Barry Bonds knows exactly what would happen if he stepped into the box against the iconic Satchel Paige.
The all-time MLB home run king sat on a panel alongside fellow baseball greats Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., David Ortiz and Derek Jeter during the pregame show on Fox for MLB’s Rickwood Field game on Thursday night when the ex-Yankees shortstop shot a tough question Bonds’ way.
“Tell me right now on the spot, what would you do against Satchel Paige?” Jeter asked Bonds.
Without hesitation, Bonds told Jeter he’d do just what he did 762 times in the big leagues.
“Me? Gone!” Bonds said as he pointed to the sky. “You lost your mind, Jeter. Gone! Read about it on ESPN.”
Griffey had a different idea.
“I’m drag bunting,” he said with a laugh. “We’re gonna race first.”
The Fox panel spent most of the pregame show remembering Negro Leagues greats, most notably Willie Mays, who died on Tuesday at 93 and called Rickwood Field home during the 1948 season with the Birmingham Black Barons.
Bonds mourned the death of his godfather Mays on Tuesday night in a post on social media, saying that he was “devastated” by his passing.
“I am beyond devastated and overcome with emotion,” Bonds wrote in an emotional post on Instagram. “I have no words to describe what you mean to me — you helped shape me to be who I am today. Thank you for being my Godfather and always being there. Give my dad [Bobby Bonds] a hug for me.
“Rest in Peace Willie, I love you forever. #SayHey.”
Mays was honored at Rickwood before the game between the Giants and Cardinals, with fans chanting his name during an emotional ceremony.
The day before his death, Mays released a statement that his health would prevent him from traveling to Alabama for the game.
“I 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.”
