In with a Bang

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - San Francisco Giants rookie Bobby Bonds hit a grand slam home run in his first major league game on this date in 1968. He was just the second major leaguer to debut with a slam. William Duggelby of the Philadelphia Nationals also did it in 1898. Duggelby did it in first at bat! Bobby Bonds hit his four-bagger in his third at bat against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yes, Bobby Bonds was Barry Bonds' father. Barry's stats outshine his father's, but Bobby was no slouch himself. He was a 5-tool player - run, catch, throw, hit and hit for power. Five times he hit 30 home runs and stole 30 bases. Five times he had 90 or more RBI. His best all-around year was probably 1970 when he hit .302, 26 home runs, 78 runs batted in, which is not phenomenal, but he also had 134 runs scored and a .375 on base percentage.

Despite some excellent numbers, Bobby just didn't seem to quite meet expectations - which were high. His longest stint was with the same team his son finished his career with - the Giants, but he bounced around a lot; also playing for the Yankees, Angels, White Sox, Rangers, Cardinals and Cubs.

Oh, by the way, since 1968, three more players have hit grand slams in their first major league games. Jeremy Hermida did it for the Florida Marlins in his first at bat in 2005. Even more remarkably Kevin Kouzmanoff did it for the Cleveland Indians on the first pitch he saw in September 2006 (Hear it), and Daniel Nava did the same for the Boston Red Sox on his first major league pitch June 12th of this year (2010). 

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