncalled for. Every single day I was confronted with it, whether it was the letters I received or the newspaper articles guys wrote."

On February 27, 2006, the National Baseball Hall of Fame elected 17 candidates to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, including 12 players and five executives. The 17 electees honored in a special Induction Ceremony on July 30, include seven Negro leagues players: Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Andy Cooper, Biz Mackey, Mule Suttles, Cristobal Torriente, and Jud Wilson; five pre-Negro leagues players: Frank Grant, Pete Hill, José Méndez, Louis Santop, and Ben Taylor; four Negro leagues executives Effa Manley, Alex Pompez, Cum Posey, and J.L. Wilkinson; and one pre-Negro leagues executive Sol White. Manley, an owner in the Negro leagues, becomes the first woman elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

After The Tornado, other Japanese All-Stars followed    

The first Japanese-born player to earn a spot on a Major League roster had such a brief career that it took 30 years for the next one to even attempt the difficult transition. As it turned out, Hideo Nomo was no Masanori Murakami.

Legendary Player, Manager Makes More History

Sadaharu Oh, the most legendary and storied player in the history of Japanese baseball, guided his Japan club to victory over a scrappy Cuban team in the final game of The 2006 World Baseball Classic, 10-6. Afterward, Oh accepted the sparkling Classic trophy from Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, on behalf of the players, and quite likely, the entire country of Japan.

Oh played 110 exhibition games against major leaguers, either in October or November or during spring training.  He had 338 at bats and hit for a .260 average with 88 walks for a .413 on-base percentage.  He also slugged 14 doubles, no triples and 25 homers among his hits, for a .524 slugging average; quite a dominant performance against All-Star caliber MLB pitchers (see following list).

Hank Aaron Makes The Most of Spring Training Opportunity

When Braves left fielder Bobby Thomson broke his ankle during a 1954 in a spring training game, opening a spot in outfield for Aaron. March 14 Aaron makes his first spring training start for the Braves and hits a home run.
 

Willie McCovey, one of the most enthusiastic players at the 1973 winter drills, made a special trip to the Giants’ front office in January to sign his 1973 contract long before anyone else did. 

He arrived at Candlestick Stadium ready and eager for his 15 major league season and immediately began pummeling the seats that remained in short left field from the 49ers’ football campaign.  After he broken a few with his awesome left-handed stroke, they were removed by the grounds crew. 

Frank Robinson Was The King of Opening Day

While 500 Home Run Club® LLC Members Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Eddie Mathews each blasted seven Opening Day homers, no batter ever hit as many home runs on Opening Day as their fellow club member Frank Robinson.

The Hall of Fame outfielder belted eight career home runs on the first day of the season, three for Cincinnati, three for Baltimore, one for California, and one for Cleveland.

Black History Month is the successor to Negro History Week, which was initiated on February 12, 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, a pre-eminent historian and founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History.

The Baseball color line was the unwritten policy that excluded African American baseball players from Organized Ball in the United States before 1947. As a result, various Negro Leagues were formed, which featured those players not allowed to participate in the major or minor leagues.

When the Negro National League was formed in Kansas City in 1920, it did not begin as a social statement. It began because talented athletes, who loved the game, required and deserved a forum for expression.

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) began with that same kind of resolve and devotion. It began with a passion for the game, a passion for America's history deeply influenced by the Negro Leagues, and a passion for the future-where youth will always need to be reminded of yesterday in order to appreciate today and encouraged to meet the challenges of tomorrow.