On June 23, 2003, Barry Bonds became the first player in baseball history to hit 500 home runs and steal 500 bases. He reached the mark not with his bat but with his legs.
A steal in the 11th settles a tied game
The San Francisco Giants met the Los Angeles Dodgers at Pacific Bell Park. The game was tied in the eleventh inning when Bonds broke for second base against Dodgers pitcher Éric Gagné. He beat the throw for the 500th stolen base of his career.
A long moment passed before the crowd's rising cheers told him what he had done. Bonds carried the second base bag off the field as a keepsake. He then scored the winning run as San Francisco beat the Dodgers 3-2.
A power-speed blend no one has matched
No member of baseball's 500 home run club had ever stolen even 400 bases. The nearest, his godfather Willie Mays, stole 338. Among players with 500 steals, the best power belonged to Rickey Henderson, with 297 home runs.
Bonds reached 20 home runs and 20 steals in a season ten times, tied for the most in history. Only his father, Bobby Bonds, matched that count. Bobby, unwell, was in the stands to watch his son that night.
Dodgers manager Jim Tracy, whose team had just lost, told reporters: "I don't think in any of our lifetimes we're going to see the second member inducted. There's nobody like him out there."
By 2003 Bonds already held the single-season home run record of 73. Four years later he would pass Hank Aaron as the game's all-time leader. He remains the only name in the 500-500 club.
