Pride or cowardice?
Had staff walk Bonds all series
To pause milestone hit
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| 1988 Donruss #361 Al Pedrique (RC) |
Pedrique was serving as the interim manager of the Diamondbacks when the Giants came to Arizona for a 3 game set. Barry Bonds was sitting on 698 career home runs, and Pedrique felt that having #700 hit on their home turf would be a slap in the face. He instructed his pitching staff to walk Bonds whenever possible, and during the 3 game set Bonds was walked 6 times (including 3 times intentionally). Bonds did hit a home run that series - in the 9th inning of the last game.
Wonder what Diamondback fans thought of that decision. I know it bugged me to see teams walk Bonds, but I totally understood why they didn't want to pitch to him.
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