Barry Bonds
From BR Bullpen
Barry Lamar Bonds
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 6' 1", Weight 228 lb.
- High School Junipero Serra High School
- School Arizona State University
- Debut May 30, 1986
- Born July 24, 1964 in Riverside, CA USA
Contents |
[edit] Biographical Information
[edit] Introduction
Barry Bonds holds the single-season home run record with 73 and is currently first on the all-time MLB career home runs list. He is generally thought of as being one of the greatest hitters of all time. He has also been a highly controversial figure throughout his career, because of his surly demeanor, poor relations with the media, and because of the allegations of steroid use that have tainted his pursuit of the career home run record.
[edit] Early Career
Barry Bonds is the son of Bobby Bonds and the godson of Hall of Famer Willie Mays. His aunt Rosie Bonds competed in the 1964 Olympics in track and field. He is also a distant cousin of Reggie Jackson. His brother, Bobby Bonds, Jr. was drafted but never made it to the big leagues. Rick Reuschel, Ken Oberkfell, Mel Hall, and Danny Darwin all played with both Barry and Bobby Bonds.
Barry was considered a prime prospect from an early age and was selected sixth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1985 amateur draft, coming out of Arizona State University. He had earlier been a second round draft choice of the San Francisco Giants - the team most associated with his father - in the 1982 amateur draft coming out of high school, but did not sign at that time.
In the 1984 Amateur World Series, Bonds led Team USA by hitting .304/.319/.565 with 16 RBI and 3 home runs in 11 games. He tied for 7th in homers and tied Lourdes Gourriel for second in RBI, 4 behind leader Roberto Bianchi. In the 1984 College World Series, Bonds tied Dave Magadan's College World Series record of 8 consecutive hits.
Bonds did not waste any time in the minor leagues. Shortly after signing with the Pirates in 1985, he reported to their Class A farm team in the Carolina League, the Prince William Pirates, and hit .299/.383 /.547 in 71 games, also stealing 15 bases in 18 attempts. Promoted straight to AAA at the beginning of the 1986 season, he did even better with the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League, putting up a line of .311/.435/.527 in 44 games, with 16 steals in 21 attempts. He was the very definition of a "five-tool prospect", a player who had speed, could field and throw, and who could hit for both average and power. On May 30, 1986, less than a year after being drafted, he made his Major League debut with the Pirates.
[edit] Early Major League Career
[edit] The Chase for the Home Run Record
In 2004, Bonds set a single-season record for the highest OPS with 1.422, breaking his own record of 1.381 set in 2002. The only other players in the top 10 are Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. His single season record for intentional walks of 120 is so far above any previous totals as to be considered as almost unbreakable. The record is almost 3 times the previous record (by someone other than Bonds) of 45 by Willie McCovey. The second highest total is 68 by Bonds himself. He has also won the MVP award seven times; no other player has won it more than three times.
Bonds hit his 700th career home run on September 17, 2004 at SBC Park. However, he missed almost all of the 2005 season with a knee injury, only playing 14 games in September. Already 40, his chance of increasing his career totals by much seemed slim at that point, but he made a remarkable comeback the following season. On May 28, 2006, he hit his 715th home run off Byung-Hyun Kim to pass Babe Ruth's career total of 714 and move into second place on the all-time MLB list behind Hank Aaron's 755. He hit 26 home runs that year, playing just below the exalted levels he had set from 2000 to 2004, and indicating that the career home run record was in fact well within his reach.
Shortly after turning 43, Bonds hit home run number 755 off Clay Hensley, a pitcher who had been suspended in the minors for using steroids (or more exactly a steroid precursor). He hit his 756th home run on August 7, 2007 off Mike Bacsik Jr.. After Bonds hit the record-breaking homer, the team held a brief ceremony and played a recorded congratulatory statement from Aaron.
On September 21, 2007, Bonds announced that the Giants would not resign him after the 2007 season. His 15-year Giant career officially came to an end on October 1, when the Giants finished their season against the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, he played his final game with the Giants on September 27 against the San Diego Padres. He ended the season with 762 career home runs. It is becoming increasingly unlikely that he will have an opportunity to add to this total, given the Giants' lack of interest in offering him another contract, and other teams shying away from him because of the ever-growing aura of controversy attached to his name. This is in spite of the fact that he was still a highly-productive player in 2007 (at least as a hitter), posting an OPS+ of 172 and slugging 28 homers.
[edit] The Steroids Issue
Although Bonds has never tested positive for steroids, his involvement since 2003 in the BALCO scandal has made him a frequent target of the anti-steroids backlash that has hit Major League Baseball in recent years. In 2003, he was called to testify before a grand jury in relation with the federal investigation of charges of steroids trafficking against BALCO. This was because the name of his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, appeared on a list of BALCO clients. Part of this testimony was leaked to the press and later served as the basis for the book Game of Shadows, published early in 2006, which painted Bonds as a willful steroid user. It was then revealed in early 2007 that Bonds did fail a test for an unnamed banned substance - not steroids - in 2006, but this first positive test did not carry a mandatory penalty in accordance with MLB's drug policy.
