Top 106 Baseball Players: #3 - Barry Bonds*

Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds has hit more home runs than any other player in history, but accusations of steroid use have added controversy to that record and prevented him from being elected to the Hall of Fame so far.

Bonds first played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, joining the team in 1986. After a few years of growing into his role, he became the MVP in 1990, when he joined the 30-30 club with 33 homers and 52 stolen bases, and also hit above .300 for the first time. A slight dropoff in homers led to him being the MVP runner-up the next year, but he was not nearly finished.

In 1992, he won his 2nd MVP, with another 30-30 season in which he also led the league in runs as well as walks. He became a free agent after the season, and the Pirates were unable to offer him a large enough contract, so he signed with the San Francisco Giants for what was then the largest contract in history.

During his first season in California, he led the league in home runs for the first time, as well as RBI and total bases, which earned him a 3rd MVP, tying the all-time record. Over the next 4 years he continued to hit home runs at a good pace, while leading the league in intentional walks and total walks each time.

He started a career resurgence in 2000, when he hit 49 home runs, which was then his career high, and led the league in walks for the 6th time. It was also during that season that he tested positive for steroids, though that result was not made public for several years.

In 2001 he started his assault on the record books, starting when he joined the 500-home-run club in April. By the end of the season, he had broken the season records for walks and slugging percentage, as well as the famous home run record. He also had the highest on-base percentage of any player in over 40 years, and took home his record 4th MVP award.

In 2002, it was more of the same for Bonds. He reached 600 home runs, less than a year after his 500th. He broke the walks record again that year, along with the intentional walk record and the on-base percentage record, which was previously held by Ted Williams. It was no surprise that he took home his 5th MVP that season.

That was also the first season in which he won a playoff series. He was able to guide the Giants to the World Series that year, and he was great, batting .471 with 4 home runs and 13 walks, and he set an all-time record with a slugging percentage of 1.294, but they lost to the Angels in 7 games, which was the closest he ever got to a championship.

In 2003 he became the first player ever to reach the 500-500 club, with 500 home runs and stolen bases, and he was already the only member of the 400-400 club, and no player has joined either one since either. Though he did not break any major records that year, he did win his 3rd straight MVP and 6th overall, both records.

He had his best season in 2004, when he again broke several records. He reached 700 home runs in September, becoming the 3rd player ever to reach it. He also hit 45 home runs while only striking out 41 times, which is an extremely rare feat. He also destroyed his old records for walks, intentional walks, and on-base percentage. He won his 4th straight MVP, which is more in a row than any other player has total, also becoming the oldest MVP ever, and broke Rickey Henderson's all-time steals record.

He missed most of 2005 with injuries, then returned for two final seasons. He passed Babe Ruth for 2nd place on the all-time home run list in 2006, then surpassed Hank Aaron in 2007. At the conclusion of the season, the Giants declined to re-sign him, and no other team expressed interest, even though he still had enough talent to play, most likely because of the steroid allegations.

Though it is apparent that he cheated for a while in his career, Bonds' greatness is still indisputable. He had a record 13 straight seasons with at least 30 home runs, holds the all-time records for stolen bases, home runs, walks, and intentional walks, and the single-season records for home runs, walks, intentional walks, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, along with those 7 MVP's, more than double any other player's total. There is no denying that Barry Bonds is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #23 - Willie Mays

Willie Mays

Willie Mays was one of the greatest all-around players of all time, playing at a high level at the plate, on the basepaths, and in the outfield, and doing it all for a very long time.

Mays first reached the Majors in 1951 with the New York Giants, and won the Rookie of the Year award despite having what would turn out to be one of the worst seasons of his career. Early in his second season, he was drafted into the Army, where he would spend nearly 2 seasons, before returning to baseball on a mission in 1954.

He led the league with a .345 batting average that year while also slugging 41 homers, which resulted in him taking home the MVP award, and he wasn't done yet. The Giants won the pennant, returning to the World Series after losing in Mays' rookie season, and this time Mays played well, getting 4 hits and 4 walks in a 4-game sweep of the Indians, and he also made one of the most famous defensive plays in history when he made an over-the-shoulder running grab to save 2 runs in the 8th inning of game 1.

The next season he was even better, leading the league with 51 homers and 382 total bases, but he finished #4 in the MVP voting when the Giants failed to reach the playoffs. The next year he became the second player ever to join the 30-30 club, finishing with 36 homers and a league-leading 40 steals. In his first 3 full seasons after his rookie season, he had led the league in hitting, homers, and steals, showing his all-around acumen.

He led the league in steals in each of the next 3 seasons as well, which bridged the Giants' move from New York to San Francisco. He continued his high level of play for many more years, finishing among the top 10 of the MVP voting for 10 straight seasons from 1957 to 1966.

He had his two best seasons in 1964 and 1965, when he hit 47 and 52 home runs, respectively, both times tops in the league. The 10 year gap between his two 50-home run seasons is the longest in history, which shows his longevity he had as well. He was also given his second MVP in 1965, 11 years after winning his first.

From that point on, his productivity started to slip, but he played on until 1973, when he reached the World Series with the New York Mets, becoming the oldest starting position player ever in the championship round. Though they lost that year, giving him just one win in his 4 World Series appearances, his regular season numbers are among the best ever.

