“I wanted to be just like Willie Mays” – Barry Bonds expressing his admiration for the Hall of Famer

Legendary hitter Barry Bonds expressed his admiration for one of the greats of the game, Willie Mays, at the 100th annual Baseball Writer's dinner, which took place in New York City on Saturday. A clip of Bonds' speech from the day was posted to X (formerly Twitter) by Foul Territory.

"I'm just a testament for who Willie Mays really was," Bonds said. "I happened to pursue the same career as him, and he took me as his godson. I stayed in his locker room. I wanted to be just like him. I love him, and he's the greatest baseball player for me, ever."

Having made his big league debut in May 1951, Mays spent 23 seasons in the big leagues. In that time, he represented the New York Giants (who became the San Francisco Giants) and the New York Mets.

He boasted a trophy cabinet that would put even the most successful of players to shame, earning 24 All-Star caps, two NL MVP awards, 12 Golden Glove awards, an NL batting title, a Roberto Clemente Award and a World Series winners' ring, among other honors. His iconic No. 24 has since been retired by both the Giants and Mets.

One of the most prestigious individual awards in all of baseball, the World Series MVP award, is also known as the Willie Mays Award. Owing to the fantastic consistency that he showcased, Mays is a part of the MLB all-century and all-time teams as well.

Even after retiring after the 1973 season came to an end, Mays continued to stay connected to the game he loved so dearly, helping the next generation of big league stars improve their games, serving as a coach for both his former teams, the Giants and the Mets. He also had stints working as a special assistant and PR specialist. He continued to work in said departments up until he died due to heart failure in June 2024.

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Barry Bonds denied Hall of Fame status despite extraordinary career

Having played 22 seasons in the big leagues, Barry Bonds is widely regarded as one of the finest hitters to have ever swung a bat in the big leagues. In his career, Bonds earned 14 All-Star caps, seven NL MVP awards, eight Gold Glove Awards and 12 Silver Slugger awards. Bonds is in both the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants' halls of fame.

Barry Bonds in action for the San Francisco Giants - Source: Getty

However, Bonds has been denied entry into Cooperstown because of his controversial involvement in the steroid era, which accused Bonds of using performance-enhancing drugs during his playing days.

Although he was eventually cleared of all charges, proceedings evidently left a lasting impression on many of the individuals involved in voting for candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot, and Bonds eventually failed to receive the minimum percentage of votes (75%) during his 10 years of eligibility.