NEWSLETTER
Earlier this month, we took a look back at one of the funniest intentional walks of Barry Bonds’ career – the one at the Home Run Derby – and awed at his all-time MLB-leading 2,558 walks.
But while getting intentionally walked at the home run derby is pretty funny, it’s definitely not the craziest intentional walk of his career. No, that one came exactly 20 years ago, today … when he was intentionally walked … WITH THE BASES LOADED:
20 years ago today, @BarryBonds was intentionally walked.
With the bases loaded…. pic.twitter.com/n045dA11JJ
— Cut4 (@Cut4) May 28, 2018
Back then, pitchers couldn’t just signal to the ump and send the guy to first, so the pitcher, Gregg Olson, had to sit there in front of all those fans and walk Barry Bonds on four straight pitches with a two run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning and two outs.
But, hey, it worked!
While Bonds’ walk brought the Giants within one run, the next batter, Brent Mayne, lined out to the right fielder to end the game. The Diamondbacks manager, Buck Showalter, had this to say after the game: “You try to give your club the best opportunity to win a game. It might not have been good, but it was better than the option we had.” Hey, a win’s a win.
Of course, that’s not why we remember that game twenty years later.
