What, exactly, were we expecting from Barry Bonds this
spring? Did we think a haunted scarecrow of a man,
deprived of the magic elixir that made him whole,
would be dragging his bat to the plate for lack of the
strength required to carry it there? Did we think
that, once in the batter's box, the batboy would help
him hoist the lumber up to his shoulder and that there
it would stay while he hoped the pitcher would miss
the plate four times? Did we think that finally, out
of desperation, he would feebly unlimber the bat and
make a half-hearted slap at a pitch now and again,
perhaps even fouling a few off, or, with some luck,
dribbling one back to the pitcher?
Regardless of what folks expected, this much we know:
at the advanced age of 39, Bonds is off to the best
start of his 19-year career, bar none. He homered
twice in yesterday's 7-6 loss to the Dodgers, giving
him seven homers and 16 RBI on the young season.
Through the first twelve games of the season, he has
never quite gotten out of the gate like this, although
2002 comes pretty close. Here are his best Triple
Crown stats through twelve games:
Home Runs:
2004: 7
2002: 7
1992: 7