‘I hung the phone up’ Why Barry Bonds refused to sign with Yankees after call with George Steinbrenner
Barry Bonds was nearly a New York Yankee, then one phone call changed everything.
‘I hung the phone up’ Why Barry Bonds refused to sign with Yankees after call with George Steinbrenner originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Barry Bonds is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
He is one of the most controversial figures in the history of the game because of his connection to PEDs, but he remains MLB's all-time home run leader. Bonds is most known for being a member of the San Francisco Giants , but the iconic image we all have of him in a Giants uniform almost never existed. During the 2026 Opening Night broadcast between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants, Bonds re-told the story about how he was nearly a member of the Yankees.
If he had signed with New York, there is no telling where his career would have gone and whether he would have gone on to set both the single-season and career home run records. Here is more on Bonds' almost becoming a Yankee in his career and why he signed with the Giants. SN's MLB HQ: Live MLB scores | Updated MLB standings | Full MLB schedule Why did Barry Bonds decline Yankees offer?
Bonds told the story on the broadcast as he was talking to Matt Vasgersian, CC Sabathia and Hunter Pence. The slugger recalled being approached by the Yankees when he was a free agent after the 1992 season. He has spent the first seven years of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and hit the market for the first (and what would be only) time of his career.