At 6:15 p.m., 39 years ago today, Bobby Bonds arrived at the ballpark for a night game in Pittsburgh.
It had been a long journey. Bonds, a three-time All-Star, had been released the previous winter by the St. Louis Cardinals, having hit .203 with just five home runs. He signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers for the 1981 season. "I didn't think I could take the minors," Bonds would say. "My one goal was to make the majors." His teammates in Wichita called him Gramps. He was 35. One day, the Rangers called him up, but Bonds happened to wake up that morning with a stiff neck that kept him from throwing.