San Francisco Giants: Top 30 players of all-time

NY/SF Giants best players all-time: No. 4-Barry Bonds

116 WAR

Here is where the subjectivity comes in. Barry Bonds is one of the most intriguing players in major league history because of how talented he was but then was so willing to waste it.

Let’s start with his accomplishments first. Obviously you see the WAR is second all-time among Giants players. He was a 14-time All-Star (12 with San Francisco), seven-time MVP (five with Giants), eight-time Gold Glove winner (five with Giants), 12-time Silver Slugger (nine with Giants), three-time Hank Aaron award (all with Giants), two-time NL batting champion (both with Giants), and two-time NL HR leader (both with Giants).

He is most known for holding the single-season home run record, 73, which he hit in 2001, and the all-time home run record, 762 (passing Hank Aaron’s 755).

Barry Bonds was an amazing player with a very unique talent at the plate. In fact, he is regarded still by some as one of the best players to ever play the game (although I am not one of them). But you don’t need me to tell you that.

In 2007, Barry Bonds was accused by a federal grand jury of lying about unknowingly taking steroids given to him by his personal trainer as well as being untruthful about his trainer never injecting him with steroids.

If you’re on the side of Bonds, my reasoning for why I don’t have him higher on the list is due to the fact that he didn’t have as much success for the Giants for as long of a period of time as the next three players did while playing the game fairly. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1982-1992 and during that time was able to be an All-Star twice, an MVP twice, win three Gold Gloves, and three Silver Sluggers (all while doing it clean) which lessened his impact solely as a Giant because he did it in another uniform.

Another big factor is the final three players on the list actually were able to win at least one World Series with the Giants, while Bonds did not (and winning matters).

Bonds, in my eyes, should never get his day in Cooperstown because it would be disrespecting all of the great players that came before him that played the game the way it should be played throughout their whole careers: clean.