Outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates
Age: 26 (July 24)
5th season
with Pirates
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’1” Weight: 185
Prior to 1990:
The son of
major league outfielder Bobby Bonds was born in Riverside, California and hit
.476 with 14 home runs as a senior at Junipero Serra High School where he also
played football and basketball. Initially he was drafted as an amateur by the
Giants in 1982 but rejected a $70,000 offer and instead attended Arizona State
where he was criricized for being a rule-breaker with a poor attitude as well
as lauded for outstanding all-around ability. Bonds was chosen by the Pirates
in the first round of the 1985 amateur draft. He batted .299 with 13 home runs
for Prince William of the Carolina League in ’85, moved up to Hawaii in the
Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 1986 but was called up to the Pirates after 44
games. He was inserted in center field and batted only.223 but showed flashes
of future greatness with 16 home runs, 36 stolen bases, and 48 RBIs in 113
games. Bonds was shifted to left field in 1987 and improved to 25 home runs, 32
stolen bases, and 59 RBIs, and a .261 batting average. The numbers rose to .283
with 24 home runs, 17 stolen bases, and 58 RBIs in 1988 but fell off to .248
with 19 home runs, 32 stolen bases, and 58 RBIs in 1989. The disappointed
Pirates sought to deal him in the offseason but were unable to work out a trade.
1990 Season Summary
Appeared in 151
games
LF – 149, CF –
2, PH – 3
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 621
At Bats – 519
Runs – 104 [6,
tied with Bip Roberts]
Hits – 156 [18]
Doubles – 32 [10,
tied with Mark Grace & Willie McGee]
Triples – 3
Home Runs – 33 [4,
tied with Matt Williams]
RBI – 114 [4]
Bases on Balls
– 93 [2]
Int. BB – 15 [9,
tied with Darryl Strawberry & Joe Oliver]
Strikeouts – 83
Stolen Bases – 52
[3]
Caught Stealing
– 13 [8, tied with Otis Nixon]
Average - .301
[13, tied with Barry Larkin]
OBP - .406 [4]
Slugging Pct. -
.565 [1]
Total Bases – 293
[6]
GDP – 8
Hit by Pitches
– 3
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 6
League-leading
slugging pct was +.006 ahead of runner-up Ryne Sandberg
League-leading
total bases were +40 ahead of runner-up Matt Williams
Midseason snapshot:
HR – 15, RBI - 62, AVG - .340, SLG – .615
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at San Diego 4/27, (in 4 AB) at NY Mets 9/13
Longest hitting
streak – 12 games
HR at home – 14
HR on road – 19
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 5 AB) at San Diego 4/27, (in 4 AB) at Montreal 9/14, (in 4 AB) at
Chi. Cubs 9/19
Multi-HR games
– 3
Most RBIs, game
– 5 at Philadelphia 8/6, at Atlanta 8/29
Pinch-hitting –
0 of 2 (.000) with 1 BB
Fielding
Chances – 358
Put Outs – 338
Assists – 14
Errors – 6
DP – 2
Pct. - .983
Postseason: 6 G
(NLCS vs. Cincinnati)
PA – 24, AB –
18, R – 4, H – 3, 2B – 0,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 1, BB – 6, IBB – 0, SO – 5, SB –
2, CS – 0, AVG - .167, OBP - .375, SLG - .167, TB – 3, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH –
0, SF – 0
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
Gold Glove
Silver Slugger
All-Star
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Barry Bonds, Pitt.:
331 pts. - 23 of 24 first place votes, 99% share
Bobby Bonilla,
Pitt.: 212 pts. – 1 first place vote, 63% share
Darryl
Strawberry, NYM: 167 pts. – 50% share
Ryne Sandberg,
Chi.: 151 pts. – 45% share
Eddie Murray,
LAD: 123 pts. – 37% share
---
Pirates went 95-67
to finish first in the NL Eastern Division by 4 games over the New York Mets,
their first division title in 11 years while leading the league in doubles
(288), walks drawn (582, tied with Philadelphia), and OBP (.330). Briefly dropping
out of first place in late June, Pittsburgh, propelled by the “Killer B”
hitting combination of Bonds and RF Bobby Bonilla, supplemented by CF Andy Van
Slyke, battled the Mets the rest of the way, taking over first place to stay
just after Labor Day. Lost NLCS to the Cincinnati Reds, 4 games to 2, as Bonds
hit only .167 and Bonilla .190.
Aftermath of ‘90:
Bonds finished
second in NL MVP voting in 1991 following a season in which he batted .292 with
25 home runs, 43 stolen bases, and 116 RBIs. Pittsburgh again topped the NL
East and fell in the NLCS while Bonds hit only .148. It was a similar situation
in 1992 as Bonds returned to MVP form and batted .311 with 34 home runs, 39
stolen bases, and 103 RBIs in his final year with the Pirates. The club won a
third straight NL East pennant and lost once more in the NLCS. In three NLCS
appearances Bonds hit only .191 in 20 games with one home run. Having garnered
his second NL MVP award in three years he left the Pirates as a free agent and
signed a six-year $43 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. Bonds won
his third MVP award in 1993 as the Giants contended and he led the NL with 46
home runs, 123 RBIs, a .458 on-base percentage, .677 slugging percentage, and
365 total bases to go along with a .336 batting average and 29 stolen bases. He
continued to be a strong performer, gaining seven consecutive All-Star
selections from 1992 through ’98 and six Gold Gloves during the same time span.
The Giants reached the postseason only once during that period. Bonds became
the second player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season in 1996
and regularly led the NL in walks and intentional walks. Following a 1998
season in which the home run race between Mark McGwire of St. Louis and Sammy
Sosa of the Cubs drew headlines, Bonds apparently turned to steroid use to
improve his already impressive power hitting. Initially this was problematic in
that his 1999 season was limited to 102 games due to a torn triceps that
required surgery. He came back with a 49-home run season in 2000 and broke McGwire’s
single-season record of 70 with 73 home runs in 2001. He was voted NL Most
Valuable Player for an unprecedented fourth time and was signed to a five-year
$90 million deal by the Giants despite being 37 years old. Bonds finally got to
play in a World Series in 2002 and hit .471 with four home runs in a losing
cause. He was the NL MVP a total of seven times, the last in 2004. His career,
which became plagued by injuries in its late stages finally came to an end in
2007. Overall, Bonds hit a major league record 762 home runs, 176 of which were
compiled as a member of the Pirates. He stole 514 bases, 251 with Pittsburgh,
and compiled 1996 RBIs, 556 as a Pirate, and batted .298, .275 with Pittsburgh.
He walked 2558 times, 688 intentionally, which are all-time major league
records, as well as his single-season highs of 232 total walks and 120
intentional walks in 2004. A 14-time All-Star, the lingering concerns regarding
performance enhancing drugs have thus far kept him from election to the Baseball
Hall of Fame, but his #25 has been retired by the Giants.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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