Roberto Martin Antonio Bonilla was born February 23rd, 1963, in the South Bronx of New York City, to parents Roberto Sr. and Regina Bonilla. The Bonilla’s lived near the infamous 40th precinct in the Bronx, an area known for robberies and homicides and not many success stories, but Bobby knew he was destined to play Professional baseball. From a young age, Bobby learned to tune out the climate of his surroundings, and as he would later say, “you have to dream or else you’ll get caught up in the mess.” Bobby attended Herbert Lehman High School in The Bronx, and it was there that his coach, Joe Levine, would help to launch Bobby’s unlikely and unprecedented career.
