Barry Bonds Pictures

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.