Death of Giants legend leaves Barry Bonds “more than devastated”

One of the reasons Barry Bonds signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants before the 1993 season was his relationship with Willie Mays.

When Bonds was growing up, his father, Bobby Bonds, was Mays’ teammate when the two were in San Francisco.

Bobby entered the baseball league in San Francisco in 1968 and played alongside Mays until the future Hall of Famer was traded to the New York Mets in 1972. Bobby had a long career with seven other teams and even coached Barry when his son came to the Bay Area.

Barry Bonds was born in Riverside, California in 1964. Bobby was already playing in the Giants’ minor league system and Mays became Barry’s godfather.

That’s why Barry Mays’ death on Tuesday at the age of 93 was a tough one. His father died in 2003 at the age of 57, and Mays remained a constant part of Bobby’s life after his death.

Barry made a brief statement on Instagram about May’s death.

“I am devastated and overwhelmed with emotion. I have no words to describe what you mean to me – you made me who I am today,” Bonds wrote. “Thank you for being my godfather and always being there for me. Give my dad a hug from me.”

Barry was already a two-time National League MVP when he arrived in San Francisco. He was the NL MVP in his first season with the Giants, winning four straight times from 2001 to 2004.

Barry eventually became the game’s best home run hitter, surpassing Hank Aaron with 762 home runs in his career, which spanned from 1986 to 2007. But Mays remains the Giants’ all-time leading home run hitter with the franchise, hitting 646 home runs to Barry’s 586 home runs.

Barry was a 14-time All-Star, 12-time Silver Slugger, eight-time Gold Glove winner, three-time Major League Player of the Year, and two-time Batting Champion.

Mays was signed by the Giants when they were still in New York and began his major league career in 1952. He spent most of his career with the Giants before being traded to the New York Mets in 1972, where he finished his career in 1973.

Mays was a 24-time All-Star, two-time National League MVP, NL Rookie of the Year, won the Gold Glove 12 times, and had a career batting average of .302 with 3,293 hits and 660 home runs. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979, and his number 24 is no longer used by both the Giants and Mets.