Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.
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My story is actually forum related...I’m a huge dodger fan and have seen any decent dodger play since the early nineties. But, last year I was reading a post on this forum about mike trout and Mickey mantle on a Sunday morning. There was some debate about who’s better and what not...
And I though, shoot, Mickey mantle plays down from the street from me and I’ve never seen him play. So, I grabbed my five year old and said we’re going to see mike trout.
The tickets literally cost 5 dollars a piece and I’m his first at bat trout hits the ball over the center field wall. He also hit a double later in the game. From this experience, I now have two regrets
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it was against the rangers and i really wanted to see gallo hit a bomb.
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now my son’s favorite team is the angels. It was calendar day at the park and he won’t let me throw away the calendar. He only one left saving is my two year old daughter.
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@nflman2033 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
As much as I hate his guys, statistically speaking, the answer is Barry Bonds, both as a Pirate and a Giant.
Ignoring Bonds, I would say Ken Griffey Jr., but by the time he got to Cincinnati, he was a shell of his former self. I may have to go with Tony Gwynn, at least in the early 90s he was still great. Saw Glavine and Smoltz, but never got to see Maddux or the big unit live.
Best game I went to, well most memorable, I was at the brawl between the Reds and Cardinals, where Molina and Phillips had words at the plate right in the bottom of the first, Cueto kicked LaRue I believe. Quite a nasty site as bad as anything I have ever seen at a hockey game.
Shoot. I forgot about Barry. I sat in the right field seats on opening day at dodger stadium one year and the guy must have hit the ball a good 20 rows behind me. It was unbelievable.
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I was at NLDS game 4, it was magical
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I’m not sure exactly what the poll is about from reading the title, so instead I’ll just mention the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen live. 1992 at Candlestick. Bill Swift had come to Giants from the Mariners and he was grinding the NL to powder with his heavy gravity sinker. He was 5-0 already. The filthy Dodgers were in town, with Darryl Strawberry in tow. As an aside, a lot of people forget how much raw talent Straw had before he became a tragic character.
I’m sitting in the right field second deck Outfield loge seats, row 1. We are pretty high in the air. Swift throws a sinker but leaves it high. High sinkers, as everyone knows, lose their break and become bad fastballs.
Straw uncorks his whiplash swing and tunes up the flat sinker. There’s a crack like a rifle shot. Even though we are in second deck, people start standing up because it looks like it might make it up to us.
The ball is behaving oddly. Instead of traveling in an arc, it’s just going up... and up.
And over our heads. Midway up the Third deck. It didn’t even seem real. Straw was so far away he looked like an ant rounding the bases.
Moral of the story:
HIGH SINKERS DONT BREAK SIDEWAYS AND HUMILIATE HITTERS. THEY FLATTEN OUT AND GET SMOKED!(Also saw the giants win two WS games against KC)
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@MathMan5072 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@nflman2033 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
As much as I hate his guys, statistically speaking, the answer is Barry Bonds, both as a Pirate and a Giant.
Ignoring Bonds, I would say Ken Griffey Jr., but by the time he got to Cincinnati, he was a shell of his former self. I may have to go with Tony Gwynn, at least in the early 90s he was still great. Saw Glavine and Smoltz, but never got to see Maddux or the big unit live.
Best game I went to, well most memorable, I was at the brawl between the Reds and Cardinals, where Molina and Phillips had words at the plate right in the bottom of the first, Cueto kicked LaRue I believe. Quite a nasty site as bad as anything I have ever seen at a hockey game.
Shoot. I forgot about Barry. I sat in the right field seats on opening day at dodger stadium one year and the guy must have hit the ball a good 20 rows behind me. It was unbelievable.
Such a shame. As much as I dislike him, Barry was great before ever touching a needle. The talent was unquestionable. But the jealousy bug got him, he just couldn’t stand seeing players he considered inferior surpassing him (McGwire). That season where he hit .370 and a ton of home runs was amazing, not for the counting stats but because he walked almost every at bat, rarely swung, but when he did it was “perfect/perfect”. That isn’t just roids.
.370 46 hr 110 rbi. 47 strikeouts. 198 BB!!!
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@Namtrah22 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
I mean obviously the best player I’ve seen live is Miguel Cabrera hundreds of time and I’m thankful for that. Best game I’ve been to sitting behind home plate during Armando Galarraga’ Imperfect perfect game. JIM JOYCE BLEW IT. I was in middle school or freshman in high school and wrote a letter to Bud Selig to get him to reverse the call. (He never responded)
I am a die hard cubs fan and when i visited my bro in boston we saw the tigers a few years back and watching miggy just show that effortless power and oppo power was just nuts. Believe he had three extra base hits and two were off the wall in right field.
