Throughout its illustrious history, baseball has seen many greats grace the diamond with bat-breaking homers, skyscraping catches for incredible outs, and rapid pitches of over 100 mph as if they had been shot out of a rocket. The list of great players includes Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Pete Rose, Jackie Robinson, Derek Jeter and Pedro Martinez among others.

Each player represents a different era, style of play and personality that transformed the sport in their distinct way. One player, perhaps the best player not to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for controversial reasons, is none other than the legendary Barry Bonds who defined an era of baseball from the late ‘80s to the early 2000s.

Bonds effortlessly hit home runs, captivating crowds with his power and grace in the batter’s box. Bonds is Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in home runs with 762 and has seven MVPs—that would be the most for any player since they started giving out the award. However, his incredible career doesn’t come without controversy.

People believed Bonds used steroids in his career. And to be honest, there is good reason. In Pittsburgh, he looked like a twig compared to the behemoth who trotted on the field in San Francisco. The power bombs he smashed into the Bay in San Fran weren’t comparable to the hits he was getting when he was playing in Pennsylvania.

Baseball banned steroids in 1991 but didn’t test players for them until 2003. However, it should be noted that although Bonds never failed a steroid test, he’s viewed differently than many players who have failed tests. For instance, Andy Pettitte and Jason Giambi have failed tests, but they rarely – if ever – come up in discussions about them.

Even on national television a player can falsely claim to have never used steroids only to be exposed a few months later without consequences. That’s what happened to Alex Rodriguez, yet you might see him announcing the next time you watch the national game on Fox.

 

Bonds Deserves A Statue

Despite not being recognized in Major League Baseball’s most prestigious club, it was recently announced that the San Francisco Giants will present Barry Bonds with a statue outside of Oracle Park to commemorate the hometown icon. Despite unproven allegations of steroid use, Bonds already boasted a robust Hall of Fame resume.

Before 1999, when rumors circulated that Bonds had first used PEDs, his resume read as follows:

  • 3 MVPs (1990, 1992, 1993)
  • 8 Golden Gloves (1990-1994, 1996-98) *MLB Record for left fielders*
  • 7 Silver Slugger (1990-94, 1996-98)
  • NL Home Run Leader (1993)
  • NL RBI Leader (1993)
  • His batting splits were .290/.411/.556
  • Led league in home runs (46 in 1993)
  • 1,917 hits
  • 1,364 runs and 1,216 RBIs
  • Only player in MLB history with over 400 home runs and more than 400 steals

 

It doesn’t end there. He led the league in On-Base Percentage (OBP) four times, Slugging three times, On-Base Slugging Percentage (OPS) five times, OPS+ four times, Total Bases once, and position player Wins Above Replacement (WAR) seven times. Listing his pre-steroid accolades feels like a marathon.

His three MVPs ties him with just 11 other players for the most ever, putting him in elite company with players like Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Mickey Mantle and Albert Pujols. In 13 seasons, he hit .290/.411/.556. That’s good for a 164 OPS+, which would be 14th all-time, placing him ahead of players like Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Mel Ott.

Even if you reduce his historic career of more than 400 homers and 400 steals to 350 and 350, he’s still the only player to accomplish that. Include his WAR of 99.9 during that span and he ranks behind just two players – Ted Williams and Rickey Henderson. That is outstanding considering we are comparing their entire careers to just the first 13 years of Bonds’.

DEBATABLE: Does Barry Bonds’ Pittsburgh HOF Induction Bring Him Closer to Cooperstown?

“I don’t have any doubt that Barry Bonds is one of the five or six greatest baseball players who ever lived.” — Rob Neyer, ESPN

“Barry is certainly deserving of a statue, and I would say should be next up. We don’t have the exact location and the exact date and the exact timing… It’s coming. All I can say is it’s coming.” — Giants President Larry Baer

Despite having one of the most polarizing and controversial careers in professional sports history, Bonds deserves to be recognized for the utter brilliance he displayed on the diamond. His more than a decade of dominance before PEDs in addition to the eight years he played after, proved he was one of baseball’s true greats and should be viewed as such.

That’s why he deserves a statue in San Francisco.