Barry Bonds

by Matt in LA on Aug 12, 2008 6:15 PM EDT

No, I'm not here to say we, or anybody, should sign him. Every so often when I'm on Baseball Reference, I end up on Bonds' page to make a comparison.

Today, for the first time, I used the "neutralize stats" stats tool that allows you to normalize all stats to a specific environment. The high end option is the 2000 Rockies.

Bonds' numbers, legit or not, are always mind-blowing and today they were even more so. Converting his numbers to that 2000 Rockies standard of a 162 game season, with an average team scoring 6.25 runs per game, Bonds projects to hit 100 home runs. (To say nothing of his also hitting .400 and driving in 196 runs)

100 home runs! That that is even projectable, by any player placed into any environment, absolutely blows my mind. For comparison's sake, Babe Ruth tops off at 75, Maris 77, Sosa 81, and McGwire 90.

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Assuming anyone would throw him a strike.

by FranklinScott on Aug 12, 2008 7:54 PM EDT reply actions

My days of watching sluggers goes back to 1956 and includes Mantle’s prime. I’ve never seen any player so consistently on a pitch like Bonds. I don’t mean flick the bat out like Carew or Suzuki, but to drive the barrel of the bat through the ball with authority. No matter his personality and alleged dishonesty, it’s been a privilege to watch him at play.

by elsandito on Aug 12, 2008 8:30 PM EDT reply actions

Apologies to Ted Williams, but Barry Bonds has or had the best swing I have ever seen. Explosive. Brutally efficient. He could turn on drive almost any pitch close to the zone.

by emd2k3 on Aug 13, 2008 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions

I don’t have your long experience watching sluggers, but I do feel the same way about having watched Bonds. No other hitter that I’ve ever seen has really been close to his frightening ability to make hard contact, often making it on the first strike he’d been thrown in several days.

by Jay on Aug 15, 2008 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions

He had the most phenomenal hand-eye coordination I’ve ever seen. Here is a picture of #714. Notice how dialed he is even after the ball has left the bat.

http://www.whereistheoutrage.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/barry-bonds714.jpg

by StickRat on Aug 19, 2008 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions