Minor League Monday - Bobby Bonds, Jr.

While the Bonds name carries a wealth of experience in the baseball world, in reality, the Padres could actually brag about a Bonds of their own – OF Bobby Bonds, Jr., son of former San Francisco Giant Bobby Bonds and the younger brother of Barry and Ricky Bonds – who played within the Friars’ farm system from 1992 – 1994.

 

Bobby Jr., who bypassed high school baseball, got into martial arts because of his hero, Bruce Lee. eventually earning his black belt. It wasn’t until 1991, however, when he visited Pittsburgh’s Brandenton spring training camp with his brother Barry, that he realized how much he actually missed baseball.

He played two years at Redwood City, Calif.’s Canada College, where he hit .270 with seven home runs.  The Padres took the 22-year old in the 18th round of the 1992 amateur draft.

He began his minor league career with the Arizona League Padres (hitting .317) and then the Spokane Indians., (.179, but stealing 13 of 15 bases). In 1993, Bonds Jr. moved up to the Waterloo Diamonds, where he hit .248 and continued to prove fleet of foot, stealing 30 bases in 102 games.

As 1994 dawned, Bonds quickly moved from Midwest League Springfield (.276, 10-13 SB), to High-A Rancho Cucamonga (.175, 5-5 SB, and then jumped to AAA Las Vegas. In his four games a Star, he was 0-4 at the plate, with a strikeout.

That was his last opportunity as a Padre, though, as the San Francisco Giants signed Bonds Dec. 8, 1992, as a free agent. He never made it to the majors. In 2002, his final year of baseball, he hit just .169 with the Newark Bears.