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Amazing Barry Bonds Historic 2001 Contract Letter Picking Up Club Option
Displayed is an amazing letter that Barry Bonds received to let him know that the San Francisco Giants were going to exercise the option for 2001 as provided for in the contract Bonds signed with the Giants in 1997. The Giants' exercise of that option for the 2001 season led up to Bonds' historic season in 2001 when he set the new Major League single-season home run record of 73. Barry Bonds grew up in a baseball environment. His father, Bobby Bonds, was a star outfielder for the San Francisco Giants and a teammate of Willie Mays, who is Bobby's godfather. Until late in his career, Barry was a fine fielder, winning eight Gold Gloves as an outfielder, and he was an excellent all-around hitter, with a .298 lifetime average. But it is his home run hitting that makes Bonds most memorable. He finished his career with 762 homers, the most in baseball history. The offered letter led to Bonds' almost unbelievable 2001 season, a campaign in which he was the National League MVP, one of an all-time Major League record seven MVP Awards. In 2001, Bonds broke Mark McGwire's all-time Major League record for single-season home runs, set when McGwire hit 70 in 1998, by bashing 73 round-trippers, still the most in Major League history. In that 2001 campaign, that the exercise of Bonds' option for 2001 allowed, Bonds also led the National League in Walks (177), OBP (.515), Slugging (.863), and OPS (1.379). The offered letter to Bonds was typed on the stationery of Brian Sabean, the Giants' vice president and general manager. The missive is dated September 1, 1999, and it reads, "Dear Barry: For the terms and conditions in your Uniform Player's Contract dated February 20, 1997, the San Francisco Giants hereby notify you that the Club will exercise the Option on your Contract for the 2001 season at the rate of $10,300,000 (Ten Million Three Hundred Thousand Dollars). We thank you for your contribution to the team, the organization, and to the community. We look forward to continued success and a World Series championship." The letter is signed by Sabean, and copies were sent to the Players Relation Committee and to Jeff Borris. The letter measures 8x10.5", matted and framed to 14.5x17". The reverse of the matted and framed letter has a 2.5x4.5" cut-out that shows the letter's address to Bonds, c/o the San Francisco Giants at 3COM Park in San Francisco. The letter is in excellent condition. Despite the all-time home run records held by Barry Bonds, allegations that he used banned substances have kept him out of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Whatever the ultimate decision on Barry Bonds' Hall of Fame candidacy, the offered letter is valued baseball memorabilia as the legal precursor to Bonds' all-time Major League single-season home run record.
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