Barry Bonds

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Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds

Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964 in Riverside, California) is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds, the godson of Hall of Famer Willie Mays, the nephew of 1964 Olympian Rosie Bonds, and a distant cousin of Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.[1] He debuted in the Major Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 and joined the San Francisco Giants in 1993, where he stayed through 2007. Bonds filed for free agency following the 2007 World Series.[2]

Bonds' accomplishments place him among the greatest baseball players of all-time.[3] He has a record-setting seven Most Valuable Player awards, including a record-setting four consecutive MVPs. He is a fourteen time All-star, eight time gold glove-winner and he holds numerous Major League Baseball records. He currently holds the all-time Major League Baseball home run record with 762, and is also the all-time career leader in both walks (2,558) and intentional walks (688). He holds numerous other Baseball record holders, including the single-season Major League record for home runs (73), set in 2001.

Since 2003, Bonds has been a key figure in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) scandal. He was under investigation by a federal grand jury regarding his testimony in the BALCO case, and was indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges on November 15, 2007. The indictment alleges that Bonds lied while under oath about his alleged use of steroids.[4]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Bonds grew up in San Carlos, California and attended Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California and excelled in baseball, basketball and football. As a freshman, he spent the baseball season on the JV team. The next three years—1980 to 1982—he starred on the varsity team. He batted for a .467  batting average his senior year, and was honored as a prep All-American.[5] The Giants drafted Bonds in the second round of the 1982 MLB draft as a high school senior,[6] but the Giants and Bonds were unable to agree on contract terms, so Bonds instead decided to attend college.[7]

Bonds attended Arizona State University, hitting .347 with 45 home runs and 175  runs batted in (RBI).[5] In 1984 he batted .360 and had 30  stolen bases. In 1985 he hit 23 home runs with 66 RBIs and a .368 batting average. He was a Sporting News All-American selection that year. He tied the NCAA record with seven consecutive hits in the College World Series as sophomore and was named to All-Time College World Series Team in 1996.[5] He graduated from Arizona State in 1986 with a degree in criminology. During college, he played part of one summer in the amateur Alaska Baseball League with the Alaska Goldpanners.[8]

[edit] Major league career

[edit] Pittsburgh Pirates (1986–92)

Bonds was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round (6th overall) of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft.[6] Bonds joined the Prince William Pirates of the Carolina League and was named July 1985 Player of the Month for the league.[9] In 1986, he hit .311 in 44 games for the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League,[10] and he made his major league debut on May 30.[11]

In 1986, Bonds led National League (NL) rookies with 16 home runs, 48 RBI, 36 stolen bases and 65 walks, but he finished 6th in Rookie of the Year voting.[6][11][12] He hit 25 home runs in his second season, along with 32 stolen bases and 59 RBIs.[6] Bonds improved in 1988, hitting .283 with 24 home runs.[6] Bonds finished with 19 homers, 58 RBIs, and 14 outfield assists, which was 2nd in NL.[6][13]

Bonds won his first MVP award in 1990,[14] hitting .301 with 33 home runs and 114 RBIs. His 52 stolen bases were third in the league. He won his first Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards.[5] In 1991, Bonds also put up great numbers, hitting 25 homers and driving in 116 runs, and obtained another Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. He finished second to the Atlanta Braves' Terry Pendleton (the NL batting champion) in the MVP voting.[5][15] The next season, Bonds won his second MVP award.[5][16] He dominated the NL, hitting .311 with 34 homers and 103 RBIs, and propelling the Pirates to their third straight National League East division title. However, Pittsburgh was defeated by the Braves in a seven-game National League Championship Series. Bonds was involved in the final play of Game 7 of the NLCS, where he fielded a base hit by Francisco Cabrera and attempted to throw out Sid Bream at home plate. But the throw to Pirates catcher Mike LaValliere was late and Bream scored the winning run.[17] For the third consecutive season, the NL East Champion Pirates were denied a trip to the World Series.

