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August
13, 2002 8:45 a.m.
Move
Over Babe Ruth
Barry
Bonds bats 600.
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 ith
Barry Bonds now a member of the ultra-elite 600-homerun club — joining
Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, and Babe Ruth — isn't it time that we recognize
and pay proper homage to the spectacular feats of this prodigious slugger?
We are now as fans privileged to witness the feats of a man who I would
argue is the greatest power hitter in baseball history with the exception
of Ruth himself. Bonds is the type of explosive and record-shattering
athlete that we will tell our grandchildren about.
Love
him or hate him — and most people hate him — Barry Bonds's hitting
statistics are astonishing and unrivaled on the chronicles of the game.
Anyone who watched the last two months of last season could not but marvel
at his performance. In those final scintillating weeks of the 2001 season
when BB hit homers 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, and then the magical 73rd,
he rarely saw more than one strike per at bat, if that, and yet nearly
every strike he saw went soaring out of the park.
This Olympian performance
was achieved under intense pressure and media scrutiny. Mark McGwire whined
that his 70 homeruns — crushing Roger Maris's near-four-decade-long
record of 61 homers — were a greater accomplishment than what Bonds
accomplished. Hogwash. This was the gibberish of a selfish star who had
to excruciatingly witness his own record being hijacked. Opposing pitchers
were throwing fastballs down the middle of the strike zone to the popular
McGwire. If you ever saw the gopher ball that McGwire hit out for his
70th — well, let's just say that just about anyone could have hit
that pitch out of the park.
But even putting
aside his shattering of baseball's greatest record for homeruns, Bonds
has recorded god-like statistics in so many other areas. It's hard to
say what is most impressive. Over the past two seasons Bonds has amassed
a stratospheric 55 percent on-base percentage — he simply and admirably
refuses to swing at balls. If he didn't walk 150-200 times a season he
would have closer to 650 homers today.
Or how about this
record? Bonds has an unthinkable .800 slugging percentage. No one else
even comes close.
Barry Bonds is as
dominating in baseball today as Michael Jordan was in basketball before
his second retirement.
Now I can already hear the stodgy complaints — all of which have
validity. Bonds is an average fielder at best. Okay, I grant that, but
so was Ruth. Bonds is a jerk. Okay, I grant that, too. So what? We are
talking about hitting, not chivalry.
The biggest blemish on the Bonds record is that he has never won the big
one. He has never won a World Series, unlike Ruth and Jordan whose teams
dominated. In fact, his post-season record has been less than stellar
to put it charitably. He still has time to rectify that defect in his
career.
Nonetheless, it has
been a joy to watch Bonds over the last two seasons. He is one of those
rare athletes whose skills are so far ahead of the rest, that it is worth
purchasing a ticket just to watch him play. I hope he breaks Henry Aaron's
career homerun record. He will if pitchers will just get it over the plate.
Here's my rating
of where Bonds falls among the greatest sluggers of all time:
1. Ruth
2. Bonds
3. Williams
4. DiMaggio
5. Aaron
Any arguments?
—
Stephen Moore is president of the Club for Growth.
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