Friday, July 23, 2004
Some Bonds Perspective
Posted by Dave StudemanAll stats and graphs have been updated through games of July 22nd. I'll get to Win Shares later this weekend.
Barry Bonds now has 101 Runs Created, an average of 20 runs per 27 outs. Among all players with at least 200 plate appearances, Scott Rolen, Bobby Abreu and Manny Ramirez are next at half that total (10 runs/27 outs). Bonds is being intentionally walked at a stunning pace, and we use the version of Runs Created that doesn't credit an intentional walk as much as a regular walk.
Among other stats, Bonds leads in OBP with an average of .619. Todd Helton is next at .453. In Slugging Percentage, Bonds is first at .775. Ramirez is second at .680. Isolated Power? Bonds is first again at .408; Jim Thome is next at .366. Using park-adjusted Gross Production Average (GPA), Bonds leads with an average of .488, which is 35% higher than Manny Ramirez's average of .360.
Think about this: Bonds has been to the plate 357 times, but he has made only 138 outs.
There's no way around it. If he keeps up this pace (and he very well may), Barry Bonds will not only be the MVP of both leagues, but he will have had one of the greatest seasons of all time. And all those intentional walks can't take that away.
Dave was called a "national treasure" by Rob Neyer. Seriously. Comments about this article can be sent to him through the miracle of e-mail.