[edit] San Francisco Giants (1993–2007)

Bonds in the field.
Bonds in the field.

In 1993, Bonds left the Pirates to sign a lucrative free agent contract worth a then-record $43.75 million over 6 years with the Giants, with whom his father spent the first 7 years of his career, and with whom his godfather Willie Mays played 22 of his 24 Major League seasons. The deal was at that time the largest in baseball history, in terms of both total value and average annual salary.[18] To honor his father, Bonds switched his jersey number to 25 once he signed with the Giants, as it had been Bobby's number in San Francisco. (His number during most of his stay with the Pirates, 24, was retired in honor of Mays anyway).[19] Bonds hit .336 in 1993, leading the league with 46 home runs and 123 RBI en route to his second consecutive MVP award,[20] and third overall. As good as the Giants were (winning 103 games), the Atlanta Braves won 104 in what some call the last great pennant race (due to the Wild Card being instituted shortly after).[21]

In the strike-shortened season of 1994, Bonds hit .312 with 37 home runs and a league-leading 74 walks,[6] and he finished 4th in MVP voting.[22] In 1995, Bonds hit 33 homers and drove in 104 runs, hitting .294 but finished only 12th in MVP voting.[6][23]

In 1996, Bonds became the first National League player and second (of the current list of four) major league player(s) to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season.[24] The other members of the 40-40 club are José Canseco—1988, Alex Rodriguez—1998, and Alfonso Soriano—2006; his father Bobby Bonds was one home run short in 1973 when he hit 39 home runs and stole 43 bases.[25] Bonds drove in 129 runs with a .308 average and walked a then-National League record 151 times. During the 1996 season Bonds became the 4th player in history to steal 300 bases and hit 300 home runs for a career, joining Willie Mays, Andre Dawson, and Bobby Bonds in the 300-300 club,[26] but he only finished fifth in the MVP balloting.[27] In 1997 Bonds hit .291, his lowest average since 1989. He hit 40 home runs for the second straight year and drove in 101 runs, leading the league in walks again with 145.[6] He tied his father in 1997 for having the most 30/30 seasons, and he again placed fifth in the MVP balloting.[28]

In 1998, he hit .303 with 37 home runs and drove in 122 runs, winning his eighth Gold Glove,[6] and became the first player ever to enter the 400-400 club by having career totals of 400 home runs and 400 stolen bases.[29] With two outs in the 9th inning of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 28, 1998, Bonds became only the fifth player in baseball history to be given an intentional walk with the bases loaded. Nap Lajoie (1901), Del Bissonette (1928) and Bill Nicholson (1944) were three others in the 20th Century who received that rare honor; however Abner Dalrymple was the first to receive one in 1881.[30] Bonds finished 8th in the MVP voting.[31]

Bill James ranked Bonds as the best player of the 1990s, adding that the decade's second-best player (Craig Biggio)[32] had been closer in production to the decade's 10th-best player than to Bonds. In 1999, with statistics through 1997 being considered, Bonds ranked Number 34 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, making him the highest-ranking active player.[33] When the Sporting News list was redone in 2005, Bonds was ranked 6th behind Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Henry Aaron. Bonds was omitted from 1999's Major League Baseball All-Century Team, to which Ken Griffey, Jr. was elected.[34] James wrote of Bonds, "Certainly the most unappreciated superstar of my lifetime... Griffey has always been more popular, but Bonds has been a far, far greater player." In 1999, James rated Bonds as the 16th best player of all time. "When people begin to take in all of his accomplishments", James predicted, "Bonds may well be rated among the five greatest players in the history of the game."[35]

Bonds at the plate with the Giants.
Bonds at the plate with the Giants.

