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Historically… we are so back
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Kurtenbach: The SF Giants received a billion-dollar wake-up call. They can’t afford to ignore it
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From the game yesterday (8/26)
As I stated earlier in the year, I’m a recent convert from the A’s but been following the…
been a rough season, let’s look back at happier times
been a rough season, let’s look back at happier times
8 comments
All Star selections do not correlate with skill.
Just popularity.
Negative WAR players were capable of making all-star games back then
In 1987, Bonds was a 22-year-old sophomore left fielder who had hit .223 the season before and who was hitting .250 with 13 home runs, 34 RBI, and 20 SB at the all-star break. Yes, he was generating a ton of value defensively and was a useful hitter (and he would really turn it on in the second half, batting .278/.339/.538, a 133 OPS+), but he didn’t look like an All Star at the break, especially not to coaches and voters in 1987.
In 1988, Bonds should have received more attention – at the break, he was batting .285/.374/.516. His RBI totals were lower, but he was a leadoff hitter at this point in his career. His teammates Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke looked better in 1988, though – hitting for more power and getting RBI (which of course was in large part because Bonds was getting on base ahead of them, but I don’t know that the voters were that cognizant of cause and effect at the time).
In 1989, Bonds slumped at the plate – he was really bad in the first half, hitting .204/.309/.343 at the break. Yes, he was stealing bases well, and he was playing awesome defense, but no one is getting selected for an All Star game batting .204 with mediocre power as a left fielder. The second half was much better for him – .290/.390/.503 – but he was just awful that first half.
He did hit his prime the next year and won a well-deserved MVP. But it’s not really a surprise why he wasn’t an All Star his first four years in the league – he didn’t look like an All Star to the people making the decisions at the time.
The man was worth 50 bWAR in his time with Pittsburgh. He was already a near HOFer with just his time there. But these fucks won’t put him in the HOF because the final years of his career are tainted. It’s so insane. If you just take every season pre 1998, to be safe, he had 91.8 bWAR. It is an absolute TRAVESTY to the sport of baseball that this man isn’t in the HOF. Take out his for sure cheating seasons for all I care. Take out any season post age 34 if we wanna say that’s where he should have declined. He was a god damn baseball Mount Rushmore player without those seasons. With them, he’s the GOAT. Fucking absolute joke. I will never not be upset about this.
As for the topic of this post, he was on a team that nobody cared about in Pittsburgh, and it was a time when the best players frequently missed the all star game. Hell, they still do sometimes. It’s still a popularity contest after all. Francisco Lindor wasn’t in the All Star game last year, and he was a top 3 SS by seasons end.
Bonds made 85 fewer outs than Ken Griffey Jr. did in 1,302 more plate appearances.
(This is unrelated to OP’s post. I just love that stat.)
Barry was was hall of fame worry before joing SF. Fuck the HOF
It’s almost like war wasn’t really a thing back then and by other stats he wasn’t as impressive
This may shock you but fan and writer voters were somehow even dumber back in the day!