1975 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"A dynamo. Considered the most complete player in the game by many baseball men, Bonds is the Yankees' most multi-talented player since Mickey Mantle. He was acquired from the San Francisco Giants for Bobby Murcer in the first swap of $100,000 players in baseball history.
'I'm happy,' he says, 'and a happy ballplayer performs.' Unhappy last year, his performance was sub-par for him but he still hit 21 homers and stole 41 bases. A perfect fusion of speed and power, only he and Willie Mays among all major league players twice managed to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in the same season. He's also an excellent outfielder, with three Gold Gloves to prove it. Bobby is still waiting for that ultimate season.
'Someday I'm going to put it all together,' he says. 'And when I do get it together, the whole nation will be shocked.'
Born in Riverside, California, he was a 9.5 sprinter and the California long jump champion in high school.
Bobby is an intense, emotional man."
-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1975 Edition
"It took one of baseball's biggest trades to put a Yankee uniform on Bobby Bonds. But whatever it took, the bottom line now says that one of the game's finest players is now a New York Yankee.
Bonds is that rare combination of speed and power, placed in a lean and graceful body, who makes everything look easy. He has won awards for his fielding, honors for his hitting, and recognition for his value. He is one of only two players to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a single season twice. The other was his former Giant teammate Willie Mays.
While some may leave their hearts in San Francisco, Bobby wasted no time in flying to New York to try on his new uniform. On a team where tradition and history mean so much, the talented Mr. Bonds can proudly add his name to the game's greats who have had the opportunity to wear the pinstripes. And unquestionably, Bobby will do the tradition proud, for this is a contemporary star of the first magnitude.
Bonds, who already has more stolen bases than any Yankee in history, is 29 years old. A lifelong Californian, his first major league hit was a grand slam home run. And things have been getting better for Bobby ever since."
-The New York Yankees Official 1975 Yearbook
"It took one of the biggest one-for-one trades in baseball history to bring Bobby Bonds to the Yankees. His arrival in New York is expected to make him one of the best-known athletes in the United States.
Bonds was the 1973 Player of the Year in the National League and the Most Valuable Player in the All-Star Game. He is one of only five men in history to steal 30 bases and hit 30 homers in one season, and one of only two (with his former Giant teammate Willie Mays) to accomplish the feat twice. He came the closest to a 40-40 year by hitting 39 homers and stealing 43 bases in '73. His 263 career steals are more than any Yankee has ever compiled. His 28 home runs leading off a game tied the major league record set by Eddie Yost. Bobby has twice been a member of the All-Star team. He led the National League in total bases in 1973 and hit 11 leadoff homers that season.
He has won three Gold Glove awards for fielding brilliance - 1971, 1973 and 1974. He has led the National League's outfielders in double plays twice and in percentage once.
Bonds starred in baseball, football and track at Riverside Polytechnic High School, running a 9.5 100-yard dash. He was the California state long jump champion with a leap of 25'3". A sister, Rosie, was the United States women's record holder in the hurdles and a member of the '64 Olympic team. A brother, Bobby V., played pro football with Kansas City.
Bobby was signed by Giant scout Evo Purisch in 1965 and reached the majors on June 25, 1968, belting a grand slam home run in his third at-bat. He's the only 20th-century player to do it in his first game.
Bobby does many speaking engagements in the off-season and enjoys fishing. He was fishing with Jim Ray Hart when news reached him about the trade. Twenty-four hours later he was in New York, meeting the press and trying on his new Yankee uniform.
If Bobby has a flaw, it's with strikeouts. He holds the major league record with 189 in 1970; however, he's reduced that total considerably over the past few years.
Bobby will retain his uniform number 25 on the Yankees."
-1975 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Bonds is playing in his third All-Star Game. He was MVP of the 1973 [All-Star Game] and 1973 Player of the Year in the National League. One of only five men to steal 30 bases and hit 30 home runs in one season, he has won three Gold Gloves. Bonds has hit 186 home runs in seven years in the majors, including 39 in 1973."
-1975 All-Star Souvenir Magazine, Milwaukee
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