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Best All-Time Left Fielders in MLB history

ByBobMueller|
(Original Caption) Oakland, Calif.: Oakland A's Ricky Henderson races toward the all-time Major League stolen base record, 118 in one season, held by Lou Brock. Notching his 109th against the California Angels, he leads off 1st base (Rod Carew 1b); (B) sprints away (pitcher Ken Forsch turns); (C) dives toward 2nd (Tim Foli waits to throw with Bobby Grich back up); (D) slides under Foli; (E) beats Foli's tag; and (F) gets the safe sign.
(Original Caption) Oakland, Calif.: Oakland A's Ricky Henderson races toward the all-time Major League stolen base record, 118 in one season, held by Lou Brock. Notching his 109th against the California Angels, he leads off 1st base (Rod Carew 1b); (B) sprints away (pitcher Ken Forsch turns); (C) dives toward 2nd (Tim Foli waits to throw with Bobby Grich back up); (D) slides under Foli; (E) beats Foli's tag; and (F) gets the safe sign.
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Best All-Time Left Fielders
CHICAGO, IL – CIRCA 1992: Barry Bonds #24 of the Pittsburgh Pirates swings and watches the flight of his ball against the Chicago Cubs during a Major League Baseball game circa 1992 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Bonds played for the Pirates from 1986-92. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Best All-Time Left Fielders Barry Bonds 

"“It’s called talent. I just have it. I can’t explain it. You either have it or you don’t.”—Barry Bonds"

Barry Bonds played 22 years in the big leagues. If you separate his career into halves, these are his averages per season and his accolades:

First 11 years:

  • .288/.404/.548, 144 G 610 PA, 102 R, 30 HR, 90 RBI, 35 SB
  • 6 all-star seasons
  • 6 Silver Sluggers
  • 6 Gold Gloves
  • 6 top-five MVP finishes
  • 3 MVP Awards
  • 7.6 WAR per season

Second 11 years:

  • .311/.490/.683, 128 G, 536 PA, 101 R, 39 HR, 91 RBI, 12 SB
  • 8 all-star seasons
  • 6 Silver Sluggers
  • 2 Gold Gloves
  • 6 top-five MVP finishes
  • 4 MVP Awards
  • 7.2 WAR per season

In the first half of his career, Barry Bonds ranked 13th all-time for players through their age-31 season. He was right there with Stan Musial and Eddie Mathews. Over the last half of his career, no player was better than Barry Bonds from the age of 32 on. He tops the list for players 32 and older with 82.7 WAR (Fangraphs). The players behind him are Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.

There are many reasons it would be fun to have a time machine (thinking of you, girl with the beautiful brown eyes), but one reason it would be fun to have a time machine is to see where Barry Bonds would have ended up among the all-time greats had he never used PEDs. Maybe I should say “allegedly” used PEDs but that seems a little silly at this point.

From 001 to 2004, Bonds did things none of us have ever seen. He had four straight seasons with 10 or more WAR (Fangraphs).

Sure, Mike Trout had nine or more WAR in four of five seasons from 2012 to 2016, and may top 10 WAR again this year, but he’s done it differently than Bonds.

During that four-year stretch from 2001 to 2004, Bonds averaged .349/.559/.809. It was ridiculous. At this point, he was no longer the good fielder he’d been when he was younger, so his value came primarily from his bat. His wRC+ marks during this time were unreal: 235, 244, 212, 233.

They were Ruthian years, but none of us is old enough to have seen Ruth play. Bonds was our Ruth.

It was an event when he came to the plate. His swing wasn’t as pretty as Ken Griffey, Jr.’s. It was shorter and quicker, without the iconic follow-through. When he stood at the plate, it seemed like there was nowhere the pitcher could throw the ball that Bonds couldn’t drive it into McCovey Cove.

Bonds was intentionally walked 35 times in 2001, 68 times in 2002, 61 times in 2003 and then it got absurd when he received the intentional pass 120 times in 2004. What else could you do? He hit .362 with an .812 slugging percentage.

Only two players in the history of the game have had seasons with an .800 slugging percentage: Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth (who did it three times).

With a time machine, we could see what Bonds would have done without the extra help. Without a time machine, we can only imagine. From 1996 through 1998, when he was 31 to 33 years old, he was still an 8 to 9 WAR player.

That 1998 season was when baseball was dominated by the Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa home run race that may have inspired Bonds to use PEDs (allegedly). From 1999 on, he was worth 65.3 WAR.

If Bonds had retired after the 1998 season, he would have finished with 99.1 WAR, good for 21st in the history of baseball. Just for fun, let’s say instead of 65.3 WAR from 1999, he’s half as good and earned 33.1 WAR.

Add that to his 99.1 WAR and he would have finished in the 122 WAR range, one spot below Stan Musial at 10th all-time among position players and 12th all-time with pitchers included.

If we want to give him a little more credit and say he would have been two-thirds as good without PEDs, then he would have earned 43.5 WAR from 1999 on and 142.6 over the course of his career. That would put him at number four all-time, behind Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Ty Cobb.

Next: Tony Gwynn: Mr. Padre’s legend and legacy

Ultimately, we’ll never know. We do know Barry Bonds was one of the best players ever even before the suspicions of PEDs arose. As a young player, he was a great hitter and fielder and stole 25 or more bases 12 times.

Ultimately, he may belong in the Rickey Henderson or Mickey Mantle wing of the best all-time , rather than the Babe Ruth or Willie Mays wing, but it was still an impressive career nonetheless.

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