Barry Bonds stepped into Giants' broadcast booth with Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow during the top of the third inning Sunday and Kuiper immediately brought up the shape Bonds is in at 52 years old.
"Still think you can play, probably?" Kuiper asked Bonds.
After giving Kuiper the look, Bonds replied, "About an inning or two."
Moments later, the cameras moved to McCovey Cove past the right field wall at AT&T Park where Bonds famously hit home runs deep into the water. Of the 73 Splash Hits off Giants bats into the cove, Bonds is responsible for 35 of them.
Now an avid cyclist who still picks up a bat from time to time, Bonds is fully confident that number would rise if he stepped into the batter's box again.
"I promise you I will," Bonds replied when Krukow asked if he could still hit home runs into the water. "Without a doubt."
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Krukow predicted Bonds would need 10 swings to get it done. Bonds says he might need just a few more.
"Well it would take me eight swings to get warmed up, three pop ups and then I'd get it," he said with a laugh.
During spring training this year, Bonds joined the Giants as a special instructor. And he proved his claim of more Splash Hits could certainly be true as he showed off his legendary swing and cracked balls over the wall in Scottsdale.
Bonds hit his final home run of his career, No. 762, on Sept. 5, 2007 on the road against the Rockies in a 5-3 Giants win. The Giants are adding Bonds to their Wall of Fame on July 8.
