Continuing my series on the best hitter, starting pitcher, and relief pitcher of each decade I am moving backwards now to the best hitter of the 1990s. Barry Bonds is the selection. Bonds is also the best hitter of the 2000s. I'm pretty sure he'll be the only player to be selected as the "best of" of two decades, but we'll see.

People often mistakenly claim that Ken Griffey was the best hitter of the 90s. That claim is based mostly on the fact that Griffey hit a lot of home runs in '97 and '98 (56 each year) and more so on an ignorance of the importance of not getting out (ie getting on base.) It's also based on the fact that people think Ken Griffey is a jolly good guy while they think Barry Bonds is a big headed jerk (who did steroids/hgh/killed children/whatever.) Hopefully that spurious Ken Griffey BS can be put to rest in this here article. Read on...

Look at some of the stat leaders for the 1990s to start getting an idea why Bonds ranks #1 among all 1990s hitters.

OPS+ Leaders For The 1990s. (min. PA 3000)
1. Barry Bonds 179
2. Mark McGwire 173
3. Frank Thomas 169
4. Jeff Bagwell 160
5. Mike Piazza 157
6. Edgar Martinez 153
7. Ken Griffey 152
8. Albert Belle 149
9. Manny Ramirez 147
10. Jim Thome 146

Home Run Leaders For The 1990s
1. Mark McGwire 405
2. Ken Griffey 382
3. Barry Bonds 361
4. Albert Belle 351
5. Juan Gonzalez 339
6. Sammy Sosa 332
7. Rafael Palmeiro 328
8. Jose Canseco 303
9. Frank Thomas 301
10. Fred McGriff & Matt Williams 300

OBP Leaders For The 1990s
1. Frank Thomas .440
2. Barry Bonds .434
3. Edgar Martinez .430
4. Jeff Bagwell .416
5. Rickey Henderson .412
6. Jim Thome .412
7. Mark McGwire .411
8. John Olerud .406
9. Garry Sheffield .401
10. Manny Ramirez .399
...
29. Ken Griffey .384

SLG Leaders For The 1990s
1. Mark McGwire .615
2. Barry Bonds .602
3. Albert Belle .581
4. Ken Griffey .581
5. Juan Gonzalez .576
6. Manny Ramirez .576
7. Mike Piazza .575
8. Frank Thomas .573
9. Larry Walker .571
10. Jim Thome .547

Along with ranking in the top 3 in all of the above statistics, Barry Bonds also led the 90s in OPS, Runs, Walks, IBB, & Runs Created. He's a very close 3rd in RBI (only 23 behind Belle for first.) 3rd in Extra Base Hits (9 behind Belle.) Bonds also finished 6th in the 90s in stolen bases. Although stealing bases isn't technically part of "hitting" it is included in what I mean by it which is overall offensive production.

Bonds Vs. Griffey: Not Actually Even Close.

If the battle between Bonds and Griffey was really that close (and it's not) then Bonds would easily be pushed ahead anyway by his huge lead in stolen bases (343 to 151.)

The only stats I can find where Griffey greatly outranks Bonds? Strikeouts & Outs. Griffey was 21st in the 90s with 901 strikeouts while Bonds was 53rd with 747. Griffey was 14th in the 90s with 3913 outs. Bonds was 32nd with 3606.

Also interesting to note is that while Griffey did have more home runs than Bonds during the '90s that's mostly a product of Griffey's lack of discipline (comparatively) at the plate. Griffey walked a lot less than Bonds and thus got a lot more at bats. Griffey's 90s home run ratio was one home run every 14.1 at bats. Bonds' hit a home run every 13.6 at bats in the 90s.

Another interesting point is that Barry Bonds won three MVP awards in the NL in the 1990s. Griffey only one won MVP in the AL. Meanwhile Juan Gonzalez & Frank Thomas both won two.

So please put it to rest people of the baseball universe. Ken Griffey Jr. was not the best hitter of the 1990s. No. The correct answer is Barry Lamar Bonds.

Mark McGwire & Frank Thomas

I'd also like to point out you can probably make a better argument for Frank Thomas or Mark McGwire than for Griffey. But ultimately the arguments for Thomas and McGwire are pretty weak too.

McGwire was very inconsistent. He started the decade very slowly, hitting only .235 in 1990 and a putrid .201 in 1991. While McGwire put up monster home run numbers and got on base almost as good as anyone, he was never in the same class as Bonds as an all around hitter. He certainly didn't have the same speed on the basepaths. McGwire also never won an MVP award (although he was clearly robbed in 1998.) McGwire missed most of '93 & '94 with injuries.

Thomas is most hurt by the fact that he was just getting started in 1990 (he had 7 home runs in 60 games as a rookie) and he had disappointing numbers in 1998 (hit just .265 with 29 homers) and 1999 (just 15 home runs in 486 at bats.)

