Bonds
is a three-time National
League Most Valuable Player,
having won the award in 1990
and 1992 with the Pittsburgh
Pirates and in 1993 with the
Giants. He is one of only
eight players in major
league history to win three
league MVP awards.
In his 11-year career, the
32-year-old superstar has
compiled impressive
statistics: a .288 overall
batting average, 334 home
runs, 993 RBI and 380 stolen
bases. He is a six-time
National League All-Star,
and in 1996 he achieved
another milestone by
becoming only the second
player in major league
history, and the first in
the NL, to hit 40 home runs
and steal 40 bases, in the
same season.
Since he is such a dangerous
hitter, teams often choose
to put him on base rather
than give him a chance to
break a game open, and last
year he set a National
League record for walks
(151) while blasting 42 home
runs, driving in a
career-high 129 runs and
batting .308.
In addition, Bonds joined
Willie Mays, Andre Dawson
and his father, Bobby, as
the only four players in
baseball history to hit 300
home runs and steal 300
bases lifetime. Compared to
the all-time top 10 home-run
hitters at a similar stage
in their career, Bonds ranks
sixth in homers and seventh
in RBI.
Not only is he productive at
the plate, but he is also a
superb defensive player. His
is a six-time winner of the
Rawlings Gold Glove Award,
which is presented annually
to 18 of baseball's best
fielders, one from each
position, in both leagues.
COMMITTED TO WINNING
What
are Bonds' goals for 1997?
"I'd like to have another
40-40 season, grab another
MVP award and go with the
team to the World Series",
he asserts. "One of my goals
is to bring one here to San
Francisco, where I was
brought up."
Prior to the start of the
1997 season, Bonds agreed to
a $22.9 million, two-year
contract extension with the
Giants which put him atop
baseball's salary list. He
will average $11.45 million
per year, the highest in
baseball history, in 1999
and 2000.
The latest extension
includes a club option which
could ensure Bonds' services
through the 2001 season. He
will garner $8.25 million in
1997 and $8.5 million in
1998.
Clearly, the Giants are
counting on him to be the
key to their success to the
future, which includes
opening a new stadium,
Pacific Bell Park, in 2000.
"I'm happy to say that
baseball's best player will
be wearing a San Francisco
Giants uniform into the 21st
century," says Brian Sabean,
Giants senior vice president
and general manager. "We
felt it was essential to
keep Barry as the
cornerstone as we enter a
new era.
"We're fortunate to be
watching one of the all-time
greats in his prime. His
game continues to improve,
and he can truly elevate his
teammates' performances.
During the off-season, I've
never seen him more
committed to doing whatever
it takes to win a
championship."
This, of course, takes hard
work and dedication. Bonds
puts his 6' 2", 206-pound
frame through a strict
5-hours-a-day, 5-days-a-week
workout schedule during the
off-season, beginning Nov.
1, in preparation for a
gruelling 162-game schedule
and possible post-season
play.
TRUSTING IN CHIROPRACTIC
During
spring training, Bonds
suffered an injury after
tripping and falling down a
flight of stairs at a rented
home in Scottsdale, Arizona.
He received chiropractic
care, and MRI scans and
X-rays of his back and hip
proved negative.
For the past two years, he
has been a patient of Dr.
Nick Athens, a San Carlos,
California, chiropractor who
provides care to members
of the Giants and the
San Francisco 49ers
football team, and he
first sought care after
suffering an injury.
"I hurt my back swinging
the bat," Bonds recalls.
"Mark Letendre, our
trainer, recommended
that I try chiropractic.
At first, I was
sceptical, but after
seeing a lot of the
players on the team
using it, I thought I
would give it a try. And
after Dr. Athens gave me
an adjustment on the
lower back, I knew I had
to get some more of
that."
The star outfielder was
adjusted at the ballpark.
"I did the exam and
everything there, "
Athens recalls. "The
team medical doctor said
to go ahead and work on
him and see if I could
help him out. He was
supposed to be out for
that game, and we
adjusted him and he
responded excellently.
He didn't miss the game
he was supposed to miss
(due to the injury)"
Bonds is convinced of
the benefits of
chiropractic
adjustments.
"I go to see Dr. Athens
on a regular basis,
because I want to
prolong my career as
long as possible," he
states. "I see him about
once a week, in between
my training (sessions).
By getting an adjustment
once a week from him, I
feel I can sustain my
career a lot longer."
He
believes that
chiropractic gives him
and his teammates an
edge in competition, and
notes that, at times,
"Dr. Athens is back
there adjusting
three-quarters of the
team. I'm happy that we
have chiropractic
services at the park,
for our team, and I
don't think we would
ever go without it."
Athens instructs the
Giants players on how
the body functions and
helps them understand
the effects of their
adjustments. "I wanted
to let them know that
chiropractic doesn't
just help with their
back or neck, but that
it just helps their body
keep in alignment, which
helps their body
function better and heal
better," he says. "And
so, in addition, I'll
adjust their cervical
spine and let them know
how important that is,
that tautness or
pressure on the spinal
cord in the neck area
would affect the rest of
the body, so I clear
that area out and start
working on the lower
back.
"And I adjust the
extremities, the ankles,
knees and hip, as
needed. The trainer,
Mark, sends them in to
get adjusted to maintain
their health, rather
than waiting for
something to happen. So
they get adjusted on a
preventative basis."
However, when injuries
do occur, chiropractic
care can be applied.
Last August, while
trying to break up a
double play during a
game, Bonds injured
himself, aggravating his
left hamstring.
"His hip, his knee and
his ankle were all
rotated externally, and
so I adjusted his ankle
through (extremity
work)," Athens recalls.
"The body is the healer,
and he responded
excellently."
Athens, who manages a
1,000-visit-per-week
practice, utilizes
Gonstead and Diversified
techniques, along with
extremity adjustments,
in his care of the
players. Common injuries
include pulled
hamstrings, lower back
strains, whiplash,
pulled groin muscles,
knee and ankle sprains,
and other conditions
affecting the cervical,
lumbar, thoracic and
extremity areas. He
performs exams when the
team returns from road
trips during the season.
Over the past ten years,
he has developed a
cooperative relationship
with Letendre, the
Giants head athletic
trainer. It actually
began when second
baseman Robbie Thompson
found out about Athens'
work with quarterback
Joe Montana and the
49ers football team and
began receiving care for
a back condition.
"I contacted Nick
because we already had
players visiting his
office, most notably
Robbie," Letendre says.
"Through the years, on
the days when we had a
homestand, we scheduled
visits for our players."
The
care keeps the players
performing at peak levels, and
for Bonds, it is at the highest
peak. He comes from a famous
baseball lineage. His father,
Bobby, was a star Giants
outfielder who has served as the
team's hitting coach for the
past four years, and his
godfather is another Giants
star, Mays, the legendary Hall
of Fame outfielder.
Having
finished last in NL West
Division the past two seasons,
the Giants have revamped their
roster with the trades of
veterans, including slugger Matt
Williams, and will field a
younger team in 1997. Bonds'
skills, leadership and
experience will be needed, since
only he and outfielder Glenallen
Hill return from last year's
Opening Day starting lineup.
After
he retires from the game, Bonds
plans to spend more time with
his family and perhaps enter the
coaching ranks in the San
Franciscao area. Although he is
in his prime, he must consider
his career on a year-by-year
basis.