Barry Bonds: baseball's $60 million man

Ebony, Sept, 1993 by Walter Leavy

No one has ever accused San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds of shying away from the spotlight, hiding from controversy or hesitating to say whatever is on his mind. So it's no surprise that he is characteristically outspoken when he talks about what other people talk about when they talk about him and baseball.

Consider the following as examples of his straight-to-the-point, pull-no-punches persona.

On the reported $60 million contract that makes him baseball's highest-paid player: "I'm worth it!"

On his reputation of being difficult: "The people who say and write those things don't even know who I am."

On flaunting the fact that he is incredibly talented: "Where is it written in stone that we [players] are supposed to pretend we don't realize we're good?"

On racism in baseball: "We [Blacks] are threatening their [Whites'] positions, and when you do that, you're going to have complications."

Not since the controversial days of Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson has a player been so colorful and mixed flair and talent so well. But in the process, Bonds has rubbed some people the wrong way with his flamboyance and what is perceived by many as his arrogance.

Barry has always been direct, and he has never made any apologies for his style. Nevertheless, at only 29, the three-time All-Star is the consensus choice as the game's best player, and with that annointment has come the game's biggest contract, a six-year deal Bonds signed with the San Francisco Giants that reportedly could average $10 million a year. After four tumultuous years in Pittsburgh (that included a near-fight with his manager) the much sought-after superstar was lured back to his home by a deal that assures him $43.75 million, but it could increase as much as $54 million with incentives and as much as $60 million with interest on deferred payments. "Barry is the best player in the game," says Peter Magowan, the Giants owner. "If he is the best player, then he has to be paid the most."

Magowan's generosity just added more fuel to an already burning fire, set by the critics who loudly complain that athletes don't deserve the millions of dollars they receive. "When people start talking about baseball players not deserving the money they are getting paid, I fell them to mind their own business," Bonds says about this source of irritation. "Look, we [baseball players] are entertaining people worldwide, unlike any other form of entertainment. I don't hear people talking about how much David Letterman makes [Letterman's deal with CBS-TV reportedly is worth $14 million to $18 million a year, depending on various incentives]. I don't care what people say; I'm worth it. It's in my pocket now, and they aren't getting it back."

So far, one wants it back. The beginning of Bonds' era in San Francisco has brought excitement and enthusiastic crowds back to Candlestick Park. This year, for example, the team reached the 1 million mark in attendance at the earliest date in its history, and it's projected that the escalating attendance will result in about $9 million in gate receipts alone. With those figures in mind, getting Bonds for $60 million could turn out to be more like a blue-light special.

And when you talk about Bonds, the word "special" is a fitting description. He is so special that this year fie was the top vote-getter in balloting by the fans for the All-Star team, and he has a chance to win his third National League MVP award in four years (He was the runner-up to Terry Pendleton in the 1991 MVP voting). In addition, he has also claimed three consecutive Gold Glove awards for his defensive excellence. Some observers, in fact, he is such a complete player that the trick is to figure out what he can't do.

The one thing he hasn't been able to do is get onlookers -- fans and media alike -- to understand that all he wants is to play the game, be judged strictly by what he does on the field and be able to keep his private life just that -- private. And it is that desire, he says, that has painted him as an unaccommodating man with a not-so-sunny disposition. "I'm not a drug addict. I'm not an alcoholic. I don't abuse children," he says. "So what have I done wrong? Nothing! I just like to play the game and then be left alone. That's all."

It's more likely for swimsuit weather to grace Chicago in january than it is for baseball's most colorful player to be left alone. Bonds knows that this is a part of the baggage that comes along with stardom, but it's the constant demands, the attention and the expectations that irritate him, particularly since he believes that his only obligation to the public takes place on the field.

Curious fans, however, already know what he does on the field. They know about the showboat catches in the outfield. They know about his ability with a bat. They know that he has the chance to be the first player to win four MVP awards. Additionally, they know that his father is three-time All-Star and Giants first base and batting coach Bobby Bonds. They know that his godfather is the legendary Willie Mays, who is still the standard by which all outfielders are judged.