Barry Bonds snubbed Joc Pederson.
It was 2016, and the Marlins, for whom Bonds was serving as hitting coach, were in Los Angeles to play the Dodgers. Pederson had grown up in Palo Alto, watching Bonds launch dinger after dinger after record-breaking dinger, and he wanted a picture. Just a picture, Mr. Bonds! Please! Please, sir, may I have just one picture with you?
Bonds didn’t say no to the request. He didn’t say anything. It was like Pederson was beneath his notice. He just turned his back and ignored Yung Joc, which by Pederson’s account turned him into a “mental head case” for the game. It was yet another chapter in That Jerk Barry Bonds, as he flagrantly disregarded rules of decorum just so everybody would know that he was better than them.
Or…Bonds didn’t hear Pederson and had no idea any of this was going on.
That was his story, anyway. Bonds was baffled by the whole thing. He had no idea what Pederson was talking about and insisted he wouldn’t have done anything of the kind.
"How do the young kids say it nowadays? I didn't mean to 'dis' him. So I made a point today to call him up and apologize."
After the story came out, Home Run King Barry Bonds called Joc Pederson to explain his side of the story and offer an apology, which Pederson accepted. And if you want corroborating evidence that Bonds really didn’t hear the request, well, that would be hard to come by, but Bonds did offer one tidbit that he thought would help clear his name:
"Now if somebody told me I did that to [a reporter] or somebody like that, I might believe you on that. I've turned my back on the media and walked away, because I really didn't want to get involved in a conversation.
"But I have no reason to 'dis' another ballplayer for no reason. He's a young player. He's a good player. So it's better for me to apologize to him if there was a misunderstanding and to let him know, 'That ain't me.'"
Here is my opinion on this story from six years ago: It is good that then-Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds snubbed Joc Pederson, intentionally or not. First off, the Marlins ended up sweeping the Dodgers in that series, with Pederson not hitting a single home run. Therefore, anything the Marlins did was good and warranted, and I approve of it all.
But more importantly, what if Bonds had heard Pederson? What if he had taken that picture? What if he had accidentally said a word or two that unlocked something inside Joc Pederson that made him into a superstar.
What? You don’t believe that that could have happened? After Tuesday? You don’t believe it after Tuesday? Take it away, Baggs:
The first pitch was in 15 minutes and Joc Pederson wasn’t wearing pants
No, not…not that. Great lede, but that’s not what we’re here for.
Nothing makes the minute hand spin like a seamless exchange of ideas, gliding without effort from one subject to the next. Pederson had one of those conversations with Barry Bonds prior to Tuesday night’s game
Bonds did not talk mechanics. He didn’t pick up a bat. He didn’t advocate for a minimal stride or keeping a strong front side. There was almost nothing physical about what they discussed, which is good, because that wasn’t what Pederson needed to hear
“He’d get one pitch a game (to hit) and somehow stay locked in,” Pederson said. “Just understanding his mindset on how to focus on that and have no distractions, just the way he explains it, he just makes a lot of sense.”
On Tuesday, Barry Bonds just started talking to Joc Pederson, Giant, and then Pederson left the clubhouse late, hit three homers, and smacked a ninth inning, game-tying hit for the last of his 8 RBIs. Barry Bonds is simply too powerful to just talk to Los Angeles Dodgers all willy-nilly. I mean, think of the consequences if Bonds helped them all become the best versions of themselves: Adrian Gonzalez might have seen 12 pitchers per plate appearance, or Corey Seager might have hit every ball 105 miles per hour, or Chase Utley might have broken both of the opposing second baseman’s legs on the dirtiest slide conceived of by man.
Do we know for sure that this would have happened? No, of course not. It’s not like it happened for the Marlins, who fired Bonds after one season and replaced him with something called a Mike Pagliarulo. But even the possibility that it might have happened for one player means Bonds would have been right to ignore Joc Pederson, had he done so intentionally.
What if Bonds had inadvertently revealed some hitting secret to Pederson that Bonds didn’t realize was a secret? What if Pederson had transformed into a hitting god, easily swatting 45 homers a year? What if he got a $228 million contract to stay with the Dodgers and was just there, forever, tormenting the Giants with his presence?
No, that simply would not do. It is better for Barry Bonds to choose the solitary path, the careful path. He makes the world a better place by doing nothing at all until the time is right, then striking like a cobra, or more precisely telling others how to strike like a cobra, but only the right others, at the right time. In 2016, Joc Pederson briefly felt bad, and then he felt fine. In 2022, Barry Bonds took a bit of his time to talk mental approach with Pederson, and then he had the best game of his career.
Bonds is the owner of a terrifying power. We should be grateful that he now uses it only for good.
Luv it. Linked to it on the Gints' fan blog: https://togetherweregiants.com/latest-post/some-hard-contact-going-on/