The Bonds HR that left Salmon awestruck

'I had no idea people were watching me'

April 19th, 2021

It pops up every year on Twitter, mostly in October: ' monster home run against Angels closer in the 2002 World Series.

It didn't matter much; it brought the Giants to within one run in the ninth inning of a game they'd eventually lose, 11-10. But the sound of the ball hitting the bat. The distance. The helpless white sphere dissolving into the California mist like it had been banished to some faraway land.

It probably should've been worth 10 runs.

The moment that everyone remembers from the clip is, of course, . His bewildered, awestruck reaction from the dugout. Seeing one ballplayer say that about another ballplayer, you know it had to be hit a long way.

"The story in that World Series was the Angels, the underdog, against Barry Bonds," Tim Salmon told me over a recent phone call. "As much as it was the Giants, it was about Barry. That was Barry's World Series."

Coming off a year in which he hit a record 73 homers, Bonds may have even been better in 2002. He walked more, he struck out less and he slashed at a ridiculous .370/.582/.799 rate. He was a video game come to life. You couldn't get him out. He had an absurd five homers in 11 postseason games entering that Game 2 at-bat.

"There was so much attention put on him and his at-bats and his home runs and the prolific-ness of the way he hit home runs," Salmon remembered.

And then, there was Percival. At that time, it was rare for pitchers to reach 100 mph with their fastballs. The Angels' closer was one of the few who could do it. He had one of his best seasons in '02, compiling 40 saves and a miniscule 1.92 ERA. He struck out nearly 11 batters per nine innings.

"Troy Percival was one of the premier closers in the game," Salmon told me. "He was throwing a legitimate 97, 98. ... I know Percy, I know Percy's gonna come with everything he's got."

Salmon was generally the Angels' starting right fielder, but that season, manager Mike Scioscia had begun inserting Alex Ochoa into his position late in games as a defensive replacement. So, like the rest of us at home, Salmon watched close, late-inning contests from the sidelines. Being not as directly involved in the moment allowed the slugger to become more of a fan of the moment.

"For the first time in my career, I'm watching ninth-inning things from the bench," Salmon said. "I'm used to balls being hit over my head, now I'm watching balls from the dugout being hit."

He felt the immense Bonds vs. Percival build-up like any of us did.

"It was power vs. power," Salmon said. "It was one of those moments where it was like, 'Let's stop and watch this one.'"

And well, Percival brought it, and Bonds -- as Salmon told me, laughing -- "tattooed it."

"I don't know if I've ever seen somebody turn on a ball on Percy like that," Salmon said.

The way Salmon described the homer is like a fan, or even a baseball writer writing up a game recap from the press box.

"It was a really rare, unique moment," he told me. "With the context of everything -- it being a World Series as well. Just to have a front-row seat like I did: It's fall in Anaheim, it was a little misty in the air, it's not real clear where it goes, you got to really strain on the video to see. It just had all that mystic, mysterious, you know, whatever going for it. And he hit that ball, and it was like it never was going to come down."

So when the camera randomly panned to the dugout to catch him -- with all these feelings coursing through his body -- of course he said what he said.

Salmon didn't realize he was on camera or his words had gone viral until Percival came up to him in the clubhouse postgame and said, "Thanks a lot, Fish, they got a lot of mileage out of your comments."

Percival thought his teammate had appreciated Bonds' home run maybe a little too much, but the two friends laugh about it now. They did, of course, end up winning the World Series that year. That always helps.

So, is it still the "farthest ball he's ever seen hit?"

"No, I mean, I've seen Shohei Ohtani in batting practice hit it above that tunnel," said Salmon, who now covers the Angels for FOX Sports West. "It's a period piece."

Bonds' ball went into a tunnel in right field and was estimated at 485 feet -- definitely up there as one of the longest of its time.

Bonds' response to Salmon's dugout exclamation? As Salmon indistinctly recalled, it was very Barry-like:

"You haven't seen a lot of my home runs. I've hit them farther."

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com