Bonds

SAN FRANCISCO — During his chase for the all-time home run record last year, Barry Bonds was always warmly greeted at home, no matter what the remaining baseball world thought of him. The love affair between Bonds and the Bay Area faithful hasn’t changed a bit, as evidenced by the thunderous applause he received Saturday night when he was unexpectedly introduced in a pregame ceremony to celebrate the franchise’s previous outfielders.

To the delight of the AT&T Park crowd, Bonds was introduced directly after Hall of Famer Willie Mays. The two former MVPs met in the middle of the infield and enjoyed a long standing ovation and chants of “Barry, Barry.”

After Mays and Kevin Mitchell delivered brief speeches, fans called Bonds’ name repeatedly, prompting the legend to take the mike. Bonds thanked the fans for their support, thanked management for inviting him, and told the opposing Dodgers, “I beat you before and I’ll beat you again.” He ended his brief soliloquy with “I haven’t retired, thank you.”

Bonds joined several current and former Giants to throw honorary pitches. He spoke with Fred Lewis — who currently plays left field, Bonds’ old position — before leaving the field and riding a golf cart through the ballpark halls to the press box elevator. Bonds declined comment to reporters before joining television announcers Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper for an interview through the top half of the second inning.

After leaving the television booth, he again declined comment and made his way to the owners’ box in the stands, where he spoke with outgoing president Peter Magowan and executive vice president and CEO Larry Baer. He left the ballpark in the middle of the fourth inning, prompting fans to once again chant his name.

During his exit, he told reporters he’d like to play again this season, but said he didn’t want to talk about possibly suiting up next year.

Earlier in the week, club representatives said they sent Bonds an invitation to the outfielders event, but he hadn’t RSVPed as of an hour before the game. A luncheon before the game was open to the media from 3-4 p.m., and Bonds didn’t show up.

Baer, though, said that Bonds arrived at approximately 4:30, after reporters had been asked to leave the area.

“I don’t know if I’d say it’s surprising that he’s here,” Baer said. “Barry’s always felt like San Francisco and the Giants are a big part of his life. You can’t throw away 15 years of incredible memories.”

As Bonds was riding through the ballpark halls, fans repeatedly called for him to come back and told him they still loved him.

But the Giants organization said it wouldn’t re-sign him last year, and it has yet to budge from that stance. San Francisco is attempting to rebuild its team with a corps of young players, as opposed to its previous philosophy of building around one superstar — Bonds.

Asked whether the fans’ applause for Bonds changed the club’s plans, Baer said, “This is not the day to talk about that. That wasn’t the point of this event. This is to honor the past players.”

Among the other 25 players who attended, Felipe Alou, Jeffrey Leonard, Mitchell and Mays received the loudest ovations. Before the game, Joel Youngblood and Darren Lewis spoke about Bonds’ influence on the game.

“I don’t think anyone will ever duplicate what he did,” Youngblood said. “I mean, who could put up those numbers? Nobody will ever duplicate that.”

Lewis played with Bonds for parts of three seasons and said he used to work out with him. A player who enjoys studying the history of the game, Lewis said he never took for granted what it meant to play alongside a player of Bonds’ stature.

“The types of players who’ve been in this organization, it’s really an honor to be a part of that,” Lewis said. Not knowing whether Bonds would show, Lewis said “I’m sure he’d get a great ovation if he came. He should, regardless of any controversy.”

David Biderman is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

LOUIE