Can't Bonds Play 9?

Not to mention:

101 players have more RBI than Bonds and 110 have a higher batting average.

 

He had a hot streak earlier in the year. And he can still crush a mistake, I'll certainly give him that.

That said, spnited is right. As someone who has watched almost every single at-bat he's had the past few weeks, he doesn't look good at all. He flails at breaking balls. He can't get around on an inside fastball.

 

The walks still count, whether these pitchers are stupid to be giving them to him or not.

 

Just in case you forgot. And if he can't see pitches to hit, kinda hard to drive in runs. I'd say he's doing just fine for himself, considering he's walked 30 more times than the next guy in MLB.

 

Only three of those players with a higher batting average are on the Giants -- Randy Winn, Ryan Klesko and Ben Molina. Of course, the on-base percentages aren't even close to his.

He is also fourth on the team in RBI and first in runs scored. Of course, the RBI numbers are also a bit skewed by the high walk total. Hard to drive people in when you are drawing ball four all the time.

That OPS isn't all walks, either. He leads the Giants with a .539 slugging percentage, over 100 points higher than the next regular (Klesko at .430).

My point being, his skills have definitely deteriorated, but Bonds is still the most productive hitter on the Giants. Yes, that is proof of why they suck, but that doesn't mean it isn't true.

 

Yes, OOP, he is the mst productive hitter on a horrendous offensive team...and a shell of his former self.

 

A "shell of his former self"? He's arguably the most productive hitter in the history of baseball. So if a "shell of his former self allows him to still lead the majors in OBP and OPS, I'd say that's pretty fucking good.

 

With 800 more hits and almost 1000 more total bases, I think the honor of the most productive hitter of all time has to go to Henry Aaron.

Not that Bonds isn't freakishly productive.

 

But if these candyass pitchers/managers would realize what pitches he can't hit any more, they stop shaking in their shoes and pitch to the steroid inflated bastard... just like Lannon blew him away in the 7th inning last night ... he would not have inflated OBP and OPS.

Oh, and the walks contribute to his slugging percentage by lowering his number of at-bats. If 20 of those walks turned into outs, his slugging pct. and OPS are a lot lower.

 

That's a dumb hypothetical. What if 4 or 5 of those walks turned into home runs? The bottom line is that we'll never know how good he'd be if pitchers went after him every single time. They don't, however, and that makes him one of the most valuable players in baseball.

 

Hank did his damage in 3298 games and 12,364 at bats. plus 1402 BBs
Babe did his damage in 2503 games and 8,398 at bats. plus 2062 BBs
Bonds did his damage in 2957 games and 9,771 at bats. plus 2540 BBs (so far)

Hank's career OPS+ 155, Babe's career OPS+ 207, Bonds career OPS+ 182

 

Which leads us into the realm of guesswork.

What about the walks that would turn into hits if pitchers actually went after him? Wouldn't some of those be for extra bases? Wouldn't his RBI total go up?

And I agree with you that more pitchers should go after Bonds because his skills have deteriorated. But as long as they choose to walk him so much, those walks count and they do increase his value to the team.