These days most of the talk about Bonds centers on steroids and on his involvement with BALCO, which is a shame because he’s launching an all-out assault on one of the most hallowed records in baseball. I don’t know enough about steroids to offer much analysis on that point. However, I do know that if Bonds is using ‘em, then probably so are a lot of other players and none of them are putting up the numbers Bonds is.

There’s gaining a competitive advantage, and then there’s being a great player. Let’s not, in light of recent events, lose sight of the fact that Bonds has been and continues to be a great player.

That out of the way, we turn to page 573 of The Scouting Report: 1990, where we meet a 25-year-old Bonds (listed at 6-1, 185 lbs.):

…Pittsburgh still is unsure exactly where Bonds should fit into the batting order. Bonds has been mainly a leadoff man with Pittsburgh and has done well in that role… But Bonds also has home run power, making people think he could hit lower in the order… Barry has generally hit poorly with runners in scoring position… He goes after too many bad pitches with men on base, and particularly when the game is on the line… [Bonds] often falls into the rut of holding his hands too close to his body. Thus, he is very vulnerable to hard stuff inside from righthanders… Often, he will refuse to swing at any inside pitch and is frequently called out on strikes… Bonds has outstanding speed and led the Pirates with 32 stolen bases last year… Bonds is perfectly suited to left field and has become one of the top defensive players in the league at that position.

Bonds saw the second most pitches (2,528) in the NL in 1989 and had the lowest home batting average (.204). He was third in walks (93), and fourth in steals of third (7) and intentional walks (22).

Bonds hit .248/.351/.426 in 1989. His OPS+ was 125 (it hasn’t been below 161 in any single season since then). This was the last season before he really became Barry Bonds. The following year marked Bonds’ first 30-homer season. It also saw him break 100 RBI for the first time (actually it saw him break 60 RBI for the first time).

It would have been nearly impossible to foresee Bonds’ threat of the all-time home run mark based on his first four seasons. Clearly he was a good ballplayer, but his comps back then were guys like Tom Brunansky, Jeff Burroughs, and Jack Clark. Solid performers, occasional All-Stars, deserving of a few HOF votes. But certainly no threat to Hank Aaron.

Here are the home run totals of some active players after their age 24 season:

              HR
Rodriguez,Al 189
Griffey,Ke   172
Pujols,Al    160
Jones,An     150
Gonzalez,Ju  140
Guerrero,Vl  136
Dunn,Ad      118
Glaus,Tr     118
Sierra,Ru    114
Chavez,Er    105
Bonds,Ba      84
Sosa,Sa       70
Palmeiro,Ra   33

That’s just off the top of my head. So there are at least 10 guys out there right now who had more homers than Bonds at that age.

Factoids about Bonds:

• Played alongside former big-league outfielders Mike Devereaux and Oddibe McDowell at Arizona State.
• OPS has been above 1.000 every year since 1992.
• OPS has been above 1.200 every year since 2001.
• Has finished first or second in walks every year since 1990, except for 1999, when he played in just 102 games.
• His slugging percentage has been higher than league OPS in three of the past four seasons.
• Top comps at age 24: Brunansky, Burroughs, Clark, Andre Dawson, Harold Baines, Lloyd Moseby, Chet Lemon, and Dwight Evans.
• Top comps at age 39: Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Frank Robinson, Aaron, Palmeiro, Ted Williams, Reggie Jackson, Stan Musial, Carl Yastrzemski, and Eddie Murray. All but Palmeiro are in the HOF. Obviously this is a collection of the greatest ever to play the game.

Bonds has never been a favorite of fans, teammates, or the media. But there is no denying his greatness. Before the current steroid issue, detractors pointed to his lack of a World Series ring. Now many of those same people will cry that Bonds’ accomplishments are tainted. To them I would ask:

1. Do steroids improve motor skills and hand-eye coordination?
2. Are other big-league ballplayers taking steroids? If so, why aren’t they seeing similar results in their performance?
3. Cortisone is a steroid that acts as an anti-inflammatory medication. Many athletes receive cortisone injections to allow them to compete when otherwise they couldn’t. You might say it enhances their ability to perform. Are their accomplishments tainted as well?

History will be the judge of Bonds. All I can say is it has been a genuine pleasure to watch the guy play over the years. Sure, I wish he wouldn’t beat up on the Padres so much, but I’m glad to have been around to see him play.

Finally, as always BaseballLibrary.com has an excellent bio on the man.

We’ll look at Deion Sanders on Tuesday. After that, we move onto announcers. Choices are Jeff Brantley, Rob Dibble, Mark Grant, Steve Lyons, Harold Reynolds, and Rick Sutcliffe. Talk to me…