Making A Case for Barry
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by Scrapper6891
I’ve spent a lot of time trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Barry Bonds is now the all-time home run leader. It’s obvious that this is an incredibly polarizing issue. On one side you have the purists, the people who absolutely hate Barry Bonds because he has tarnished and placed an asterisk next to the most cherished record in sport. But you also have a substantial number of people on the other side of this issue, the people who are cheering Barry on (wonder if there is anyone outside San Francisco) and believe the home-run record is a manifestation of his extraordinary talent.
One thing is for certain, no one can deny that Barry Bonds is one of the most talented baseball players, and athletes, of all-time. Back when he was a Pirate and in his early days as a Giant, Barry was one of the best outfielders in the game. An excellent defender, Barry notched 8 Gold Gloves. On offense he was a five- or six-tool guy and his stolen base totals resemble the totals Jose Reyes often puts up these days. In Barry’s 22-year MLB career, he stole at least 30 bases 9 times and stole a career high 52 bases in 1990.
Obviously, Barry was a great player headed for the Hall of Fame before he was suspected to have started taking steroids. If you look at the natural trajectory of his career from his early days as a Pirate and Giant, Barry was on pace to hit around 650 homeruns. You could argue that taking steroids pushed Barry over the edge and helped give him that last hundred or so home runs to become the all-time home run king.
Although that may be true, it has become apparent that steroids use was rampant in the late 1990s and the early years of this century, a period of time now referred to as “ The Steroids Era.” Some baseball experts have estimated that during this time over 1500 players were on the juice. To me, it says something about Barry Bonds’ talent level that he was the best out of everyone who used steroids. Taking steroids didn’t help his timing or his hitting style. And you have to think that a lot of the pitchers who pitched to Barry were also on steroids. If steroids were what made him such a great hitter, how come another player didn’t even come close to approaching his accomplishments during this period?
I’m not condoning steroid use, but I think what Barry Bonds has accomplished is exceptional, regardless of whether or not he used steroids. Let’s look at these accomplishments:
All-time single season records
Most home runs (73) On base percentage (.609) Slugging percentage (.863) Walks (232) On-base slugging (1.422)
All-time Marks
1st in home runs (758) 1st in walks (2,540) 1st in Intentional walks (679) Only member of the 500/500 club (At least 500 home runs and 500 stolen bases) 2nd in extra base hits (1,432) 3rd in at bats per home run (12.9) 3rd in runs (2,212) 4th in total bases (5,936) 5th in RBI (1,981) 6th in on-base percentage (.444) 6th in slugging percentage (.607)
Awards
7-time MVP 14 All-Star Games 12 Silver Slugger Awards 8 Gold Gloves
The steroids investigation will certainly get to the bottom of whether or not Barry Bonds used steroids. But in my eyes, whatever happens, Barry Bonds will go down as one of the best ball players in history.
This article has been cross-published from " Sports Chronicle: The Scrapper's Perspective "
