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Pirates Legend Offers Three-Word Response to Barry Bonds’ Viral Claim

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Mar 7, 2025 10:38 AM ET

San Francisco Giants legend Barry Bonds caught baseball fans off guard earlier this week when the 60-year-old claimed he could still hit a 100 mph fastball.

Forget the fact Bonds last played in 2007. If hitters in their prime struggle against fireballing pitchers who regularly approach 100 mph, what chance does Bonds have?

Pittsburgh Pirates great Andrew McCutchen doesn’t understand the widespread skepticism.

“I believe him,” McCutchen wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

McCutchen, who played for the Giants in 2018, recalled watching Bonds take batting practice that year. Bonds entered the cage not in uniform, but in “slacks and dress shoes.”

After feigning a bunt on the first pitch, Bonds did what retired pitchers may still have nightmares about: he swung.

“You could hear the whip of his bat, unlike anything ive seen at that present time,” McCutchen wrote.

The ball didn’t travel into McCovey Cove, nor did it go into the outfield. In fact, McCutchen said Bonds slipped from the torque and his dress shoes.

So why did it nonetheless leave such an impact on the five-time All-Star?

In 2018 when I was on the Giants, Bonds was in the batting cages before one of our games. We were taking bp like we normally before a game when he out of the blue decides, he wants to take some swings. He steps in the cage wearing slacks and dress shoes. 1st pitch he does his… https://t.co/n96xXTQjCv
— Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22) March 7, 2025

“There was a tv that was bout 5 feet above the net of our cage,” McCutchen wrote. “The ball was hit so hard that it hit the tv screen and completely shattered it.

“Mind you, the ball didnt go thru a hole of any sort,” he added. “The net just stretched far enough because of Bonds’ power.”

If Bonds can do that wearing business casual clothing, maybe it is worth seeing what he could do in a Giants uniform.

Come on, Barry. Do it for baseball fans worldwide!

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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