The word ‘potential’ is haunting to hear sometimes, a wasted one even more so. In baseball, what comes next will always be compared to what was. Shohei Ohtani is the next Babe Ruth, despite having long surpassed him. Anthony Volpe is heralded as the second coming of Derek Jeter. Barry Bonds was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps, which in a way he did. Both of their careers fizzled out near the end, although for very different reasons.

Bonds Jr. went the way of steroid accusation as he long overreached his father’s timid legacy. Bonds Sr. took to the bottle, seemingly unable to cope with his own comparisons to baseball greats. Both were on a surefire trajectory into the Hall of Fame at one point until they weren’t. Their work lives had an adverse effect on their personal lives, especially when the Home Run King was but a teenager.

Bobby Bonds Playing on Seven Teams in Seven Years Massively Affected Barry Bonds

Stability is an important factor in any family, and most children crave it. So did Barry Bonds, who was once like the rest of us, dealing with his share of the usual teenage problems. Except, unlike many, he also had an absentee father playing in MLB. Bonds Jr. has been open about his struggles of getting out of his father’s shadow, especially because he did not have the best relationship with him.

One of the main reasons for that was when Bobby hit his 30s, his performance as a baseball player hit an all-time low. Traded from the San Francisco Giants, the late player bounced around from city to city, creating upheaval in a young Barry’s life. In his book, Barry Bonds – A Biography, John Bloom explores this time from Barry Bonds’ time as a youngster.

“As Bobby Bonds would get traded from team to team, Barry saw less of his father. Each trade seemed to take a toll on Barry. “It was like his dad wasn’t wanted… You see that, and it lingers. You see your dad go from San Francisco to New York to Anaheim to Texas to Cleveland to Chicago… that can take a toll on you,'” he writes on page 9. The quote is from Bonds’ childhood friend, Bob McKercher.

The Bonds Shared A Distrust Of the Media

Being in the limelight is no piece of cake and the Bonds men were especially defensive. The father-son duo shares an interesting stat in their individual careers. Both hit at least 30 home runs and stole at least 30 bases in the same season. But while Barry established a reputation as the home run king, Bobby had already felt the strain of not living up to his potential.

Both players received constant comparisons to those that came before them – Bobby to Willie Mays, Barry to Bobby. Both accepted the media as a means of criticism, never putting much stock into their tales. As Dan Holmes wrote in 2022, ” As if mirroring his aborted career, Bobby died a young man, at the age of 57…”

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Bobby had a lifelong impact on his son’s life, even if the two didn’t quite get along. It’s rather unfortunate that both their stories ended the way they did. Never quite passing the line from tale to legend.

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