The Remarkable Barry Bonds
Total Baseball the game’s official and most sophisticated encyclopedia raised some eyebrows when BEFORE THE START of the 2001 season it ranked Barry Bonds as the 5th best position player of all time, trailing only Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Napoleon Lajoie, and Ty Cobb. Bonds’ season in 2001 confirmed the book’s high estimate of previous his talent. His 73 home runs commanded the most attention, but even this feat was undercut by the fact that he broke a record that had only lasted 2 seasons. When Mark McGwire hit 70, he shattered a mark that had stood 37 years.
Yet Barry’s other 2001 achievements were perhaps more impressive. He broke Babe Ruth’s all time walks record of 172 which had stood since 1923. Bonds’ .863 slugging percentage eclipsed what many statistic students regarded as the most untouchable single reason record -- Babe Ruth’s .846 slugging average-- that had lasted since 1921. In route Bonds passed the National League slugging average record of Rogers Hornsby (1925) by more than .100 pts. He tied Chuck Klein’s Nation League record for extra base hits which had lasted since 1930. Barry’s .515 on base percentage was the best in major league baseball since Ted Williams in 1957.
Many students regard on base percentage, slugging average, and extra base hits as much better indications of a player’s value than the much ballyhooed batting average. To get some indication of rarity of these feats, consider that hitters have batted .400 or better 35 times in baseball history, but only 17 have secured an on base average of .500 or better for a season; only 14 have amassed 100 or more total bases in a campaign, and only 2 men Ruth (2 times) and Bonds have had slugging averages greater than .800 for a year.
In 2002 Bonds eclipsed Ted Williams record for the highest season on base percentage and in 2003 he became the first major leaguer to record three consective seasons with a better than .500 on base percentage.
A variety of information on Bonds is available at Barry Bonds.com
CNNSI offers a feature on Bonds including photos of all his homers.
USA Today's season in review offers a host of links on the Bonds' season.
For a breakdown of Barry’s year see his stats at the USA today site and for the best in records consult Total Baseball. For images of Barry check out the Giants page at mlb.com.
This page was last updated
March 30, 2005
Background image, an oldtimer (George Herman Ruth)
takes his cuts. during the 1940s.
Photo provided by William R. Conroy.