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 sixth inning, with the bases loaded, he drove a pitch from reliever Jack Purdin over the left field fence. The blast made Bonds only the second player in major league history to hit a grand slam in his debut, after Bill Duggleby of the Philadelphia Phillies 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 the first player in baseball history to achieve a 30-30 season five times, hitting 30 or more home runs and stealing 30 or more bases in 1969, 1973, 1975, 1977, and 1978. 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 also struck out 1,757 times in his career, setting the major league single-season record in 1969 and breaking it himself in 1970. He was an All-Star three times and won three Gold Gloves, but the strikeouts and frequent team changes limited his place in the public imagination relative to his talent.

His son Barry, born in 1964, would surpass him in home runs and most counting statistics 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.