Barry Bonds pulled back the curtain on one of the wildest near-misses in baseball history … revealing he was on the verge of joining the New York Yankees before a high-pressure call from George Steinbrenner sent the whole thing off the rails.
The home run king shared the story during Wednesday’s Opening Night matchup between the Yankees and San Francisco Giants … when Bonds joined the Netflix broadcast and decided to finally share how close he came to heading to the Bronx.
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“George isn’t here anymore, so I can tell the truth, right?” Bonds said, before explaining how Steinbrenner personally reached out during his 1992 free agency.
At the time, Bonds was already one of the biggest stars in the game, coming off two MVP seasons with the Pirates — and the Yankees were ready to make him the highest-paid player in baseball.
But the offer came with a major condition: Bonds said he had to agree to the deal by 2 PM that same day — and that didn’t sit well with him.
Bonds said he was caught off guard by the urgency and felt pressured, ultimately responding with disbelief before hanging up the phone. Even his agent, Dennis Gilbert, questioned the decision … asking if he understood what he had just walked away from. Bonds’ response made it clear he wasn’t interested in being rushed into something that big.
Instead of revisiting the deal, he stepped away from the situation entirely. While out getting lunch, he started thinking more seriously about what he wanted — and that’s when another call came in, this time from the Giants.
“And I said, ‘I’m going home,'” he added.
Rather than heading to New York, Bonds chose to return to the Bay Area — the place where his father had played and where he felt most at home. It ended up being an MLB-altering decision.
Bonds went on to spend 15 seasons in San Francisco … winning four MVPs and eventually becoming MLB’s all-time home run leader.
The Yankees, meanwhile, didn’t exactly suffer from missing out. They won the World Series in 1996 … and then added three more in ‘98, ‘99 and 2000 — building one of the most dominant dynasties in modern baseball.
Still, the idea of Bonds in pinstripes — aiming for the short porch in right field — remains one of the great “what if” scenarios … all stemming from a single phone call.