Barry Bonds Is the Greatest Baseball Player We Have Ever Seen

Regardless of steroids, HGH, and an enlarged cranium, Barry Bonds was extraordinary on the field and it shows when compared among the all-time greats; 

762 Home Runs - #1
2558 BB - #1
688 IBB - #1
1440 Extra Base Hits - #2
5972 Total Bases - #2
1996 RBI - #3
2227 Runs - #3
.444 OBP - #3
1.051 OPS - #4
.607 SLG - #7
601 Doubles - #14
514 SB - #29
2935 Hits - #32
8 Gold Gloves
7 MVP’s

Without a doubt his numbers put him into another realm, a classification that not many athletes of any sport enter into: Greatest of all-time. 

I will have to take a stance on this that I may not believe in, but regardless of what Barry Bonds did or did not do, he stands above the rest. 

Babe Ruth will always be Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron will remain the king of the eyes of many, Ted Williams will always have the sweetest swing, and the grace of Mantle and Mays will likely never been seen again. But Bonds has all the attributes of those greats rolled into one. 

He was a Hall of Famer before the accusations and should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when his time for induction comes up. 

When it comes to inductions, the Hall would surely be lacking if he was turned away. Of course he was not the most fan-friendly player, was not a media favourite, and had some clubhouse scuffles, but who hasn’t? Bonds was meant to play baseball and his goal was to win.

Did Pete Rose make mistakes? Yes.

Did Shoeless Joe? Yes.

Does that mean they should be ostracized forever? No.

Did his Bonds’ desire to win impede his judgment and lead him down the wrong path? Possibly, all signs point to it, however if you had one guy in his prime that you wanted at the plate to win the game, Barry Bonds is “the” one.

Devon is the founder of The GM’s Perspective

Devon is a former professional baseball player with the River City Rascals and Gateway Grizzlies, and is now an independent scout.