The San Francisco Giants Drafting Barry Bonds In 1982

ONCE AGAIN this past weekend, with the Pittsburgh Pirates in town, I thought how nice it would be if the Giants had Barry Bonds. The Giants drafted Bonds, remember, in 1982, their second choice in the draft of high school and college players. They couldn’t sign him because Tom Haller, then the general manager, wouldn’t go past $70,000. Bonds, the son of former Giants outfielder Bobby Bonds, wanted $75,000. When he didn’t get it, he went to college instead. A week ago I posted this item on the McCovey Chronicles site, but I thought I'd reprint it here too, to see what a more diverse audience has to say about what shape Bonds' career would have taken had he signed with the Giants in 1982, not 1992. For some context, I'll also add links to posts about Bonds in 1974 , 1985 , and 1986 . Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com (link)