The Barry Bonds Strava Stats are Insane

I thin kBarry Bonds is a really complicated character in the larger story of baseball history. One one hand, he has a rich history in baseball, his father was a baseball player, and his Godfather is the great Willy Mays. On the other hand, he was one of the faces of baseball’s steroid era, and despite being one of the greatest left handed hitters of all time, he is not in the baseball hall of fame.

It’s a complicated relationship with baseball, the fans and Barry. But this isn’t to try and understand that, because I don’t know what the right answer is. Rather this is to share the actual insanity that is Barry’s second career- breaking cycling records.

I first read about this in the San Francisco Gate, which has an excellent article about readers who have discovered Barry’s Strava data. For those who don’t know, Strava is a social media fitness app that you can share and track your fitness data, like runs, trails, and bike rides. And my goodness, Barry’s been busy.

For instance, weeks after turning 59, Bonds turned in the fastest time ever for a 0.65 mile stretch of road, in which he did it in 69 seconds.

Or when he tied the record for a 0.27 mile part of road in just 31 seconds.

Barry Bonds was one of the most physically gifted athletes of his generation, and even in his mid to late 50s, that clearly hasn’t stopped. He’s out on his bike, continuing to break records, and compete. Instead of facing some of the greatest pitchers ever, he’s racing normal people who just happen to use Strava just like he does.

Thinking about Bonds again also gives me an excuse to share one of my favorite at bats. Peak steroid era, and just an absolute electric moment between Bonds and the greatest closer of those years, Eric Gagne.