Barry Bonds Biography

Barry Lamar Bonds, born on July 24, 1964, is an American former professional baseball left fielder who has played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball. Bonds played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and then joined the San Francisco Giants, where he remained until his retirement in 2007. He has earned a record seven National League Most Valuable Player Awards, 12 Silver Slugger Awards, and 14 All-Star selections. Bonds holds the MLB records for most career home runs, most home runs in a single season, and the most walks and intentional walks in a career, season, and consecutive games. He ranks first in career Wins Above Replacement among all Major League position players according to Baseball Reference and second according to FanGraphs. His career has been marked by controversy, particularly as a central figure in baseball's steroids scandal. The San Francisco Giants drafted Bonds in the second round of the 1982 MLB draft, but he chose to attend college after negotiations failed due to a contract gap between the team's offer and his minimum required amount.