In 2000, the following year, Bonds hit .306 with a slugging percentage of .688 (career best at that time) and hit 49 home runs in just 143 games (also a career high to that point), while drawing a league-leading 117 walks.[6]

The next year, Bonds' offensive production reached even higher levels, breaking not only his own personal records but several major league records. In the Giants' first 50 games in 2001, Bonds hit 28 home runs, including 17 in May—a career high.[36] He also hit 39 home runs by the All-star break (a major league record), drew a major league record 177 walks, and had a .515 on-base average, a feat not seen since Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams over forty years earlier. Bonds' slugging percentage was a major league record .863 (411 total bases in 476 at-bats), and, most impressively, he ended the season with a major league record 73 home runs.[37]

Bonds re-signed with the Giants for a five-year, $90 million contract in January 2002. That year, he hit 46 home runs in 403 at-bats.[6] He won the NL batting title with a career-high .370 average and struck out only 47 times. Despite playing in nine fewer games than the previous season, he drew 198 walks, a major-league record, 68 of them intentional. He slugged .799, then the fourth-highest total all time. Bonds broke Ted Williams' major league record for on-base average with .582. Bonds also hit his 600th home run, less than a year and a half after hitting his 500th.[38]

In 2003, Bonds played in just 130 games. He hit 45 home runs in just 390 at-bats, along with a .341 batting average. He slugged .749, walked 148 times, and had an on-base average well over .500 (.529) for the third straight year.[6] He also became the only member of the career 500 home run/500 stolen base club.[39]

In 2004, Bonds had perhaps his best season. He hit .362 en route to his second National League batting title, and broke his own record by walking 232 times. He slugged .812, which was fourth-highest of all time, and broke his on-base percentage record with a .609 average. Bonds passed Mays on the career home run list, hitting his 700th near the end of the season. Bonds hit 45 home runs in 373 at-bats, and struck out just 41 times, putting himself in elite company, as few major leaguers have ever had more home runs than strikeouts in a season. Bonds would win his fourth consecutive MVP award and his seventh overall.[6][40] His seven MVP awards are four more than any other player in history. In addition, no other player from either league has been awarded the MVP four times in a row.[41] (The MVP award was first given in 1931.) On July 4 2004 he tied and passed Rickey Henderson's career bases on balls record with his 2190th and 2191st career walks.[42].

As Bonds neared Aaron's record, Aaron was called on for his opinion of Bonds. He clarified that he was a fan and admirer of Bonds and avoided the controversy regarding whether the record should be denoted with an asterisk due Bonds' to alleged steroid usage. He felt recognition and respect for the award was something to be determined by the fans.[43] As the steroid controversy received greater media attention during the offseason before the 2005 season, Aaron expressed some reservations about the statements Bonds made on the issue. Aaron expressed that he felt drug and steroid use to boost athletic performance was inappropriate. Aaron was frustrated that the media could not focus on events that occurred in the field of play and wished drugs or gambling allegations such as those associated with Pete Rose could be emphasized less.[44] In 2007, Aaron felt the whole steroid use issue was very controversial and decided that he would not attend any possible record-breaking games.[45] Aaron congratulated Bonds through the media when Bonds broke Aaron's record.[46]

Bonds' salary for the 2005 season was $22 million, the second-highest salary in Major League Baseball (the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez earned the highest, $25.2 million).[47] Bonds endured a knee injury, multiple surgeries, and rehabilitation. He was activated on September 12, 2005, and started in left field. In his return against the San Diego Padres, he nearly hit a home run in his first at-bat. Bonds finished the night 1-for-4.[48] Upon his return, Bonds resumed his high-caliber performance at the plate, hitting home runs in four consecutive games from September 18, 2005 to September 21, 2005 and finishing with five homers in only 14 games.[6]

[edit] Love Me, Hate Me

In May 2006, former Sports Illustrated writer Jeff Pearlman released a scathing biography of Bonds entitled Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Anti-Hero. The book also contained many allegations against Bonds.[49] The book, which describes Bonds as a polarizing insufferable braggart with a legendary ego and staggering ability, relied on over five hundred interviews.

