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When Barry Bonds' mom shows up at the ballpark, she's not there to tinker with his swing. She's more interested in making sure his head's on straight. No easy task.
When Gigi Rollins leaves messages on son Jimmy's answering machine, she doesn't ask about what he had for dinner. She wants to know why he's not taking more pitches.
For Jim Thome, there was no better way to get his baseball season underway than to spot his mom in the stands on opening day. Joyce Thome died in January2005 and, no matter how many home runs Thome hits these days for the Chicago White Sox, baseball will never be the same without his No.1 fan.
Baseball moms are a special breed. As we pause for Mother's Day, it's typical to picture Mom driving a car full of kids to Little League games, washing and darning their uniforms and giddy with pride when a son makes it to the major leagues.
But for some, Mom's role goes much deeper.
Bonds opens up -- a little
An embattled Bonds went to Philadelphia last weekend needing just two home runs to equal Babe Ruth's career mark of 714. It wasn't until his next-to-last at-bat on Sunday that he connected for No.713.
Afterward, in an uncharacteristic mellow mood, Bonds talked about how important it was for his mother, Pat, to be in Philadelphia.
I haven't spent an enormous amount of time covering the San Francisco Giants left fielder, but I've never seen him so open -- with the media.
"It was good to see my mom here," he said. "We had a chance to talk and get myself back in my own mind-set, to do the things I need to do."
Bonds, with the dark cloud of a steroid investigation hanging over, said having time to talk with his mother allowed him to "get myself back in perspective -- pretty much twist my head on right."
Personal life or baseball life?
"My personal life is great," he said. "We had a long talk about a lot of things to get myself back in the game like I'm supposed to. Normally, I'm not a very talkative person before the games. I need to get myself ready for the games and do the things I normally used to do. If that means avoiding a lot of people to get myself back into my normal routine, that's what I need to do."
Bonds said before he talked with his mother in Philadelphia he didn't feel like himself.
"I just haven't been myself. That's all," he said, refusing to elaborate, but you can fill in the blanks.
I asked him who did the most talking, he or his mom.
"My mom," he said without hesitation. "I don't cross that barrier. She has a lot of things to say."
Influential career moves
Rollins, an All-Star shortstop, leads off for the Philadelphia Phillies. His mother, an outstanding softball player in Oakland, played second base and as Rollins says, "unfortunately batted leadoff."
So when the phone rings in Rollins' home after a Phillies game "I usually don't answer it. She keeps telling me to quit swinging at those low balls. She thinks I should take more pitches, but I keep telling her that takes away my aggressiveness."
Gigi believes mother knows best, certainly when it comes to baseball.
"All I can do is throw hints out and tell him what I would do if I were in the same situation," she said during spring training. "I tell him to take a pitch here, take a pitch there. Leadoff hitters have to do that."
Thome's is another example of a mother who played a vital part in his career.
When the White Sox played in Cleveland last week it was especially tough for Thome. He hadn't been back to Jacobs Field since he left the Indians after 12 seasons to sign as a free agent with Philadelphia in 2002.
As the White Sox arrived in Cleveland, Thome told the Chicago Sun-Times, there would be a "lot of memories. More so about my mom than anything else. It's very emotional."
Bonds, who hasn't had a home run since he left Philadelphia, will try again this weekend to pull even with Babe Ruth. And maybe remember some of the advice his mom gave him.
Rollins may think about his mom every time he takes a pitch. And Thome will remember all the Mother's Days when his mother was cheering him on.
Mother's Day 2006. It's a special moment. Especially for baseball players.
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