Bonds shares story of how he nearly joined Yankees

Opening night between the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees featured an appearance from Giants icon Barry Bonds. As baseball's home run king tells it, he easily could have worn pinstripes instead.

During Netflix's telecast of Wednesday's game, Bonds revealed a fascinating story about his free agency in the winter of 1992. The Yankees were heavily involved in the bidding for Bonds and had an offer on the table that the 1992 NL MVP says he rejected after being insulted by an ultimatum from team owner George Steinbrenner.

"George isn't here anymore, so I can tell the truth," Bonds told broadcasters Matt Vasgersian, Hunter Pence, and CC Sabathia. "Well, I would've been (with) the Yankees, but Steinbrenner got on the phone. ... They told me, 'Barry, we're gonna give you the money to (make you) the highest-paid player at the time, but you have to sign the contract by two o'clock this afternoon.' And I said, 'Excuse me?' And I just hung the phone up."

Within a few hours of hanging up on "the Boss," the Giants, Bonds said, came in with their offer, which he accepted. At the time, his six-year, $43-million deal with San Francisco was the largest in baseball history.

Bonds, who grew up in the San Francisco area while his father, Bobby, played for the Giants, spent the next 15 years in black and orange. He repeated as NL MVP in the first year of his contract and would win the award four more times from 2001-04. All told, Bonds hit 586 of his 762 career homers in a Giants uniform, produced a 40-40 season in 1996, and set the single-season home run mark with 73 in 2001.

Despite Bonds' individual accolades, the Giants made just four playoff appearances and won one pennant during his run with the team. The Yankees, meanwhile, became a dynasty without him, claiming four World Series titles in five years from 1996-2000.

The Giants retired his No. 25 in 2018.