[edit] Records held

  • Home runs in a single season (73), 2001
  • Home runs in a single post-season (8), 2002
  • Home runs against different pitchers (449)
  • Home runs since turning 40 years old (74)
  • Home runs in the year he turned 43 years old (28)
  • Consecutive seasons with 30 or more home runs (13), 1992-2004
  • Slugging percentage in a single season (.863), 2001
  • Slugging percentage in a World Series (1.294), 2002
  • Consecutive seasons with .600 slugging percentage or higher (8), 1998-2005
  • On-base percentage in a single season (.609), 2004
  • Walks in a single season (232), 2004
  • Intentional walks in a single season (120), 2004
  • Consecutive games with a walk (18)
  • MVP awards (7—closest competitors trail with 3), 1990, 1992-93, 2001-04
  • Consecutive MVP awards (4), 2001-04
  • National League Player of the Month selections (13—the next highest in either league is 8 by Frank Thomas, and the next highest in the N.L. is 6 by George Foster, Pete Rose and Dale Murphy)
  • Oldest player (age 38) to win the National League batting title (.370) for the first time, 2002
  • Tied National League high with 4 home runs in the 2002 World Series, one short of major league record of 5, by Reggie Jackson of the 1977 Yankees.

[edit] Records shared

  • Consecutive plate appearances with a walk (7)
  • Consecutive plate appearances reaching base (15)[50]
  • Tied with his father, Bobby, for most seasons with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases (five) and are the only father-son members of the 30-30 club
  • Home runs in a single post-season (8), 2002

