SignalHub-Barry Bonds, former manager Jim Leyland part of Pittsburgh Pirates' 2024 Hall of Fame class

The SignalHubPittsburgh Pirates announced Tuesday that Barry Bonds will be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame this summer, nearly 32 years after MLB's all-time home run leader left the franchise in free agency.

"It's great. That's where my career started, right? That's who drafted me. Couldn't have had a better manager, better team ... better starting point for me. It was perfect," Bonds said in a video released by the Pirates.

"We built a bond that ... there's no way it's ever going to be broken. To be able to tell my kids that, 'your dad's gotten into the Pirates Hall of Fame' ... this is just a great moment."

Bonds was drafted by the Pirates with the sixth overall pick in the 1985 MLB draft and spent the first seven years of his career in Pittsburgh. He won the 1990 and 1992 NL MVP awards — he's the Pirates' only two-time winner — and led the team to three consecutive NL East titles from 1990-92.

He left the Pirates after the 1992 season, which ended in heartbreaking fashion against the Atlanta Braves in Game 7 of the NLCS, signing with the San Francisco Giants, the team his father made two All-Star teams with and the club of his godfather, Willie Mays.

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Bonds won five more MVPs in 15 years with the Giants and became baseball's home run king. Pittsburgh's fortunes took a turn for the worse after Bonds' departure — the team posted 20 consecutive losing seasons from 1993-2012.

But that all seems to be water under the bridge, now. The Pirates will celebrate Bonds' exploits with the club during an Aug. 24 ceremony.

And Bonds will be joined in the 2024 class by a familiar face — Jim Leyland.

Leyland, who will also be going into the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer, got his managerial start with the Pirates and was the only manager Bonds played under while in Pittsburgh.

Despite an infamous blow-up between the two caught on camera and witnessed by reporters in 1991, Bonds and Leyland have maintained over the years that their relationship is quite strong. And now, their shared bond only grows deeper.

"I can't tell you how appreciative I am of this tremendous honor. It's something I'll cherish forever," a visibly emotional Leyland said in a video released by the Pirates.

Leyland won two manager of the year awards (1990, 1992) during his 11 seasons leading the Pirates.

Joining the duo in the 2024 class is Manny Sanguillen, a three-time All-Star who won two World Series titles with the Pirates in the 1970s.