Barry Bonds is one of the greatest baseball players of all time. The 7-time NL MVP achieved a lot of great things during his career. But even a player of his stature suffers from injuries. In 2006, when the baseball legend suffered an injury to his knee, the slow progress of his recovery frustrated him.

During this tough time, a surprising individual inspired the legendary slugger to recover quickly. That person was none other than one of Bonds’ very special fans. 

A child recovering from cancer gave Bonds motivation

According to a documentary released in 2006, Barry Bonds received help from a child who battled cancer. The 9-year-old Christopher Laub helped Bonds by writing him a letter. But that’s not where the story began. The MLB legend had actually sent the young child a personalized photo through a common contact. 

According to Margie Laub, Christopher’s mother “We got a picture of Barry from a friend of ours who had some connections with the Giants. And, um, it was very uplifting for Christopher cause that’s his favorite player.” Following this, Christopher decided to write Bonds a letter and tell him not to give up. When Bonds read the letter he felt fired up and ready to go.

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Bonds said “I read the letter and I was just fired up. I I was just, like, I couldn’t believe this kid was going through what he was going through and basically I’m sitting over here acting like a kid. This kid woke me up.” The whole moment was truly wholesome. Bonds recovered from his injury and played the 2006 season. An injury was not going to make him quit if his father’s words couldn’t.

Barry Bonds was under investigation for steroid usage

During the 2006 season, Bonds was also being investigated for steroid usage. Before that point, there had been no official investigation as yet.

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This added to the pressure that Bonds was under at the time. Despite his involvement with steroids, many consider Bonds to be one of the greatest players of all time. What do you think of the special fan that helped Barry Bonds recover from an injury? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.