Bobby Bonds ✝

Born in Riverside, California, Bonds played varsity high school baseball at Riverside Polytechnic High School and signed with the Giants in 1964. His sister, Rosie, was a 1964 Olympic hurdler. His brother, Robert, won two gold medals in the hurdles at the high school track and field state finals in 1960, and was an NFL Draft pick in 1965. In 1964 he was a High School All-American in track & field, while also being named Southern California High School Athlete of the Year. Playing in the Giants\' minor league system, he was Most Valuable Player of the class-A Western Carolina League.\n', ' He hit a grand slam in his third at bat in his first major league game, \n', 'June 25, 1968, becoming just the second player ever, and the first in MLB\'s modern era, to hit a grand slam in his debut game. The first was Bill Duggleby in 1898. Bonds was named to the 1968 Topps All-Star Rookie Team.\n', ' Bonds was remarkable during his era for his combination of power and speed, but also for his propensity to strike out. In his first full season in 1969, he set a major league record with 187 strikeouts, while also leading the NL in runs. He broke his own strikeout record a year later with 189. That record lasted until 2004, when Adam Dunn broke it by striking out 195 times. This mark now belongs to Mark Reynolds with 223 in 2009. Bonds\' 1970 total currently ranks tenth on the all-time single-season strikeout list. When Bonds retired, he ranked third in career strikeouts with 1,757, behind Willie Stargell\'s 1,912 and Reggie Jackson\'s 1,810. Bobby Bonds hit 39 home runs and had 43 stolen bases in 1973 – the highest level of home runs and stolen bases (39+ of each) until José Canseco of the Oakland Athletics in 1988. Barry and Bobby had 1,094 combined home runs through 2007 – a record for a father-son combination. He was a three-time Gold Glove Award winner (1971, 1973–74), and a three-time All-Star (1971, 1973 & 1975, winning the All-Star MVP award in 1973).\n', '