| Sportswriters
snubbed him in favor of Ken Griffey Jr., as the Player of the 1990s,
but that had more to do with image than talent. Barry Lamar Bonds
was the best player of the decade, and entering the new century he
was still the best player in the game, blasting an amazing 73 homers
in 2001. His combination of power and speed have been matched only
by his godfather, Willie Mays.
In 2001 Bonds broke two of the oldest of Babe Ruth's records
- most walks and highest slugging percentage in a season. In 2002,
Bonds eclipsed Ted Williams' single-season OBP record, as he reached
base an amazing 58.3% of the time. Bonds also broke his own mark
for walks, tallying 198 on the season. Most incredibly, Bonds continued
to improve as a hitter, winning his first batting title with a .370
average in Pac Bell Park, a tough hitting environment.
Carrying
the Giants to the 2002 World Series, Bonds finally filled the one
void he'd had in his career. He helped erase the memory of his previous
poor post-season performances when he homered in his first Fall
Classic at-bat. He launched four homers in the Series and hit .471,
but the Giants lost to the Angels in Game Seven.
Played For
Pittsburgh Pirates
(1986-1992), San Francisco Giants
(1993-present)
Post-Season
1990 NLCS, 1991 NLCS, 1992 NLCS, 1997 NLDS, 2000 NLDS,
2002 NLDS, 2002 NLCS, 2002 World Series
Bonds
silenced many of his critics by blasting a home run in his first
at-bat in the World Series. He hit four homers in the series, batted
.471 with eight runs scored, six RBI, and a 1.294 SLG percentage.
World Champion?
No
Honors
All-Star (11): 1990, 1992-98, 2000-2002; MVP 1990, 1992,
1993, 2001, 2002. Bonds is the only player to win five MVP awards,
and he should have won a couple more.
Full Bio
Bonds followed his father (Bobby) into the professional
baseball ranks. He played collegiate ball at Arizona State, setting
several slugging records. It was apparent early on that Barry was
a better all-around hitter than his father - and certainly more
patient. He was also blessed with his father's speed and power.
Drafted originally
by the Giants in 1982 out of high school, Bonds opted for college
and was selected by the Pirates upon graduation. He spent little
time in the minors before debuting with the Bucs on May 30, 1986.
He settled in as the team's starting center fielder, playing in
113 games as a rookie. He hit for a poor average (.223), but showed
flashes of speed (36 steals) and power (16 home runs).
In 1987 Bonds
began the season in center, but soon Andy Van Slyke pushed Barry
to left field, where he has played since. Bonds continued to improve,
scoring 99 runs with 35 doubles and 25 homers, while his average
climbed to .261. By 1990 Bonds was an All-Star and the Pirates were
in the playoffs. Barry won his first MVP behind startling power
and speed numbers. He slugged a league-leading .565 with 33 homers
and 114 RBI. He scored 104 runs, batted .301, and swiped 52 bases.
Two years later
Bonds won his second MVP despite missing three weeks to injuries.
He pushed his career-highs in total bases, slugging (NL best .624),
average (.311), walks (NL leading 127), runs (NL high 109), and
OBP (NL leading .461). He also stole 39 bases and led the Pirates
to their third straight NL East title. His power and on-base numbers
were Ted Williams-like. In conjunction with his speed and leather
(eight Gold Gloves), Bonds is a rare animal.
In the off-season
of 1992 Bonds was a free agent, and demanded a huge salary. The
Giants signed him to a long-term deal, brining him home to California,
and to the franchise that both Mays and Bonds had starred for.
In his first
season with the Giants, Bonds was at his best. He got off to a hot
start and never let up. At the end of the campaign he had set personal
bests in every offensive category except triples and steals. He
led in two of the three triple crown categories - homers (46), and
RBI (123). His slugging percentage of .677 was the highest since
Mickey Mantle in 1961. He led the Giants to 103 wins, a team record.
He easily won his third MVP award, joining the elite in that honor.
Unfortunately
the 103 wins were not enough to overtake the Atlanta Braves, who
nipped the Giants on the last day of the season. The disappointment
was another in a long line of team failure's for Bonds. His Pirate
teams had reached the playoffs three times, only to lose the pennant
each time. In '90 they lost in six games to Cincinnati, and the
margin in their four losses was just 7 runs. In '91 they led the
Braves 3-2 after five games and were heading home. But they lost
the sixth game in the 9th inning, 1-0. In Game Seven they were shutout.
In '92 they suffered the worst heartbreak. Trailing 3-1 after four
games, the Bucs killed Atlanta in games six and seven to tie the
series. In Game Seven they led 2-0 in the bottom of the 9th and
saw the Braves rally for 3 runs (two of them with two outs) to win
the flag.
