Today in sports history is the tale of one city and two record-setting contracts signed 34 years apart by two of the biggest names in baseball.
Our tale starts on February 20, 1963 and concludes on the same date in 1997…
SF GIANTS SIGN WILLIE MAYS
In 1963, Willie Mays re-signed with the San Francisco Giants for a then record $100,000 per year contract. The Say Hey Kid was coming off his eleventh season with the franchise — ten of which he had been named to the All Star team and the other when he was named Rookie of the Year.
Mays went on to play with the Giants for another ten years (in all of which he made the All Star team). At the conclusion of his stay by the Bay, Mays was the team’s all-time leader in WAR with 154.8.
SF GIANTS SIGN BARRY BONDS
Almost three and one half decades later, Mays’ godson, Barry Bonds, re-signed with the San Francisco Giants for a then record $22.9M 2-year contract. At the time, Bonds had already been named the NL MVP (twice with the Pittsburgh Pirates and once with the Giants).
The Giants got more than their money’s worth from Bonds. Over his next eleven year’s in San Francisco he claimed four more MVP awards and finished his career as the MLB’s all-time leader in home runs with 762.
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