NFL
By: Billy Lewis
Barry Bonds is a polarizing figure in Major League Baseball. On one hand, his 762 career home runs sit on top of Major Leauge Baseball, on the other, it is widely assumed that he used performance-enhancing drugs to aid those 762 home runs. Before the drug use, Bonds was still one helluva player.
Barry Bonds made his MLB debut in May of 1986 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. His rookie season, Bonds did show flashes of power as he hit 16 home runs in 113 games. He also stole 36 bases, proven to be an all-around player. Bonds played in Pittsburgh for parts of seven seasons, before becoming a free-agent after the 1992 season.
His last three seasons in Pittsburgh were his best. He won the MVP in both 1990 and 1992 while finishing in second in 1991. He also added three Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers in those three seasons. Bonds’ Pittsburgh career ended as the Pirates lost to the Braves in Game 7 of the NLCS.
The San Fransico Kid
Barry Bonds signed a six-year $43.75 million deal with the San Fransico Giants going into the 1993 season. Over his tenure in Pittsburgh Bonds slashed .275/.380/.503 for an 883 OPS. He also added 176 HRs, 556 RBIs, and 251 SBs.
San Fransico immediately saw dividends, as Bonds picked up right where he left off. He added his second straight MVP and still another Silver Slugger and Gold Glove award. 1993 was also the first season Bonds lead the NL in both home runs and RBIs with 46 and 123 respectively.
Through the 1998 season Bonds hit .290/.411/.556 with 411 home runs and 445 stolen bases. 1998 marked the first time Major League Baseball ever had a player in the 400-400 club, that would be a player that has more than 400 home runs and 400 stolen bases in his career.
It is safe to say in his first 13 seasons, Bonds was on a Hall of Fame track. He was not only, the only member of the 400-400 club but also had eight Gold Gloves and 3 MVPs. He was a five-tool superstar, but unfortunately for Bonds, there was a different storyline everybody was keeping an eye on.
1998 Aftermath
The summer of 1998 was the summer of the long ball. The baseball world was fixated on the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. McGwire and Sosa were chasing the single-season home run record (61) set by Roger Maris. McGwire would eventually set the record and end the 1998 season with 70 home runs. Sosa wouldn’t end too far behind as he ended ’98 with 66 home runs.
With all eyes on the home run chase 1998, Bonds was not getting the credit he felt he deserved. The lack of attention would appear to be the downfall of what should have been a Hall of Fame career.
Though Bonds was a great all-around player, the spotlight fell on the home run hitters. As noted by “Game of Shadows” written by Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, Bonds showed up to Spring Training in 1999 with added muscle.
Roger Maris’s home run record lasted from 1961-1998. Mark McGwire’s lasted from 1998-2001. The 2001 season saw Bonds explode to hit a new record high 73 home runs. Before hitting 73, Bonds’s career-high was 49 home runs set the season prior in 2000. 2000 was the fourth time Bonds hit the 40 home run threshold.
2001 was first, and only time, Bonds would cross the 50,60, or 70 home run mark. It took three years for Bonds to break McGwire’s home run mark. It took two years for performance-enhancing drug allegations to come to the surface.
BALCO Investigation
In September of 2003, Investigators raided Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO). Bonds would continually deny steroid use, but just like that, his career numbers were tainted. The once no-doubt Hall of Famer was now a lightning rod of controversy.
Bonds last played in 2007, ending his career as the all-time Major League Baseball home run king. He also retired with 514 stolen bases, so not only is he the only member of the 400-400 club but also the only member of the 500-500 club.
Major League Baseball has always been proud of its numbers. Many baseball fans still point to Hank Aaron’s 755 home runs as the Major League career record and Maris’s 61 as the single-season record. Though Bonds’s 762 home runs are tainted, Bonds was much more than a home run hitter.
For a long time, I didn’t think anybody that used PEDs should be in the Hall of Fame. As I’ve gotten a little older I’ve changed my stance a little bit. 500 home runs used to the golden ticket to Cooperstown, the steroid era has changed that. I still don’t believe players suspected to have taken PEDs should be inducted into the Hall of Fame on home run numbers alone.
Barry Bonds: Cooperstown Worthy
Bonds was much more than a home run hitter. He was an all-around great player and had an eye at the plate that was almost impossible to compete with. Along with retiring as the Home Run King, Bonds also retired with the most walks (2558) in MLB history.
Do I think Barry Bonds took performance-enhancing drugs? Yes, I do. Bonds was a Hall of Fame-caliber player well before the suspected PED use. Without PEDs, Bonds more than likely not have retired with 762 home runs. He would still more than likely have had more than 500 home runs, with an outside chance of 600.
Bonds added MVPs in each season from 2001-2003 ending his career with seven. Those seven MVPs are an MLB record but if you count only the three he won before the turn of the century, he would be tied for the record with three MVPs (shared by 10 others). A three-time MVP with over 500 home runs and 500 stolen bases should be a lock for the Hall of Fame. Bonds will have two more chances on the ballot to see if he eventually gets enshrined in Cooperstown.
