Barry Bonds

Barry Lamar Bonds was born on July 24, 1964, in Riverside, California. His father, Bobby Bonds, was a prominent Major League Baseball outfielder, and his godfather was Willie Mays, one of the most celebrated players in the history of the sport. Bonds grew up around professional baseball and attended Arizona State University, where he was an All-American selection.

Bonds was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round of the 1985 MLB Draft and made his major league debut in 1986. With the Pirates, he developed into one of the premier players in the National League, winning two MVP awards (1990, 1992) and establishing himself as a complete player combining power, speed, and defense. He signed with the San Francisco Giants as a free agent after the 1992 season.

With the Giants, Bonds continued his outstanding play and won additional MVP awards in 1993, 2001, 2002, and 2004. His 2001 season produced 73 home runs, breaking the single-season record previously held by Mark McGwire. His career total of 762 home runs surpassed Hank Aaron's record of 755. He was also walked intentionally 688 times and drew 2,558 total walks over his career, both MLB records.

Bonds' career and legacy became substantially complicated by allegations of performance-enhancing drug use. He was indicted in 2007 on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice related to testimony before a federal grand jury investigating the BALCO scandal, a sports doping case. In 2011, he was convicted on one count of obstruction of justice; the conviction was later vacated by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2015. He has maintained that he was not knowingly aware of using banned substances.

Bonds retired after the 2007 season. He has been eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame but has not been inducted through the traditional writers' vote, with voters citing the performance-enhancing drug controversy. He is regarded as one of the most talented and statistically productive position players in baseball history.