The Westminster Kennel Club held its annual Dog Show, the most prestigious event in the canine world, in Tarrytown, New York this past weekend. Per usual, the show attracted dogs from across the country with nearly 200 breeds represented. One of the more notable participants this year was Mystique’s Knock Out, aka “Rocky,” a three-year-old Miniature Schnauzer who just so happens to belong to the greatest baseball player of his generation, seven-time National League MVP Barry Bonds.
We haven’t heard much from Bonds in his post-playing career (aside from a tumultuous stint as Marlins hitting coach, which former team president David Samson described as a “disaster”), though the former Giants and Pirates slugger was on hand for Rocky’s debut at Westminster this weekend, calling the experience “amazing.”
“Just to be here, to see it—it's beautiful. I've watched it on TV for many years, but to actually be here is amazing,” baseball's all-time home run king told Jen Hale of Fox Sports. “And to actually have a dog here makes it even more gratifying."
The 56-year-old owns two other Miniature Schnauzers, Apollo and Adrienne (Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area confirms Bonds is an enormous fan of the Rocky film franchise), who are both trained by his sister, Cynthia.
“I’m just proud that he’s here,” said Bonds of Rocky, who finished second among male Miniature Schnauzers. “I'm just proud that he qualified and did a great job to get here.”
Who says one of the most prolific talents in MLB history (albeit with plenty of alleged chemical enhancement) can’t also love finely-groomed show dogs of the highest pedigree?
Wasabi, a three-year-old Pekingese, was awarded Best in Show with Bourbon, winner of the Hound Group, finishing runner-up. The 145th edition of Westminster was moved from its usual host site at Madison Square Garden to Lyndhurst Mansion amid the continuing COVID pandemic.
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