Barry Bonds is 51 years old and has not played professional baseball in almost a decade. Years of post-career cycling (and what I can only assume is the adoption of a fully-vegan diet) have helped the all-time home run king shed plenty of that cumbersome muscle that helped him average a home run every nine at-bats past the age of 35. No matter. Bonds can still crank home runs with the best of them.
Barry Bonds just beat the Marlins players on a back field HR BP contest. Including Stanton.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) March 16, 2016
While video of the alleged home run contest has not yet emerged (and apparently will not), it’s clear that Bonds still has plenty of baseball ability flowing through his veins. When Bonds retired at the age of 42, it did not seem as though he was totally done as a professional athlete. After all, he had just led the league with a .480 on-base percentage.
If Brett Favre rumors get to be a thing reported on breathlessly by ESPN types virtually every summer, perhaps Bonds can give baseball a bit of rumor-mill fodder. The Miami Marlins hitting coach could certainly muscle out at least one dinger in a fourth decade. Keep in mind that Julio Franco went yard at the age of 48 and that Minnie Minoso played his final career games at the age of 54. For a juiceless franchise like the Marlins, there could be worse publicity stunts than turning your hitting coach into a designated hitter for an interleague series.
Who knows? With a few more lengthy cycling jaunts, Bonds may even be ready for a few innings in the outfield.
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