In a very powerful moment Barry Bonds attributed his drive to the tumultuous relationship with his father and talked about the closure he got on his deathbed.#SFGiants pic.twitter.com/ydnCYOkZWC
— Ryan McGeary (@RM_Geary) August 12, 2018
Barry Bonds opened up about his relationship with his late father, and former San Francisco Giants right fielder Bobby Bonds, during his number retirement ceremony on Saturday evening.
Bonds became emotional when talking about a conversation he had with his father, about why the elder Bonds was so hard on him as a kid.
“As a kid, I was always wondering why my father didn’t say positive things to me often,” Bonds said. “I always questioned why he was sympathetic with others, while I was out there working my butt off. Every time I’d say something like, ‘Hey dad I hit two home runs today.’ He’d say, ‘Good, hit two more tomorrow.’
“It wasn’t until I was well into my career that I finally understood why my father treated me like that. Before he died, I had the opportunity to sit in bed with him and ask ‘Why daddy? Why were you so hard on me?’ But he said to me, ‘Because I love you so much, and I was so proud of you, I knew as long as you were going to chase getting my approval, nothing was going to stop you from being the best you could be.
“Dad, a big part of my heart is missing today here without you.”
For more video from Bonds’ number retirement ceremony, click here.