Slugging Bonds and beyond

As painful as it is to admit sometimes, I am a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. I grew up with the Pirates memorizing their starting lineups, numbers and positions included.

My favorite Pirate as a kid was center fielder Andy Van Slyke. Andy was hard-nosed 'average Joe' who often sold out to make incredible and ridiculous catches. Today, Cleveland’s Grady Sizemore plays with a similar recklessness that mirrors Van Slyke in his prime, although Sizemore’s got a better stick.

Recently, Van Slyke has reappeared on the baseball landscape teaming up again with manager Jim Leyland and coaching first base for the Detroit Tigers. Yahoo Sport’s David Brown caught up with Andy, who can still spew out quotes like a machine.

If you're looking to kill a few minutes then check this awesome interview with Andy, the man who had the audacity to punch Barry Bonds.

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Q: There's an urban legend in Pittsburgh that, from center field, you tried to wave Barry in to play more shallow in left before Francisco Cabrera's famous game-winning hit in the 1992 NLCS.

AVS: That's not a legend, that is not a rumor, that is an absolute, 100-percent, truth that I did. (Continue reading)