Bonds enshrined by Pirates, aloof to baseball HOF
PITTSBURGH — Barry Bonds was touched in a way he didn’t expect when the Pittsburgh Pirates called to let him know he was being inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame.
So when the moment arrived on Saturday, Bonds leaned into it.
He donned a gold jacket alongside fellow inductees Jim Leyland and Manny Sanguillen. He posed for pictures in front of the plaque that bears his name in a plaza just inside the left-center field gates at PNC Park.
And Major League Baseball’s home run king insisted he didn’t think about that other Hall of Fame, the one that has proved elusive nearly two decades after Bonds hit the last of his record 762 homers.
“I don’t have to worry about those things no more in my life,” Bonds said. “[I want to] hang around my grandchildren and my children. Those hopes [of making the Hall of Fame], I don’t have them anymore. I hope to breathe tomorrow [and see] if I can make it to 61.”
Bonds, who turned 60 last month, arrived in Pittsburgh in 1986 as a raw 21-year-old and became the catalyst for a franchise turnaround. The Pirates won three straight National League East titles from 1990 to 1992, a period when the outfielder won the first two of his record seven NL MVP awards.
He left for San Francisco before the 1993 season, a homecoming that seemed predestined considering his ties to the Bay Area. Yet Bonds called his seven seasons in Pittsburgh “the greatest stop for me” because it prepared him for what was to come.
“It was fun,” he said. “Those were good times. I can’t thank you guys enough. This is a great honor. It’s a great journey for me.”
Bonds remains in the top 10 in several categories for the Pirates, including home runs (175) and stolen bases (251). His combination of speed and power made him, as Leyland puts it regularly, “the best player I ever managed.”
The Pirates never advanced beyond the NL Championship Series in the early 1990s, famously losing Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS to Atlanta when Sid Bream chugged home with the winning run on Francisco Cabrera’s single to Bonds in left in the bottom of the ninth.
More than 30 years later, that scar still stings a little, though whatever hard feelings Bonds created by leaving for San Francisco — where his father Bobby Bonds and godfather Willie Mays played — have softened. Bonds said he was “shocked” when owner Bob Nutting let him know he was going into a Hall of Fame that includes franchise icons Roberto Clemente, Honus Wagner and Willie Stargell, among others.
That trio is also enshrined in Cooperstown. Bonds is not. He failed to reach the 75% threshold required during his 10 years on the Baseball Writers Association of America’s Hall of Fame ballot, mostly because of steroids allegations that dogged him during his final years with the Giants.
The Contemporary Player Committee also passed on electing Bonds in 2022, though the committee could reconsider Bonds’ status in 2025.
Bond, who serves as a special advisor for the Giants — who retired his No. 25 in 2018 — seems at peace with whatever may or may not come his way. His only hope is that any honors he might receive occur while his mother Patricia is still alive. Patricia Bonds attended Saturday’s ceremony, as did Bonds’ daughters, Shikari and Aisha.
While achieving a specific part of baseball immortality remains elusive, Bonds — who replied “I don’t have to answer that question anymore” when asked why he thinks he’s not in the Baseball Hall of Fame — understands being honored by the Pirates can help educate fans and future players about Black players’ impact on the game.
“Frank Robinson, Joe Morgan, my father, Mays, [Willie] McCovey, all my Black icons are gone,” he said. “That’s it. It’s just me technically and we’ve got Rickey Henderson, we’ve got others. … I just hope my mom is still around if anything else comes along in my life. Big ‘if.'”
The 151st running of the Kentucky Derby is set to deliver yet another exhilarating race to the finish. From the field to the favorite, here is everything to know about the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
When is the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
The 2025 Kentucky Derby will take place Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
What time does the 2025 Kentucky Derby begin?
The post time for the 2025 Kentucky Derby is 6:57 p.m. ET.
How can fans watch?
Coverage of the 2025 Kentucky Derby begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Peacock will stream early coverage beginning at noon ET.
How many horses run in the Kentucky Derby?
Twenty horses have the chance to compete in the Kentucky Derby.
How do horses qualify for the Kentucky Derby?
To earn a spot in the starting gate of the Kentucky Derby, a horse must compete in a series of designated races from September through mid-April. Points are awarded to the top five finishers in each race. The 20 horses with the most points, or the horses who win their international series, earn a spot in the starting gate in Louisville on the first Saturday in May.