Will never forget that swing live! -
Best individual performances I’ve seen were Roger Clemens striking out 18 Astros while with the Jays (absolutely dominant), and A-rod, who I was incredibly excited to see for the first time, going 4-5 with 3hrs and 7rbi with Seattle in a rout of the Jays (final score was like 19-7 I think).
Best game? Without a doubt, game 5 of the ALDS in 2015, aka the bat flip game. That was the most exhilarating and emotional game to which I’ve ever been. The highs and lows were unlike anything I’ve experienced at a baseball game. 50,000 people screaming, shocked, raging, cheering, crying, celebrating, and hugging complete strangers......and that was just the 7th inning.
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@vox_pestis said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@MathMan5072 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@nflman2033 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
As much as I hate his guys, statistically speaking, the answer is Barry Bonds, both as a Pirate and a Giant.
Ignoring Bonds, I would say Ken Griffey Jr., but by the time he got to Cincinnati, he was a shell of his former self. I may have to go with Tony Gwynn, at least in the early 90s he was still great. Saw Glavine and Smoltz, but never got to see Maddux or the big unit live.
Best game I went to, well most memorable, I was at the brawl between the Reds and Cardinals, where Molina and Phillips had words at the plate right in the bottom of the first, Cueto kicked LaRue I believe. Quite a nasty site as bad as anything I have ever seen at a hockey game.
Shoot. I forgot about Barry. I sat in the right field seats on opening day at dodger stadium one year and the guy must have hit the ball a good 20 rows behind me. It was unbelievable.
Such a shame. As much as I dislike him, Barry was great before ever touching a needle. The talent was unquestionable. But the jealousy bug got him, he just couldn’t stand seeing players he considered inferior surpassing him (McGwire). That season where he hit .370 and a ton of home runs was amazing, not for the counting stats but because he walked almost every at bat, rarely swung, but when he did it was “perfect/perfect”. That isn’t just roids.
.370 46 hr 110 rbi. 47 strikeouts. 198 BB!!!
He just made the perfect villain though, especially if you’re a dodger fan. He was incredibly good, he didn’t hesitate to tell you how good he was, he was a cheater, he broke several sacred records, and did I mention that he was really good. The crazy thing is I believe he could’ve have done all of it without the steroids. Unfortunately we’ll never know. But it was still amazing to see what the guy could do on a baseball field.
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@vox_pestis said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@MathMan5072 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@nflman2033 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
As much as I hate his guys, statistically speaking, the answer is Barry Bonds, both as a Pirate and a Giant.
Ignoring Bonds, I would say Ken Griffey Jr., but by the time he got to Cincinnati, he was a shell of his former self. I may have to go with Tony Gwynn, at least in the early 90s he was still great. Saw Glavine and Smoltz, but never got to see Maddux or the big unit live.
Best game I went to, well most memorable, I was at the brawl between the Reds and Cardinals, where Molina and Phillips had words at the plate right in the bottom of the first, Cueto kicked LaRue I believe. Quite a nasty site as bad as anything I have ever seen at a hockey game.
Shoot. I forgot about Barry. I sat in the right field seats on opening day at dodger stadium one year and the guy must have hit the ball a good 20 rows behind me. It was unbelievable.
Such a shame. As much as I dislike him, Barry was great before ever touching a needle. The talent was unquestionable. But the jealousy bug got him, he just couldn’t stand seeing players he considered inferior surpassing him (McGwire). That season where he hit .370 and a ton of home runs was amazing, not for the counting stats but because he walked almost every at bat, rarely swung, but when he did it was “perfect/perfect”. That isn’t just roids.
.370 46 hr 110 rbi. 47 strikeouts. 198 BB!!!
Check out the espn info on bonds intentional walks. Insane.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29101206/one-wild-record-probably-know-all-30-mlb-teams
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Kris Bryant
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@MathMan5072 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@vox_pestis said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@MathMan5072 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@nflman2033 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
As much as I hate his guys, statistically speaking, the answer is Barry Bonds, both as a Pirate and a Giant.
Ignoring Bonds, I would say Ken Griffey Jr., but by the time he got to Cincinnati, he was a shell of his former self. I may have to go with Tony Gwynn, at least in the early 90s he was still great. Saw Glavine and Smoltz, but never got to see Maddux or the big unit live.
Best game I went to, well most memorable, I was at the brawl between the Reds and Cardinals, where Molina and Phillips had words at the plate right in the bottom of the first, Cueto kicked LaRue I believe. Quite a nasty site as bad as anything I have ever seen at a hockey game.
