Well, nobody can fault legendary MLB slugger Barry Bonds for his confidence.
Ahead of Thursday night’s San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals game at the historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, the Fox Sports panel had a lively discussion between Bonds and former MLB superstar Derek Jeter.
Jeter asked Bonds what he would do if he was hitting against all-time pitcher Satchel Paige, who played much of his career in the Negro Leagues before transitioning to the MLB in 1948.
Bonds’ answer was predictably enthusiastic. He thinks he could pretty easily homer off of Paige if he were at the plate, which got big laughs from his fellow Fox Sports MLB broadcasters.
Derek Jeter: Tell me right now on the spot, what would you do against Satchel Paige??
Barry Bonds: Me?! GONE. You lost your mind Jeter. Gone!
While it’s impossible to know how a meeting between an all-time great pitcher and one of the best hitters of all time would go, it’s not hard at all to guess how Bonds thinks he’d do in that scenario.
A giant of the game in every sense of the word, Mays was arguably the greatest ball player ever, and his impact on the sport itself, while tremendous, extended well beyond the parameters of a bog-standard baseball diamond.
On Thursday, the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals will play a special regular-season game at the legendary Rickwood Field, the oldest baseball stadium in the United States. The evening and its planned celebrations will take on a little bit more of a somber note in the wake of Mays’ death.
Here’s why Rickwood Field was so important to Mays and the history of baseball.
Why Rickwood Field is so special
JOE MOCK [Via MerlinFTP Drop]Having been open since 1910, no baseball stadium likely holds as much influence and gravitas as Rickwood Field. In the early parts of the 20th century, the Birmingham Barons of the Negro Leagues played on the field. They later changed their name to the Birmingham Black Barons and remained as such from 1924 to 1960.
Even when the Negro Leagues disbanded in 1948 after MLB integrated Black players, Rickwood Field remained an essential fixture in Birmingham and the greater baseball community. It is officially part of the National Register of Historic Places.
Some of the most famous Black players in baseball history have played at Rickwood Field during intermittent stints with the Black Barons. With Mays obviously included, the list notably also features:
Jackie Robinson
Satchel Paige
Josh Gibson
Ernie Banks
Hank Aaron
Needless to say, these are genuinely some of the biggest heavy-hitters baseball has ever seen.
Before his death, Mays was set to be honored individually on Thursday night. The Alabama native played a season at Rickwood Field with the Black Barons when he was 17 years old before officially jumping to the MLB, where he spent the majority of his career with the Giants.
âI wish I could come out to Rickwood Field this week to be with you all and enjoy that field with my friends. Rickwood’s been part of my life for all of my life. Since I was a kid. It was just âaround the corner thereâ from Fairfield [the town where Mays went to high school], and it felt like it had been there forever. Like a church. The first big thing I ever put my mind to was to play at Rickwood Field. It wasn’t a dream. It was something I was going to do. I was going to work hard to be one of the Birmingham Black Barons and play ball at Rickwood Field. That’s what I did. It was my start. My first job. You never forget that. Rickwood Field is where I played my first home game, and playing there was IT — everything I wanted.”
A pregame ceremony will pay tribute to the baseball icon in the wake of Mays’ death. The Giants and Cardinals will wear unique uniforms representative of Negro Leagues teams from San Francisco and St. Louis to commemorate the occasion.
Drew Brees will be wearing some new gear when he begins to warm up for Sunday’s Wild-Card Round playoff game with the Chicago Bears. The New Orleans Saints shared an up-close look at the quarterback’s latest pair of cleats, designed by Marcus Rivero of Soles by Sir, who has created customized âMy Cause My Cleatsâ for Brees in the past.
The new cleats feature some of Brees’ favorite baseball players, including Ted Williams, who inspired him to wear No. 9 on his jersey. Other all-time greats he’s chosen to highlight are Ken Griffey Jr., Satchel Paige, and Nolan Ryan. It’s quite a group to assemble, and it’s easy to see how they inspired Brees to put in the work to be great in the NFL, too.
