The first MLB game my daughter attended was at Wrigley Field on July 19, 2007. The Cubs were taking on the San Francisco Giants. In that game, Barry Bonds drew a walk, went three for three, scored three times, drove in six runs, and smashed two homers. It’s too bad my daughter was in a stroller at the time and doesn’t remember any of it. Maybe someday she’ll appreciate that she was once in the presence of greatness. I can tell you, I did.
There probably isn’t a more controversial modern baseball player than Barry Bonds. Of course, the main controversy with Bonds is his connections with PEDs and BALCO. However, there is no controversy when it comes to his greatness. By every measure, he was one of the greatest ballplayers EVER, even before he started taking PEDs. If you don’t believe me, consider that before 1999, Bonds was a .290 career hitter with 411 home runs, 445 stolen bases, and 1.917 hits. Basically, Bonds did what Carlos Beltran accomplished in a twenty-year career in his first twelve seasons. With those numbers, he’s one of the top five left fields of all time. Then the PEDs came…and Bonds put up video game numbers in the twilight of his career and became the greatest left fielder of all time.
Arguably, Barry Bonds is also the greatest position player of all time. Some might argue it’s Babe Ruth, but the Bambino was able to put up his astounding numbers before integration. If he had to compete against his contemporary African-Americans, the Babe’s numbers would be different. Others might say it’s Ted Williams. However, Bonds was a better all-around player than Williams when defense and base-running are taken into consideration. Finally, you might say it’s Willie Mays. Both Mays and Bonds were similar five-tool players, but Willie Mays didn’t dominate his era in the same way Bonds dominated his.
| Split | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | GDP | IBB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 Totals | 126 | 116 | 477 | 340 | 75 | 94 | 14 | 0 | 28 | 66 | 5 | 132 | 54 | .276 | .480 | .565 | 1.045 | 13 | 43 |
Barry Bonds’s final APBA card is very solid. However, APBA seems to have short-changed him a bit. For the season, Bonds hit a respectable .276. Yet, I only project this card to produce a .254 average. Normally, APBA cards have three 8s. This card only has two. If it had an extra 8, it would produce a .282 average, which is only six points off the mark…not twenty-two. Nonetheless, this card has a couple of things going for it. First, it’s got 1s on 11 and 66. Second, it has eight 14s! Not surprisingly, Bonds lead the NL in walks and intentional walks. In 2007, Bonds also had an impressive, league leading, .480 OBP, and this card has a good chance to replicate it.
I recall Barry Bonds was on the free agent market in 2008…and, unbelievably, no MLB team signed him. I thought there would have been several team hoping to ride the attendance wave to Bonds’s 3,000th hit…he was only 65 short. Personally, I’d hoped the Detroit Tigers would sign him as their DH. He certainly would have been an upgrade over Gary Sheffield and his .225-19-57 line. Though it hasn’t been proven, it appears Bonds was blackballed from baseball once his contract expired in 2007. This is unfortunate. Certainly many of Bonds’s problems were of his own making. However, Bonds still had some quality baseball left to give and earned the right to go out on his own terms.
Statistically, Barry Bonds is a no-brainer, first-ballot Hall of Famer. Yet, it’s been a struggle for the six years he’s been on the ballot. However, Bonds’s percentage has trending upward the past few years, topping out at 56.4% in 2018. It’s very likely Bonds will reach 75% before he falls off the ballot in 2022. Typically, induction speeches follow a similar pattern. I’m not sure Bonds’s would follow the script. When he was playing, whether you liked him or not, it was hard to take your eyes off him. When Barry Bonds is finally inducted in Cooperstown, we will all feel the same way.
Willie Mays did, in fact, dominate in his era.
Indeed he did. However, as I wrote, he didn’t dominate to the same extent Bonds did in his era.
Bonds was the best hitter I have ever seen in the 2000’s, PED’s or not. He was the only guy the vaulted Braves staffs could not get our, no matter what. And I’m a die hard Braves fan!!!
When Barry can say he won 100 games as a pitcher and put up numbers while half drunk he can be the best. Additionally it’s always annoying when people bring up the color barrier years like Ruth himself implemented the rules.
These same people conveniently forget that during the season the MLB all stars and the Negro Leagues stars played in many contests and Ruth did the same things to their pitching that he did to the MLB pitchers.
In 16 appearances against them:
AB – 55
1B – 11
2B – 2
3B – 0
HR – 12
BA – .455
SA – 1.145
There’s nothing to indicate I blame Ruth for segregated baseball. I believe Ruth would have been a great player in any era. However, you can’t deny that, through no fault of his own, he didn’t play against the best players in the world in his MLB. Barry Bonds did. As for your stats, they need to be taken with a grain of salt. Barnstorming tours are like All-Star games. Derek Jeter hit .489 in 29 All-Star PAs…yet he hit .310 for his career against “lesser” pitching. Barnstorming games and All-Star games see pitchers challenging hitters, and not always trying to pitch them smartly.
So you claim Ruth was inferior to Bonds because he didn’t play the negro players, I provide evidence he not only in fact could, but did, and you say to take it with a grain of salt?
I realize it’s not a large sample size against the negro league stars, but considering we have over 20 years of evidence that he raked against everyone else to match with this I would say it’s a pretty solid sign that Ruth was in fact the better player, and by a pretty big margin.
I’m not claiming anything, and I’m certainly not claiming Ruth is inferior. I stated it’s arguable. My point was that Bonds was a better all-around position player…obviously Ruth was a better pitcher and might have made it to Cooperstown just as a hurler. Bonds was a much better defensive player and a superior base runner and base stealer. His power numbers are on par with Ruth’s. Personally, I think Ruth is the greatest player ever, but it’s not like he’s running away from Bonds. There are legitimate arguments for Bonds. Also, I don’t pretend to be the president of the Barry Bonds fan club. As a matter of fact, I don’t like him. However, I try to look at his accomplishments neutrally, with all there flaws.
I appreciate your comments. Baseball is the best sport to debate. I knew Bonds would make for a controversial topic. Thanks for reading and engaging with it.
Better than Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Willie Mays. What kind of numbers would those 3 have put up with steroids? Barry Bonds is a hair on the armpit of those players.
I hope cheating isn’t rewarded by an induction into the greatest sports hall of fame.
Hi Jim,
Unfortunately I believe in the next 5-10 years some of the obvious “roid boys” will be getting enshrined. I don’t like it, but enough of their buddies will be voted in ahead of them and they will start seeing vote percentages slowly move up.
In Bonds case I hope he gets the “Santo treatment” and gets voted in AFTER he dies.
FYI I am a Santo fan, and was lucky enough to meet him just before he passed. I simply use the term to highlight how Ronnie never got to enjoy his HOF status.
It already has been…Gaylord Perry, Don Sutton, Jeff Bagwell, Ivan Rodriguez, John McGraw, etc.
Enjoyed your article and analysis Kevin. Discussing Barry Bonds isn’t an easy topic.