Everyone knows that Barry Bonds is one of the best players in the game today, but we don't hear enough about his rise to the top. The son of the late Bobby Bonds, who was a Major League star in his own right, Barry was born into baseball - infact, Willie Mays is his godfather!

Barry is the first 400/400 player ever (400 career home runs and 400 stolen bases). He has passed the 600 homerun mark and will probably surpass Mays (660) for third place on the all-time homerun list during the 2003 season. In 2003, he stole his 500th base to further impress Hall of Fame voters. As he says, "he can do it all!" Let's have a chat with this great player!

JrBB: What was it like growing up with a father who was a Major League player?

BB: Well, he was still just my dad. Dads are dads. But Willie Mays was my idol (laughing)...

JrBB: Were both you and your brother Bobby interested in playing baseball even as little kids? Who was better then?

BB: All of my brothers played.
I was the oldest, so I was better.

JrBB: What youth leagues were you playing in?

BB: Whew...you’re making me go back in time! Let’s see, farm league, Little League, Babe Ruth, I played ‘em all! Every league you could think of until I got to the Major Leagues.

JrBB: What is your favorite memory of your youth baseball days?

BB: Playing in a championship against Foster City. We lost the championship. I wanted to win because I had a coach named Joe Garagebaldi who passed away...and we wanted to win it for him.

JrBB: Were you a great hitter when you were young?

BB: That’s what they say! I don’t know what’s considered a great hitter....I did pretty well.

JrBB: You played high school baseball?

BB: I played every sport! Every sport, every year, anything I could play, I’d play!

JrBB: What year were you in when you made varsity?

BB: I was a sophomore.

JrBB: Were you the best hitter on your high school team?

BB: I don’t think so. It depends if you go by at-bats. Some of my friends said that they hit higher than me, but they may have had less at-bats than I had. There were guys who hit for a higher average, but we all hit .400 or something like that. My buddy might have hit .445 and I hit .430 (laughing).

[ Bonds Interview: Page 1  | Page 2 ]

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