Barry Bonds: When He Saw a Strike, the San Francisco Giant Struck

Barry Bonds' San Francisco Giants teammates were frustrated. It was the middle of May, 2004, and opposing managers refused to pitch to the greatest of all home run hitters.

Then-Giants catcher A.J. Pierzynski explained to Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci what made Bonds great.

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I asked him once how he can wait through all the pitches and all the walks and not miss a pitch when he gets it. He told me he makes sure he's ready to hit every single pitch. That kind of focus is amazing.

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Of the first 444 pitches Bonds saw in 2004, 58 were strikes, which averaged out as one strike for every two plate appearances. He admitted that it was getting to him.

"It's wearing me down," Bonds said. "Dude, I don't ever sit down. I'm on the bases the whole time or in the field. That's the hardest thing. I have to take extra hitting all the time to stay sharp."

There were times that the opposition walked Bonds leading off an inning in a tied game, as well as instances when he was intentionally walked when a runner on first represented the potential lead run late in the game.

Left-hander Al Leiter remarked that it felt as if it were a playoff game every time Bonds came to the plate.

Bonds also spoke his mind, which irritated those in the media. When asked how many walks he thought he would finish the 2004 season with, Bonds gave a typical answer.

"You got a crystal ball up your rear end? You can't predict the future," he said.

That season, Roger Clemens had a unique agreement with the Houston Astros that allowed him to skip some road trips. When it was suggested that Bonds might be treated similarly, his response ruffled some feathers: "I ain't white. What world are you living in? I live in reality. They'll never let a black man get away with that."

Bonds finished the season with 232 walks, 120 of them intentional. He batted .362/.609/.812, but what was more remarkable were his 45 home runs. When he saw a strike, he struck it.

Bonds made 617 plate appearances but had only 373 official at-bats. He averaged one home run every 8.3 at-bats. When he set the single-season record of 73 home runs, he averaged one home run every 6.5 at-bats.

No player in history was as efficient as Bonds with regard to taking advantage of the few good pitches he had to hit. It makes one wonder how Babe Ruth would have done in a similar situation.