Shoot. I forgot about Barry. I sat in the right field seats on opening day at dodger stadium one year and the guy must have hit the ball a good 20 rows behind me. It was unbelievable.
Such a shame. As much as I dislike him, Barry was great before ever touching a needle. The talent was unquestionable. But the jealousy bug got him, he just couldn’t stand seeing players he considered inferior surpassing him (McGwire). That season where he hit .370 and a ton of home runs was amazing, not for the counting stats but because he walked almost every at bat, rarely swung, but when he did it was “perfect/perfect”. That isn’t just roids.
.370 46 hr 110 rbi. 47 strikeouts. 198 BB!!!
He just made the perfect villain though, especially if you’re a dodger fan. He was incredibly good, he didn’t hesitate to tell you how good he was, he was a cheater, he broke several sacred records, and did I mention that he was really good. The crazy thing is I believe he could’ve have done all of it without the steroids. Unfortunately we’ll never know. But it was still amazing to see what the guy could do on a baseball field.
The thing with Barry though is that he’s just as much a victim as he is a villain. Barry Bonds was Mike Trout before anyone even looked at WAR. He was a victim of being under appreciated and his talent was evaluated differently in the era he played. Counting stats were what got the attention. If Bonds had been evaluated then in the way we view Trout now, the narrative around him would be different and perhaps he never would’ve sought the attention he craved because his greatness would’ve been appreciated and recognized at the time.
He may not have been the most likeable personality, but his prickly relationship with the media also stemmed from his frustrations in his lack of recognition as the best player in the game. In 1996, Barry put up a 40/40 season worth 9.7 WAR and finished 5th in the NL MVP vote. Two years later, Sammy Sosa won the NL MVP with 66hrs and a 6.5 WAR. That same season, Mark McGwire hit 70hrs and posted a 7.5 WAR, finishing 2nd in NL MVP voting. Barry Bonds that season? His 37hrs were barely half as many as McGwire’s. Barry finished 8th in NL MVP voting despite posting an NL best 8.1 WAR for position players. They were different times and different metrics were used to measure these guys.
I’m not a live or die by WAR kind of guy, but it’s so easy to see how under appreciated he was in his time, and easy to see how it could motivate him to do what he thought was necessary to receive the recognition he thought he deserved.
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Braves vs pirates 19 innings. As a pirates fan, watching them get screwed by a call at home plate was disappointing to say the least. Was a good time otherwise.
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@ilvmyjeep said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@MathMan5072 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@vox_pestis said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@MathMan5072 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@nflman2033 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
As much as I hate his guys, statistically speaking, the answer is Barry Bonds, both as a Pirate and a Giant.
Ignoring Bonds, I would say Ken Griffey Jr., but by the time he got to Cincinnati, he was a shell of his former self. I may have to go with Tony Gwynn, at least in the early 90s he was still great. Saw Glavine and Smoltz, but never got to see Maddux or the big unit live.
Best game I went to, well most memorable, I was at the brawl between the Reds and Cardinals, where Molina and Phillips had words at the plate right in the bottom of the first, Cueto kicked LaRue I believe. Quite a nasty site as bad as anything I have ever seen at a hockey game.
Shoot. I forgot about Barry. I sat in the right field seats on opening day at dodger stadium one year and the guy must have hit the ball a good 20 rows behind me. It was unbelievable.
Such a shame. As much as I dislike him, Barry was great before ever touching a needle. The talent was unquestionable. But the jealousy bug got him, he just couldn’t stand seeing players he considered inferior surpassing him (McGwire). That season where he hit .370 and a ton of home runs was amazing, not for the counting stats but because he walked almost every at bat, rarely swung, but when he did it was “perfect/perfect”. That isn’t just roids.
.370 46 hr 110 rbi. 47 strikeouts. 198 BB!!!
He just made the perfect villain though, especially if you’re a dodger fan. He was incredibly good, he didn’t hesitate to tell you how good he was, he was a cheater, he broke several sacred records, and did I mention that he was really good. The crazy thing is I believe he could’ve have done all of it without the steroids. Unfortunately we’ll never know. But it was still amazing to see what the guy could do on a baseball field.
The thing with Barry though is that he’s just as much a victim as he is a villain. Barry Bonds was Mike Trout before anyone even looked at WAR. He was a victim of being under appreciated and his talent was evaluated differently in the era he played. Counting stats were what got the attention. If Bonds had been evaluated then in the way we view Trout now, the narrative around him would be different and perhaps he never would’ve sought the attention he craved because his greatness would’ve been appreciated and recognized at the time.
