Barry Bonds drew a mixture of boos and cheers during his return to Pittsburgh on Monday, more than two decades after the slugger famously left the Pirates for San Francisco.
Baseball's career home run leader attended opening day festivities at PNC Park to present current Pittsburgh star Andrew McCutchen the NL MVP Award the centerfielder won in 2013. Bonds was the last Pirates player to win the award, earning the second of his record seven career MVP trophies in 1992.
Bonds' appearance was his first with the team since leaving as a free agent for the San Francisco Giants before the 1993 season.
The 49-year-old said it felt good to be back where his career began and credited the current group of Pirates for bringing winning baseball back to the city after two decades of losing.
Bonds in #pirates dugout for first time since 1992 when it was at Three Rivers Stadium. pic.twitter.com/1FqRyRlr0H — Rob Biertempfel (@BiertempfelTrib) March 31, 2014