[edit] Other accomplishments

  • 5-time SF Giants Player of the Year (1998, 2001–04)
  • 7-time Baseball America NL All-Star (1993, 1998, 2000–04)
  • 3-Time Major League Player of the Year (1990, 2001, 2004)
  • 3-Time Baseball America MLB Player of the Year (2001, 2003–04)
  • 8-Time Gold Glove winner for NL Outfielder (1990–94, 1996–98)
  • 12-Time Silver Slugger winner for NL Outfielder (1990–94, 1996–97, 2000–04)
  • 14-time All-Star (1990, 1992–98, 2000–04, 2007)
  • 3-Time NL Hank Aaron Award winner (2001–02, 2004)
  • Listed at #6 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, the highest-ranked active player, in 2005.
  • Named a finalist to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999, but not elected to the team in the fan balloting.
  • Rating of 352 on Baseball-Reference.com's Hall of Fame monitor (100 is a good HOF candidate);[51] 9th among all hitters, highest among hitters not in HOF yet.
  • Only the second player to twice have a single-season slugging percentage over .800, with his record .863 in 2001 and .812 in 2004. Babe Ruth was the other, with .847 in 1920 and .846 in 1921.
  • Became the first player in history with more times on base (376) than official times at bats (373) in 2004. This was due to the record number of walks, which count as a time on base but not a time at-bat. He had 135 hits, 232 walks, and 9 hit-by-pitches for the 376 number.
  • With his father Bobby (332, 461), leads all father-son combinations in combined home runs (1,094) and stolen bases (975), respectively through September 26, 2007.
  • Played minor league baseball in both Alaska and Hawaii. In 1983, he played for the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks in the Alaska Baseball League,[8] and in 1986, he played for the Hawaii Islanders in the Pacific Coast League.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Britannica Barry Bonds". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  2. ^ Tom Singer (October 29, 2007). "A-Rod, Bonds file for free agency". MLB.
  3. ^ Johnston, Joey (September 2004). "Barry Bonds: the best ever? Giants slugger will forever be compared to the greatest major league players and his numbers will rank him as the top performer of his era". Baseball Digest. CNET Networks, Inc.. Retrieved on 2008-06-20.
  4. ^ "Barry Bonds indictment" (PDF), San Francisco Chronicle (November 15, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-15.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Player Profile: Barry Bonds 25". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
  7. ^ "Barry Bonds: Bio". jockbio.com. Black Book Partners, LLC.. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  8. ^ a b "The Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks". goldpanners.com (2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  9. ^ "Player Profile: Barry Bonds 25 (1985)". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
  10. ^ "Barry Bonds". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
  11. ^ a b "Player Profile: Barry Bonds 25 (1986)". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
  12. ^ "1986 National League Rookie of the Year Award". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  13. ^ "Player Profile: Barry Bonds 25 (1989)". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  14. ^ "1990 National League Most Valuable Player Award". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  15. ^ "1991 National League Most Valuable Player Award". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  16. ^ "1992 National League Most Valuable Player Award". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  17. ^ "["Sid Bream's modern-day "mad dash" wins the pennant for Atlanta". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (1992-10-14). Retrieved on 2007-09-08. Sid Bream's modern-day "mad dash" wins the pennant for Atlanta]". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (1992-10-14). Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
  18. ^ Chass, Murray. "Giants Make Investment: $43 Million in Bonds", The New York Times, published December 6, 1992, accessed January 31, 2008.
  19. ^ Pearlman, Jeff. "Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero". Google Book Search. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  20. ^ "1993 National League Most Valuable Player Award". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  21. ^ Neyer, Rob (2001-10-01). "What makes a great Pennant Race?". ESPN Classic. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  22. ^ "1994 National League Most Valuable Player Award". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  23. ^ "1995 National League Most Valuable Player Award". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  24. ^ "Player Profile: Barry Bonds 25 (1996)". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  25. ^ Goff, Steven (2006-09-17). "Soriano Reaches 40-40 Mark". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  26. ^ Smith, Claire (1996-05-17). "BASEBALL;Bonds Loses Rage, but Not the Swing". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  27. ^ "1996 National League Most Valuable Player Award". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  28. ^ "1997 National League Most Valuable Player Award". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  29. ^ "1996: Bonds bashes, runs into history". Giants Timeline. MLB Advanced Media, L.P.. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  30. ^ "Intentional Bases On Balls Records". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
  31. ^ "1998 National League Most Valuable Player Award". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  32. ^ "James on Biggio, Me on James" (2008-02-27). Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  33. ^ "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  34. ^ "All Century Team". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  35. ^ James, Bill (2003). The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. New York: The Free Press. ISBN 0743227220. as cited at Christensen, Chris (2006). "Five Books for a Deserted Island". Elysian Fields Quarterly. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  36. ^ "Bonds Career HR Log". CBS Sports. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  37. ^ "Player Profile: Barry Bonds 25 (2001)". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  38. ^ "Player Profile: Barry Bonds 25 (2002)". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  39. ^ "Bonds' big night steals win for Giants". ESPN Internet Ventures (2003-06-23). Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  40. ^ "Player Profile: Barry Bonds 25 (2004)". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  41. ^ Carter, Bob (2007-08-08). "Bonds: The Unpopular Home Run Champ". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  42. ^ "Bradford, Mulder both walk slugger". ESPN Internet Ventures (2004-07-04). Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
  43. ^ Anderson, Dave (2004-04-07). "Sports of The Times; Aaron Will Let the Fans Judge Bonds". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  44. ^ "HOF and asterisks not up to Aaron". ESPN Internet Ventures (2004-12-06). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  45. ^ "If Bonds breaks HR record, Aaron 'won't be there'". ESPN Internet Ventures (2007-05-22). Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  46. ^ Nightengale, Bob (2007-08-07). "Bonds blasts No. 756 to take over top spot". USA TODAY. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  47. ^ "Highest Career Total and Single-Season Salaries". Sports Reference, Inc. (2007-09-27). Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  48. ^ "Giant comeback: Bonds 1-for-4 in winning return". ESPN Internet Ventures (2005-09-12). Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  49. ^ Pearlman, Jeff. "Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero". Google Book Search. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  50. ^ "Player Profile: Barry Bonds 25 (1998)". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. (2007). Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  51. ^ "Hall of Fame Monitor Leaders". Baseball-reference.com (October 28, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-16.

[edit] External links

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