Throughout his long and illustrious playing career, Barry Bonds was nearly as notable for his frequent run-ins with the media as he was for his accomplishments on the field. Now the 51-year-old hitting coach for the Miami Marlins, Bonds is a benevolent presence in the baseball world.
In an article published Wednesday by Sports on Earth, Bonds opened up about the negative image he carried through his 22 seasons and said he wished he’d done things differently.
When asked who was to blame for his poor reputation, Bonds took full responsibility.
“Me. It’s on me. I’m to blame for the way I was [portrayed], because I was a dumbass. I was straight stupid, and I’ll be the first to admit it. I mean, I was just flat-out dumb. What can I say? I’m not going to try to justify the way I acted toward people. I was stupid. It wasn’t an image that I invented on purpose. It actually escalated into that, and then I maintained it. You know what I mean? It was never something that I really ever wanted. No one wants to be treated like that, because I was considered to be a terrible person. You’d have to be insane to want to be treated like that. That makes no sense.”
Bonds said the high expectations placed on him at a very early point in his career played a role in him developing contentious relationships with the media and public.
Interestingly, Bonds said that during his tenure with the Giants, several of his teammates pulled him aside to try to get him to change his persona.
“The guys came up to me, and they said, ‘Barry try,’ you know what I mean? And I did change. I was nice, and I was saying, ‘Hello’ to folks and I was very calm. But I was like 0-for-21. And the first thing those teammates said to me was, ‘We want the old Barry back.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but y’all don’t like the old Barry.’ And they said, ‘We don’t care. We want the old Barry back.’ But the media never knew that was happening, and I was still being cooperative with [reporters] during that stretch, and they were still writing crazy stuff about me, but in that new role, I didn’t care.”
Bonds took a somber tone at one point during his conversation with Sports on Earth‘s Terence Moore, describing his current mellow and solitary lifestyle.
“It’s something I’ve tried to tell people, but they haven’t been able to understand that, because of my (past) actions. People never really see me out that much. When they do, I only like to deal with a small group of people. Even now, I take a shower, dress quick and just go home. I’d rather play sports and be active than to really hang out with people. I don’t know how else to explain what I just said, but that’s who I really am.
When his Marlins visited AT&T Park earlier this season, Bonds was upbeat and lighthearted when speaking to media about his days in San Francisco.
Bonds had countless incidents with the media when he played with the Giants, with most interviews resulting in skipped questions and tension-filled responses to reporters. He was consistently peppered with questions about steroid allegations, particularly during his chase to break Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record.