Mays is #3 all-time in total bases, #5 in home runs, #7 in runs, and #12 in hits and RBI. He is one of only 4 players with 3000 hits and 600 home runs, along with Hank Aaron, Albert Pujols, and Alex Rodriguez. He holds the record for most All-Star games played, with 24 (there were multiples All-Star games for a few seasons), and is absolutely one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #37 - Joe Morgan

Joe Morgan

Joe Morgan was one of the shorter modern baseball players, but he was the driving force behind the Big Red Machine because he did all of the little things very well.

Morgan debuted with the Houston Colt .45's in 1963, playing in only a few games over his first couple of seasons before the team became the Astros, and he became the starting second baseman. During that first full season, he led the league with 97 walks, which would become one of his trademarks, and came in #2 in the Rookie of the Year race.

He played with Houston through 1971, becoming a little better each year, and in his final 3 seasons with the Astros he stole at least 40 bases and drew at least 80 walks. The team did not feel like he was a powerful enough hitter, so he was traded to Cincinnati in a blockbuster deal that turned out much better for the Reds than for the Astros.

Immediately upon arriving in Cincinnati, Morgan became the best batter in baseball. He led the league in runs, walks, and on-base percentage in his first season there, and over his first 5 seasons with the Reds remained the best position player in baseball, scoring at least 100 runs, stealing at least 50 bases, and knocking in at least 110 runs in each of those seasons, while leading the league in on-base percentage in 4 of those seasons.

He received many MVP votes in those first 3 seasons, and finally broke through in 1975 and 1976, winning the award back-to-back when he raised his batting average over .320 for the first two times. The Reds also made the playoffs in 4 of those season, reaching 3 World Series, with Morgan playing well in all 3. In 1972, he walked 6 times and stole 2 bases in a 7-game loss to Oakland, and between 1975 and 1976, he walked a total of 15 times in 17 games as the Reds won back-to-back titles.

He was still the best player in the NL in 1977, marking 6 straight seasons at the top, but didn't even receive an MVP vote, probably because his numbers had dipped slightly from his dominant MVP seasons. After a couple more All-Star level seasons in Cincinnati, he left town as a free agent, and he spent the next 5 years going from Houston to San Francisco to Philadelphia to Oakland, making good contributions at all of those stops.

Morgan today stands at #11 in stolen bases, despite never leading the league in that category, and is #5 on the all-time walks list. He won two MVP awards, and probably should have won several more, and was also an important part of 2 World Series champions and two other World Series teams. He may not have been a big man, but he was a strong performer, and one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #51 - Carlos Beltran

Carlos Beltran

Carlos Beltran is the most recent retiree on this list, having left the game after finally winning the World Series last year, a fitting close to a great 20-year career.

Beltran joined the Kansas City Royals near the end of the 1998 season, so he was still officially a rookie in 1999, when he batted .293 with 108 RBI to win the Rookie of the Year award. He missed a good chunk of the following season, and slumped so badly he lost his starting job, but won it back before the 2001 season.

During his entire career, Beltran only led the league in a category once, games played in 2002, when he didn't miss a game. Even though he wasn't dominant in the regular season, he was one of the better players in the league for several years, and he always played well in the playoffs, earning him the nickname Senor Octubre.

He was traded to the Houston Astros halfway through the 2004 season, where he was able to have his first and best playoff performance. Though the Astros failed to reach the World Series, Beltran tied Barry Bonds' playoff record with 8 home runs in a single postseason, which was incredible for only playing 12 games. He hit home runs in 5 straight games, a postseason record at the time, and hit a gamewinner in Game 4 of the NLCS.

Beltran signed with the Mets following that season, which is where he would spend the most time in his career. He had his best year there in 2006, setting career highs in runs, home runs, walks, and RBI, and he finished #4 in the MVP voting, his highest career finish. In that year's NLCS, he was great again, batting .296 with 3 home runs, but it wasn't enough to reach the World Series yet again.

He was traded again just before his contract expired, this time to San Francisco, and again he was a short-term rental. He left to sign with the Cardinals after the season, and in 2013 was finally able to reach the World Series, only to lose to the Red Sox in 6 games, even after he robbed David Ortiz of a grand slam in game 1.

He left for the Yankees immediately after losing the World Series, but only played one postseason game in 2.5 years there, before being traded again just before his contract expired, joining the Rangers for the end of the 2016 season, but Texas came up short in the playoffs, so Beltran decided to go back to Houston for one final shot at a title.

He played mostly as a DH in 2017, and had the lowest batting average of his career, but the Astros were great, making it clear to the World Series. Beltran did not play much in the playoffs, getting only 3 hits in the 2 early playoff series, then batting 0 for 3 in the World Series, but he was able to go out a champion, even if he wasn't really a contributor.

Beltran was a very good all-around player, one of 5 in history to reach 400 home runs and 300 steals, and one of only 4 who also reached 2500 hits and 1000 walks, along with Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez. Beltran was always better in the playoffs, playing well enough that he should have won a couple of titles in his prime, but there is still no doubt that he belongs with the greatest players of all time.