The 1993 near-miss
helped solidify the long-held theory that Bonds was a choker in
the playoffs. In the 1990 LCS he batted just .167, in 1991 it was
an anemic .148. In 1992 he hit his first post-season home run and
batted .261 - well below fan expectations.
The Giants got
another chance in 1997, when they went from last place in 1996,
to first place. Bonds helped with his 40 homers, 101 RBI, 123 runs,
37 steals, and league-leading 145 walks. In the playoffs against
the wild-card Marlins, the Giants were upset in three straight games.
Bonds managed just three hits in the series, but two of them were
doubles in game two when he also drove in two runs. The real blame
belonged to the bullpen, but Bonds reputation as a post-season flop
was cemented.
In 1998 the
Giants finished deadlocked with the Cubs for the wild-card spot
and were forced to play a 163rd game. The Chicago
Cubs beat them and Bonds frustration continued. In 2000 the
Giants rolled to the best record in the National League but were
again de-railed - losing to the Mets in the opening round of the
playoffs.
Bonds continued
to put up his amazing regular season numbers, surpassing 2,000 career
hits, 1,400 RBI, 1,500 runs, and 480 steals. Early in 2001 he passed
the 500-homer mark, joining fellow Giants stars Mays and Willie
McCovey. He set an NL record for most home runs in the month of
May (17), and began to challenge the all-time home run mark when
he homered in six straight games twice.
Bonds maintained
the pace well into August, getting hot just prior to the events
of September 11. After baseball returned from a week hiatus due
to the tragic events, Bonds took a while to get going again. In
a late-season series against the Astros, Houston manager Larry Dierker
came under fire when he insisted on walking Bonds instead of allowing
him to break the Mark McGwire home run
record.
In the season's
final weekend Bonds pleased his hometown fans, breaking the 70-homer
barrier and adding a few more to end up with 73. He also finished
with an astounding .863 slugging percentage, the best in baseball
history.
In 2002, 38-year
old Bonds was back for more. He won his first batting title (.370)
and reached the 600-homer mark, joining three others (Mays, Ruth and
Aaron). Amazingly, he clubbed his 500th and 600th homers in successive
seasons. Bonds also broke Ted Williams record for the highest OBP
in a season, giving Barry both the single-season slugging and OBP
marks.
Feats
Bonds smashed Mark McGwire's home run record in 2001 when
he blasted 73. More impressively, Bonds eclipsed Babe
Ruth's 81-year old slugging mark (.863) and set a new standard
for walks (177)... Bonds and his godfather, Willie Mays, reached 500
homers in almost exactly the same number of at-bats (Mays hit his
500th in his 7,533rd at-bat, Bonds hit his in his 7,502nd AB). To
hit his next 100 homers, it took Bonds almost 1,300 fewer at-bats
than it took Mays... In 2002, Bonds broke Ted Williams' OBP record,
re-broke the single-season walk record, and won the batting title.
Collected 70th home run of the 2001 season on October 4 against the
Houtson Astros in Houston; Hit
home run #71, breaking Mark McGwire's single-season record, on October
5, in San Francisco off the Dodgers'
Chan Ho Park. Bonds later hit his 72nd homer off Park in that same
game; On October 7, he blasted #73 off Dennis Springer in the final
game of the season; Bonds hit 11 homers in April, 17 in May, 11 in
June, 6 in July, 12 in August, 12 in September, and four in October.
Hit homers in five straight games in April of 2001, to reach 500 for
his career. That is the first time Bonds accomplished such a streak.
Later he hit homers in six straight games, the only man to do that
twice in one season; Bonds hit two homers on opening day of the 2002
season and hit two more the next day, the first player to hit two
in back-to-back games at the start of a season.
Best Season, 2001
Bonds broke Babe Ruth's 81-year old slugging record; first
man in 44 years to break the .500 mark in OBP; broke McGwire's home
run mark; shattered Ruth's 78-year old walks record; his 107 extra-base
hits were surpassed only by Ruth and Gehrig; drove in 137 runs; was
successful in 13 of 16 steal attempts; batted .328; had 411 total
bases. Probably the best offensive season in baseball history.
Milestones
Collected
2,000th hit in 1999; hit 400th home run in 1998; stole 400th base
in 1997, hit 500th career home run on April 17, 2001, hit 600th career
home run in 2002.
Hitting Streaks
Posted
career-best 14-game hitting streak September 4-20, 2000, going 20-for-47
(.426) with nine homers and 22 RBI as the Giants cruised to the NL
West title. His previous longest streak was 12 straight games in 1990
for the Pirates. |