He may not have been the most likeable personality, but his prickly relationship with the media also stemmed from his frustrations in his lack of recognition as the best player in the game. In 1996, Barry put up a 40/40 season worth 9.7 WAR and finished 5th in the NL MVP vote. Two years later, Sammy Sosa won the NL MVP with 66hrs and a 6.5 WAR. That same season, Mark McGwire hit 70hrs and posted a 7.5 WAR, finishing 2nd in NL MVP voting. Barry Bonds that season? His 37hrs were barely half as many as McGwire’s. Barry finished 8th in NL MVP voting despite posting an NL best 8.1 WAR for position players. They were different times and different metrics were used to measure these guys.
I’m not a live or die by WAR kind of guy, but it’s so easy to see how under appreciated he was in his time, and easy to see how it could motivate him to do what he thought was necessary to receive the recognition he thought he deserved.
This is very good point, but unfortunately it doesn’t matter to other fanbases. To be contrary though, it’s not like he wasn’t appreciated. He had multiple MVP years before Sosa and McGwire hit the scene.
I’m not disagreeing with you. It’s just too bad i guess for baseball fans.
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@ilvmyjeep said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@MathMan5072 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@vox_pestis said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@MathMan5072 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@nflman2033 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
As much as I hate his guys, statistically speaking, the answer is Barry Bonds, both as a Pirate and a Giant.
Ignoring Bonds, I would say Ken Griffey Jr., but by the time he got to Cincinnati, he was a shell of his former self. I may have to go with Tony Gwynn, at least in the early 90s he was still great. Saw Glavine and Smoltz, but never got to see Maddux or the big unit live.
Best game I went to, well most memorable, I was at the brawl between the Reds and Cardinals, where Molina and Phillips had words at the plate right in the bottom of the first, Cueto kicked LaRue I believe. Quite a nasty site as bad as anything I have ever seen at a hockey game.
Shoot. I forgot about Barry. I sat in the right field seats on opening day at dodger stadium one year and the guy must have hit the ball a good 20 rows behind me. It was unbelievable.
Such a shame. As much as I dislike him, Barry was great before ever touching a needle. The talent was unquestionable. But the jealousy bug got him, he just couldn’t stand seeing players he considered inferior surpassing him (McGwire). That season where he hit .370 and a ton of home runs was amazing, not for the counting stats but because he walked almost every at bat, rarely swung, but when he did it was “perfect/perfect”. That isn’t just roids.
.370 46 hr 110 rbi. 47 strikeouts. 198 BB!!!
He just made the perfect villain though, especially if you’re a dodger fan. He was incredibly good, he didn’t hesitate to tell you how good he was, he was a cheater, he broke several sacred records, and did I mention that he was really good. The crazy thing is I believe he could’ve have done all of it without the steroids. Unfortunately we’ll never know. But it was still amazing to see what the guy could do on a baseball field.
The thing with Barry though is that he’s just as much a victim as he is a villain. Barry Bonds was Mike Trout before anyone even looked at WAR. He was a victim of being under appreciated and his talent was evaluated differently in the era he played. Counting stats were what got the attention. If Bonds had been evaluated then in the way we view Trout now, the narrative around him would be different and perhaps he never would’ve sought the attention he craved because his greatness would’ve been appreciated and recognized at the time.
He may not have been the most likeable personality, but his prickly relationship with the media also stemmed from his frustrations in his lack of recognition as the best player in the game. In 1996, Barry put up a 40/40 season worth 9.7 WAR and finished 5th in the NL MVP vote. Two years later, Sammy Sosa won the NL MVP with 66hrs and a 6.5 WAR. That same season, Mark McGwire hit 70hrs and posted a 7.5 WAR, finishing 2nd in NL MVP voting. Barry Bonds that season? His 37hrs were barely half as many as McGwire’s. Barry finished 8th in NL MVP voting despite posting an NL best 8.1 WAR for position players. They were different times and different metrics were used to measure these guys.
I’m not a live or die by WAR kind of guy, but it’s so easy to see how under appreciated he was in his time, and easy to see how it could motivate him to do what he thought was necessary to receive the recognition he thought he deserved.
I just looked up MVP voting from 1998. There were a lot of legit players in the NL that year when you look at the statistics.
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I got to see Reggie hit a HR in my first game at Yankee Stadium. Probably not the best player I ever saw in person (Griffey Jr), but made me a Reggie fan for life.
