Father knows best.
Reaffirmation of this truism was evident again Friday night when the slumping Barry Bonds regained his batting stroke. He didn`t get any hits but drove two balls deep to center field that helped the Pirates to a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
”Barry`s pretty smart,” Pittsburgh manager Jim Leyland said after the game. ”Yesterday (Thursday) in batting practice I saw he was concentrating on hitting line drives. He wasn`t trying for the long ball. He was using the whole field.”
Leyland was in his small manager`s office here at Three Rivers Stadium. He was wearing a Cubs T-shirt from the 1990 All-Star Game.
Then he said, ”Heck, we knew we`d come around.”
Bobby Bonds, Barry`s father, knew it, too.
Before the game, the elder Bonds-a star of the previous generation-entered a plea for his struggling son.
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”He`ll be all right,” Bobby Bonds said. ”I just wish the media would give him a chance.”
Father Bonds then launched into a lengthy argument in defense of his son. He emphasized that each of his failures had been chronicled in detail. It`s not fair. He`s only for 1-6, and everybody is trying to bury him.
Going into Friday`s third game of the National League playoffs, Bonds was batting .167. After his 0-for-3 in the third game, his average dropped to .111. But the numbers don`t tell the story.
He had four plate appearances Friday and was hitless in three official at-bats. He grounded out to first in the first inning but in the sixth and seventh went out on hard drives to center-fielder Otis Nixon.
In between, with one out in the fourth, Tom Glavine hit him on the right forearm with a pitch. For several minutes, Bonds was bent over in pain. Later, when asked if he had given thought to taking himself out of the game, the young warrior said:
”They`ve got to break it to get me out.”
Whatever, it was his third at-bat that helped the Pirates take a 2-1 lead. With the score tied, Bonds drove to Nixon, who made the catch in right- center. Andy Van Slyke, on second with a double, advanced to third after the catch and scored on Jeff King`s double.
Bonds` last time up came after the Pirates had gone ahead to stay at 3-2. With a runner at third and two outs, he went out on another hard smash to Nixon. A foot or two either way and it would have gone for extra bases. It was his best hitting performance of the series thus far and indicated he is ready to break out of his three-year playoff slump.
”First couple of games wasn`t too good for Barry,” said catcher Mike LaValliere. ”It was press, press. He was swinging too hard. Tonight, he had a nice short stroke.”
Pittsburgh coach Rich Donnelly agreed that Bonds is ready to go.
”You could tell the way he was swinging he was a different hitter,”
said Donnelly. ”This is the way he was during the regular season. He had one decent at-bat tonight and two very good at-bats. And when he`s locked in at he plate, there`s nobody better.”
The batting stars were first baseman Gary Redus and center-fielder Van Slyke. Redus had a triple, double and single and made two good plays in the field. Van Slyke doubled and scored in the sixth and drove in Redus with a decisive sacrifice fly in the seventh.
”It was very uplifting to look up in the stands and not see any empty seats,” Redus said. Before the game there was the fear the game would not be a sellout.
”The crowd made a big difference. I`ve still got goose bumps from the way the fans were cheering.”
The biggest difference, of course, was Tim Wakefield, the rookie knuckleballer who stopped the Braves on a route-going five-hitter.
”The kid`s a pro,” said pitching coach Ray Miller. ”He was just as calm tonight as he was when he made his first start for us in late July.”
”It was a dream come true,” said Wakefield. ”I threw the knuckler on just about every pitch. God didn`t bless me with a 95 m.p.h. fastball. When I pitch, you can take the radar gun and put it away. I`ve been timed at 52 m.p.h., but usually I throw in the 60s.”
Obviously, speed doesn`t always win.
Leyland said it was a crucial victory.
”At least we got our feet wet,” Leyland said. ”Before tonight we were pushing the car. Now we`re in the back seat.”