Bobby Bonds

From BR Bullpen

Bobby Lee Bonds

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
School Riverside Community College
Debut June 25, 1968
Final Game October 4, 1981
Born March 15, 1946 in Riverside, CA USA
Died August 23, 2003 in San Carlos, CA USA

1 Biographical Information
2 Notable Achievements
3 Records Held
4 Related Sites

[edit] Biographical Information

The father of slugger Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonds, Jr. (drafted but never made it to the majors), Bobby Bonds almost became the first member of the 40-40 club in 1973.

Bill James once used Bobby, in discussing the Hall of Fame, to explain the difference between a "great" player who belonged in the Hall and a merely "excellent" player (Bobby as the prime example of someone who was truly excellent but not great). None of the most similar players to Bobby are in the Hall, although the list of most similar players includes some top-achieving stars such as Jack Clark, Fred Lynn, Rocky Colavito, Jim Wynn, and Reggie Smith.

Bobby, who was born and died in California, was signed in 1964 by the San Francisco Giants. He came up originally in 1968, in the heart of the pitchers' era.

Bonds showed tremendous talent in his first full season with the Giants in 1969, hitting 32 home runs, getting 81 walks, stealing 45 bases (getting caught only 4 times) and scoring 120 runs. In 1970, he hit peaks with 10 triples, 36 doubles, a .302 batting average, and 48 stolen bases.

Bonds went on to become a threat each year to hit 30 home runs and steal 40 bases. He was notable as a strikeout-prone slugger who nevertheless often hit in the lead-off position. As a result, during his career, he scored over 200 more runs than he drove in.

After seven years with San Francisco, Bonds went to the Yankees for one season, where he hit 32 home runs, stole 30 bases, and pulled 89 walks but nevertheless only scored 93 runs on a team that was otherwise weak. He came to the Yankees in a trade for Bobby Murcer, a trade that was not particularly popular with Giants fans.

He then spent 2 years with the California Angels, of which the second, 1977 was notable with 37 home runs and 115 RBI, both of which were highs for Bobby. He also added 41 stolen bases. The next year, he hit 31 home runs while playing for the White Sox early in the season and then Texas for the rest of the season. He stole 37 bases. In 1979, he hit 25 home runs for Cleveland, but his stolen base percentage dropped as he stole 34 but got caught 23 times.

In 1980, although only 34, he gradually became a back-up with St. Louis. By this point, his moving from team to team every season had become so notorious that Terry Cashman included the line "and Bobby Bonds can play for every team" in the song "Talkin' Baseball (Mickey, Willie and the Duke)", when talking about baseball at the turn of the 1980's. In 1981, with the Cubs, he played poorly on a team that became the butt of nationwide jokes, and his career was at an end. Bonds hustled for the Cubs, but he just didn't have it any more. In 1982 he signed with the Mets, but never made it to the majors with them, and his career as a major-leaguer was over.

He never appeared in a World Series, and was an All-Star three times. He was never an MVP, although finishing in the top five twice. He won three Gold Gloves as a young player.

He was, of course, most famous for his power/speed combination, having the best power/speed number nine times. He never led the league in home runs, but was in the top five in the league four times, and never led the league in stolen bases but was in the top five a total of five times. He was also famous as for his strikeouts, finishing in the top five a total of nine times, and set the record for strikeouts in a single season (since broken and now held by Adam Dunn), with 189 in 1970. He is currently #11 on the all-time list for strikeouts.

His playing style had a lot of similarity with that of his son, Barry Bonds, who also is a home run hitter and base-stealer and Gold Glove winner, particularly in the early part of Barry's career when he still struck out regularly.

After his playing days ended, Bonds was a Cleveland Indians coach from 1984 to 1987 and a member of the San Francisco Giants staff from 1993 to 1996.

In 1989, Bonds played for the St. Lucie Legends of the Senior Professional Baseball Association, and later replaced Graig Nettles as the club's manager. In 43 games, he hit .306 and hit 5 homers for the with the Legends.

Rick Reuschel, Ken Oberkfell, Mel Hall, and Danny Darwin all played with both Bobby and Barry Bonds.