Who is the favorite in the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Journalism, trained by Michael McCarthy, opened as the 3-1 favorite.
What are the post positions for the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Post 1: Citizen Bull (20-1 morning line odds)
Post 2: Neoequos (30-1)
Post 3: Final Gambit (30-1)
Post 4: Rodriguez (12-1)
Post 5: American Promise (30-1)
Post 6: Admire Daytona (30-1)
Post 7: Luxor Cafe (15-1)
Post 8: Journalism (3-1)
Post 9: Burnham Square (12-1)
Post 10: Grande (20-1)
Post 11: Flying Mohawk (30-1)
Post 12: East Avenue (20-1)
Post 13: Publisher (20-1)
Post 14: Tiztastic (20-1)
Post 15: Render Judgment (30-1)
Post 16: Coal Battle (30-1)
Post 17: Sandman (6-1)
Post 18: Sovereignty (5-1)
Post 19: Chunk of Gold (30-1)
Post 20: Owen Almighty (30-1)
Alternate: Baeza
Which post has produced the most Kentucky Derby winners?
Post 5 has produced the most winners, with 10.
What three races make up horse racing’s Triple Crown?
The Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes are the three races needed to accomplish the Triple Crown.
Who won the 2024 Kentucky Derby?
Mystik Dan, trained by Kenny McPeek, won last year’s Kentucky Derby at 18-1 odds.
What is the purse for the 2025 Kentucky Derby?
Since 2024, $5 million in prize money has been guaranteed for the Kentucky Derby.
Check out the ESPN horse racing hub page for the latest news and notes ahead of the big race.
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Ryan S. Clark
Add Rick Tocchet to the list of available coaching options on the open market with the Vancouver Canucks announcing Tuesday that Tocchet left the team.
There had been a belief that Tocchet’s time with the Canucks could be coming to an end. Last week saw the discussion of Tocchet’s future with the franchise come under greater focus, with Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford saying they weren’t exercising their option on Tocchet’s contract before adding that they offered him a new, more lucrative deal to remain in Vancouver.
But now? Tocchet joins the list of sought-after coaching candidates and the Canucks become the eighth NHL team that will use this offseason to go through a coaching search.
“After a very long and thorough process, unfortunately Rick has decided to leave the Vancouver Canucks,” Rutherford said in a statement. “This is very disappointing news, but we respect Rick’s decision to move to a new chapter in his hockey career. We did everything in our power to keep him but at the end of the day, Rick felt he needed a change.”
In the same news conference in which Rutherford said the team offered Tocchet a new deal, he also said that Tocchet “may have his mind somewhere else” before adding that he felt Tocchet and his staff did “a good job coaching this team this year” as they did in their first full campaign.
Tocchet was a midseason hire during the 2022-23 season. His first full year in charge saw the Canucks win 50 games, finish with 109 points and win the Pacific Division. He led the Canucks to their first postseason appearance since the 2019-20 season and was a win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals.
Entering this season, the Canucks had most of their players from their playoff team. They started strong with a 15-8-5 record but encountered numerous on-ice and off-ice problems that would prove too large.
Among them was the friction between star forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson. The tension between Miller and Pettersson reached a stage in which Canucks captain Quinn Hughes publicly acknowledged there was an issue with Miller and Pettersson denying such issues.
Miller would be traded to the New York Rangers before the trade deadline, and the Canucks struggled to find someone who could replace his production. They would finish six points behind the St. Louis Blues for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
Still, Tocchet had the support of Hughes, along with others within the organization who wanted him to stay.
As for what it all means going forward for both parties? Tocchet is among those who will join Mike Sullivan, who parted ways with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday after winning two Stanley Cups in 10 seasons, as one of the most attractive names for teams seeking a new bench boss.
Then there are the teams that need a coach. It’s a list that includes the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken, plus the Penguins and now the Canucks.
“I’m choosing to move on from the Vancouver Canucks,” Tocchet said. “Family is a priority, and with my contract lapsing, this becomes an opportune time. While I don’t know where I’m headed, or exactly how this will play out for me over the near term, I feel like this is the right time for me to explore other opportunities around hockey.”
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