When Bonds started closing in on the all-time career home run record, the controversy surrounding his rumored use of steroids became even greater. The public perception was that he was a user of performance drugs, even if nothing had been proved. A big question during the 2007 season was whether commissioner Bud Selig would attend the games in which Bonds had a chance to break Hank Aaron's record.
On July 25, 2007, with Bonds days away from catching Aaron, chemist Patrick Arnold said he thought Barry had knowingly taken "The Clear" (a substance Arnold created) which Arnold says definitely increased his concentration, power, and caused a rise in batting average and home runs. Arnold cited a comment by BALCO's Victor Conte that "Barry's on the program" and said he had a "strong feeling" that Bonds was using the substance. On November 15, Bonds was indicted by a federal grand jury of five counts of perjury and obstruction of justice because of inconsistencies in his testimony in the BALCO affair. He pleaded not guilty. On February 29, 2008, the presiding judge ruled that Bonds' entire testimony should be made public, and requested that federal prosecutors re-write their indictment to conform with what is now public evidence.
Largely forgotten in the steroid hoopla is that Bonds won three MVP awards in 1990, 1992, and 1993, long before steroids are alleged to have become common at the major league level.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 14-time NL All-Star (1990, 1992-1998, 2000-2004 & 2007)
- 7-time NL MVP (1990, 1992-1993, 2001-2004)
- 8-time NL Gold Glove Winner (1990-1994 & 1996-1998)
- 12-time NL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1990-1994, 1996-1997 & 2000-2004)
- 2-time NL Batting Average Leader (2002 & 2004)
- 10-time NL On-Base Percentage Leader (1991-1993, 1995, 2001-2004, 2006 & 2007)
- 7-time NL Slugging Percentage Leader (1990, 1992-1993 & 2001-2004)
- 9-time NL OPS Leader (1990-1993, 1995 & 2001-2004)
- NL Runs Scored Leader (1992)
- NL Total Bases Leader (1993)
- 2-time NL Home Runs Leader (1993 & 2001)
- NL RBI Leader (1993)
- 12-time NL Bases on Balls Leader (1992, 1994-1997, 2000-2004, 2006 & 2007)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 19 (1987-1988, 1990-2004, 2006 & 2007)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 14 (1990 & 1992-2004)
- 40-Home Run Seasons: 8 (1993, 1996-1997 & 2000-2004)
- 50-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2001)
- 60-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2001)
- 70-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2001)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 12 (1990-1993, 1995-1998, 2000-2002 & 2004)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 12 (1990, 1992-1993, 1995-1998 & 2000-2004)
- 50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 1 (1990)
| NL MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 1990 | 1991 |
| Kevin Mitchell | Barry Bonds | Terry Pendleton |
| 1991 | 1992 | 1993 |
| Terry Pendleton | Barry Bonds | Barry Bonds |
| 1992 | 1993 | 1994 |
| Barry Bonds | Barry Bonds | Jeff Bagwell |
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| Jeff Kent | Barry Bonds | Barry Bonds |
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
| Barry Bonds | Barry Bonds | Barry Bonds |
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| Barry Bonds | Barry Bonds | Barry Bonds |
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
| Barry Bonds | Barry Bonds | Albert Pujols |
[edit] Records Held
- Most Valuable Player awards, 7
- Player of the Month awards, 13
- Home runs, career, 762
- Home runs, left handed batter, career, 762
- Home runs, left fielder, career, 725
- Home runs, season, 73, 2001
- Home runs, left handed batter, season, 73, 2001
- Home runs, left fielder, season, 71, 2001
- On base average, season, .609, 2004
- On base average, left handed batter, season, .609, 2004
- On base plus slugging, season, 1.422, 2004
- On base plus slugging, season, left handed batter, 1.422, 2004
- Slugging average, season, .863, 2001
- Slugging average, left handed batter, season, .863, 2001
- Total average, season, 2.250, 2004
- Total average, left handed batter, season, 2.250, 2004
- Extra base hits, left handed batter, career, 1440
- Walks, career, 2558
- Walks, left-handed batter, career, 2558
- Walks, season, 232, 2004
- Walks, left handed batter, season, 232, 2004
- Seasons with 100 or more walks: 14
- Intentional walks, career, 688
- Intentional walks, season, 120, 2004
[edit] Further Reading
- Mark Fainaru-Wada;: Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroid Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports, Gotham Books, New York, NY, 2006.
