Bobby Bonds Hits a Grand Slam in His First Game

On June 25, 1968, Bobby Bonds made his major league debut for the San Francisco Giants and hit a grand slam in his first game. He was 22 years old, called up from the minors that morning, and inserted into the starting lineup against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Candlestick Park.

Bonds batted seventh and played right field. In the seventh inning, with the bases loaded, he drove a pitch from relief pitcher John Purdin over the left field fence. The blast made Bonds just the second player in the twentieth century to hit a grand slam in his debut. The first was Bill Duggleby of the Philadelphia Phillies, who had done it in 1898.

The Giants won the game 9-0. Bonds finished his first night 1-for-4, but the one hit was enough to make headlines. San Francisco had been waiting for the next young talent to emerge from their system, and Bonds looked like the answer, a right fielder with power, speed, and a throwing arm that reminded scouts of Roberto Clemente.

Bonds lived up to the promise. He became one of the first true 30-30 players in baseball history, hitting 30 or more home runs and stealing 30 or more bases in the same season five times. No one had done that before. He finished his career with 332 home runs and 461 stolen bases across fourteen seasons, splitting time between the Giants, Yankees, Angels, White Sox, Rangers, Indians, Cardinals, and Cubs.

He struck out a lot. He led the National League in strikeouts twice and fanned 1,757 times in his career. The strikeouts, combined with the frequent team changes, kept him from the sustained stardom that his talent suggested. He was an All-Star three times and won three Gold Gloves.

His son Barry, born in 1964, would surpass him in every statistical category and become the most controversial slugger of his generation. Bobby Bonds died in 2003 at age 57. That grand slam at Candlestick on a June evening in 1968 remains one of the great debut performances in baseball history.