Barry Bonds: Was he already a Hall of Fame?

By Jesús Pérez Vichot (Chuchi)

The odds that Barry bonds enter the Baseball Hall of Fame when the results are revealed later this month, they are unlikely. Although I do not rule out the possibility of a miracle happening and reaching 75% of the votes.

Analyzing once again the total numbers of Bonds’ career at this point (last year of eligibility), is unnecessary, they are left over to be worthy of immortality in Cooperstown. The numbers say that he is one of the five best players of all time.

Sometimes we hear comments like “Barry Bonds was a Hall of Famer before he started using …”, it is obvious that he was heading in that direction. In the book Game of Shadows, the story goes that during the 1998 home run chase between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, Bonds’ competitive side, probably knowing that he was a far superior, versatile and ‘natural’ player, but that he was getting exponentially less fanfare, he took up the matter and began to imitate them.

At least that is what is speculated, because for sure everything remains in inexhaustible doubt. In addition, it should be noted that the then commissioner Bud Selig and the rest of the league were looking the other way at that time, they were all satisfied with the records that had been registered.

It may interest you: My Top 10 in MLB: Designated Hitters

Let’s imagine that Bonds stopped playing after the 1998 season. Here’s what we got: In 13 seasons, he hit .290 / .411 / .556. That’s good for 164 OPS +, which would be fourteenth all-time, ahead of players like Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg, Stan Musial, Frank Thomas, Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Mel Ott, Frank Robinson and others. historical.

Sure, most players have a decline phase that sets them back on these rate stats, and at age 33, Bonds hadn’t. In those 13 seasons, he led his league in runs scored, home runs and RBIs once each, in walks five times, on-base percentage four times, slugging three times, OPS five times, OPS + four times, total bases one. time and position player WAR seven times.

Additionally, he was one of the most feared hitters in all of the majors, leading intentional walks for seven years. He won three MVP awards (1990, 1992, 1993) and finished second once. He had seven top five results in the voting for these awards. The three MVPs would be tied for the most with Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Schmidt, Mickey Mantle, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra, Stan Musial and Jimmie Foxx.

He also won, again, in 13 seasons, eight Golden Glove awards and seven Silver Bat awards. The eight Golden Gloves are a record for left fielders and he won them in these 13 seasons.

It may interest you: Top 10 Ever: Left Fielders

Now let’s check out some other stats that count too. In these 13 seasons, Bonds posted WAR of at least 8.0 eight times. The only position players in history who had eight or more were Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby and A-Rod. Bonds even surpassed 9.0 four times in these 13 years. The only players in history to have achieved nine or more at least four times are Ruth, Mays, Hornsby, Ted Williams, Ty Cobb, Gehrig, Mike Trout, A-Rod, Joe Morgan, Mantle, Musial, Eddie Collins and Honus Wagner.

Bonds had 1,917 hits in this span, which might seem like a deficit, but consider the 1,357 walks and 50 times he was hit by pitches. He was on base 3,324 times in those 13 years. This is higher than that achieved by Hall of Fame outfielders Larry Walker, Jim Rice, Duke Snider, Joe DiMaggio and a few others.

To make matters worse, he had 411 home runs and 445 stolen bases. He was already the only player in baseball history to exceed 400 home runs and 400 steals. No one since then has joined the 400-400 club. If we go down to 350-350, it’s still just him. But even more so, if we focus on the only players with 330 home runs and 330 steals in their careers, we have Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds (his father) and Willie Mays (his godfather).

Throughout these 13 seasons, he had already added 1,364 runs scored and 1,216 RBIs. Only 70 other players in MLB history had 1,350 runs and 1,200 RBIs in all of their careers, and there are more than 120 Hall of Fame position players.

In these 13 years, Bonds accumulated 99.9 WAR. Among all-time left fielders, only Ted Williams and Rickey Henderson had more. Carl Yastrzemski is close (96.5) and then there is a huge chasm before fifth place (Pete Rose at 79.6, if we want to place him in the LF). The Hall of Fame average left fielder stands at 65.2 WAR.

It may interest you: Top 10 Ever: Receivers

Again, I reiterate, Bonds had 99.9 in 13 seasons. During 1998 (the first 13 seasons of his career), Barry Bonds was already an obvious member of the Hall of Fame. Should he be punished by keeping him out of the room?

Until 1998, Bonds’ career was a success, with more than enough merits to be inducted into the Cooperstown Hall of Fame. What happened next is what threatens his person, but it must be considered that it was a time when many players used steroids, the managers pretended not to be understood and also, no other player (doped or not) reached the level of Barry Bonds. He was simply the best, before and during the steroid era.