Best game ever in person was 2001 WS game 4, Tino HR tying it with 2 outs bottom 9 / Jeter Mr. November game. Absolutely unreal atmosphere.
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Played with Alex Gordon in HS and saw him hit a HR that was still going up when it was 3/4 up the light pole in left center field. I'd say he was the best I've ever seen in person just because I got to see it on a daily basis. People knew he was special when he was 10.
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Saw Randy Johnson pitch at Wrigley.
Saw Trout play in STL last year.
Saw Pujols get a standing O last year when he hit the hone run at Busch.
Saw Alberts entire career so I was at many of those games.
Saw Bryce play his last year in DC.
The best performance I saw in person was hands down Matt Carpenter hit 3 bombs and two doubles in Wrigley. Only 2 players have done that! -
I probably don't remember honestly. It is easy to name off the best Cardinal Players I have seen
Lou Brock (I was in the stadium when he broke Ty Cobb's single season stolen base total)
Bob Gibson
Ted Simmons
Ozzie Smith
Mark McGuire
Albert Pujols
Jim Edmonds
EtcWhat I paid far too little attention to at the time were the player I saw on the opposing teams. It is likely that I saw people like Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Sammy Sosa, Andre Dawson, George Brett, and Willie Stargell play without realizing at the time how good they were.
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@ilvmyjeep said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@MathMan5072 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@vox_pestis said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@MathMan5072 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
@nflman2033 said in Best player you seen play live and or best game you seen live at the stadium.:
As much as I hate his guys, statistically speaking, the answer is Barry Bonds, both as a Pirate and a Giant.
Ignoring Bonds, I would say Ken Griffey Jr., but by the time he got to Cincinnati, he was a shell of his former self. I may have to go with Tony Gwynn, at least in the early 90s he was still great. Saw Glavine and Smoltz, but never got to see Maddux or the big unit live.
Best game I went to, well most memorable, I was at the brawl between the Reds and Cardinals, where Molina and Phillips had words at the plate right in the bottom of the first, Cueto kicked LaRue I believe. Quite a nasty site as bad as anything I have ever seen at a hockey game.
Shoot. I forgot about Barry. I sat in the right field seats on opening day at dodger stadium one year and the guy must have hit the ball a good 20 rows behind me. It was unbelievable.
Such a shame. As much as I dislike him, Barry was great before ever touching a needle. The talent was unquestionable. But the jealousy bug got him, he just couldn’t stand seeing players he considered inferior surpassing him (McGwire). That season where he hit .370 and a ton of home runs was amazing, not for the counting stats but because he walked almost every at bat, rarely swung, but when he did it was “perfect/perfect”. That isn’t just roids.
.370 46 hr 110 rbi. 47 strikeouts. 198 BB!!!
He just made the perfect villain though, especially if you’re a dodger fan. He was incredibly good, he didn’t hesitate to tell you how good he was, he was a cheater, he broke several sacred records, and did I mention that he was really good. The crazy thing is I believe he could’ve have done all of it without the steroids. Unfortunately we’ll never know. But it was still amazing to see what the guy could do on a baseball field.
The thing with Barry though is that he’s just as much a victim as he is a villain. Barry Bonds was Mike Trout before anyone even looked at WAR. He was a victim of being under appreciated and his talent was evaluated differently in the era he played. Counting stats were what got the attention. If Bonds had been evaluated then in the way we view Trout now, the narrative around him would be different and perhaps he never would’ve sought the attention he craved because his greatness would’ve been appreciated and recognized at the time.
He may not have been the most likeable personality, but his prickly relationship with the media also stemmed from his frustrations in his lack of recognition as the best player in the game. In 1996, Barry put up a 40/40 season worth 9.7 WAR and finished 5th in the NL MVP vote. Two years later, Sammy Sosa won the NL MVP with 66hrs and a 6.5 WAR. That same season, Mark McGwire hit 70hrs and posted a 7.5 WAR, finishing 2nd in NL MVP voting. Barry Bonds that season? His 37hrs were barely half as many as McGwire’s. Barry finished 8th in NL MVP voting despite posting an NL best 8.1 WAR for position players. They were different times and different metrics were used to measure these guys.
I’m not a live or die by WAR kind of guy, but it’s so easy to see how under appreciated he was in his time, and easy to see how it could motivate him to do what he thought was necessary to receive the recognition he thought he deserved.
These are excellent points sir!!! Truth be told I hated Barry growing up. Now that I’ve learned so much of what was really going on (the owners knew they were doing roids and never stopped it cuz it was necessary to “save baseball”) I 100% back him for the Hall. He’s the best hitter of all time and it’s not even close!!