Barry Bonds: Far More Consistent Than The Competition

Bonds worst season of the 90s was probably 1999. But the main fault of his '99 was that he was injured. He was actually tearing the cover off the ball when he was playing. He had 34 home runs in 355 at bats that year. To further demonstrate Bonds incredible consistency in the 1990s consider this: His lowest single season OPS+ during the 1990s was his 161 in 1991, a year in which he finished second in the MVP voting (and should have won - See Terry Pendleton.) Consider that for a second: In arguably his worst season of the decade he still finished second in the MVP voting!

A worst OPS+ of the '90s comparison:

Thomas' worst was 125 in 1998.
Griffey's worst was 120 in an injury plagued 1995.
McGwire's worst was 103 in 1991.

Final Proof Of Barry Bonds Absolute Domination Of The 1990s

Pete Palmer's Batter-Fielder wins is a statistic which attempts to show how many wins a player brings to his team above that which an average replacement player would bring. This stat actually takes into consideration fielding abilities too which is beyond the scope of this article but really only makes Bonds dominance of the stat that much more impressive.

Bonds led the NL in Batter-Fielder wins in '90, '92, '93, '95, & '96
Bonds finished second in the NL in Batter-Fielder wins in '91, '94, & '98
Bonds finished third in the NL in Batter-Fielder wins in '97

The only year Bonds didn't finish in the top three? 1999 when he played only 102 games.

In comparison: Ken Griffey finished in the top 3 in the AL five times and led only once. He was 3rd three times. Mark McGwire only finished in the top 3 in his league once, that was when he led the NL in 1998. Frank Thomas finished in the top 3 in the AL three times, he also led the league only once.

Barry Lamar Bonds: Best Hitter Of The 1990s.

Labels: Barry Bonds, Best By Decade, Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey, Mark McGwire

Although there are some other fantastic relief pitchers of this decade including Trevor Hoffman (284 saves), Billy Wagner (251 saves), and Eric Gagne (177 saves), the easy choice for top relief pitcher of the decade is the New York Yankees Mariano Rivera.

Rivera leads the decade in both Saves (303) and ERA (2.20) when you add to his totals his incredible consistency and his amazing post season performances he becomes an even easier choice.

While this season has been his worst since his rookie year (19 saves, 3.46 ERA) he still has a good shot at reaching the 30 save level again and possibly bringing his ERA under 3.00, Rivera has never had an ERA above 3.00 since he became a relief pitcher in his second season (1996.)

From 2003 to 2006 Rivera had an ERA under 2.00 each season.

Rivera has been truly incredible in the playoffs. His career playoff stats: 8 Wins 1 Loss, 34 Saves and a 0.80 ERA.

While Rivera has been the best overall relief pitcher this decade, some other pitchers have had better individual seasons. These three seasons stand out from the crowd:

Eric Gagne had 55 saves with a 1.20 ERA in 2003.

Jonathan Papelbon had 35 saves with a 0.92 ERA in 2006.

John Smoltz had 45 saves and a 1.12 ERA in 2003.

Not too far behind, Rivera's best season was 2005 when he had 43 saves and a 1.38 ERA.

Labels: Best By Decade, Mariano Rivera

Continuing my series on the best players by decade I'm moving on now to the best starting pitcher of this current decade: 2000 through 2007.

Pedro Martinez gets the nod currently despite not having played this season at all and having a decidedly sub par year last season.

Why? Martinez is the only starting pitcher with 700+ innings and an ERA under 3.00 during the decade thus far. Martinez is at 2.78, while Roy Oswalt (3.08) and Randy Johnson (3.18) rank second and third in ERA respectively.

Martinez also leads the majors in winning percentage (.702) during this period with his impressive 99-42 record. Randy Johnson leads the decade in wins with 124 and in strikeouts with 1923.

Martinez won the Cy Young in the AL in 2000 with an 18-6 record and a 1.74 ERA. His ERA+ for that season, 285, is the all time single season record. Martinez followed that up ERAs of 2.39, 2.26, and 2.22 before losing his touch a bit in 2004 with a 3.90 ERA.

Johnson did win the Cy Young award in the NL in 2000, 2001, and 2002. He also won in 1999 but we'll get to that in the debate over the best starting pitcher of the 90s.

Certainly Johnson has been outstanding this decade. You could make a good argument that he, and not Martinez, is the best pitcher of the decade but Johnson's highs (ERA+ of 190 in 2002) aren't as high as Martinez's and his lows (ERA+ of 88 in 2006) are lower.

Top Ten In Wins 2000-2007

1. Randy Johnson 124
2. Tim Hudson 121
3. Greg Maddux 119
4. Andy Pettitte 114
5. Curt Shilling 114
6. Tom Glavine 113
7. Mike Mussina 111
8. Roy Oswalt 111
9. Bartolo Colon 110
10. Barry Zito 110

Pedro isn't on the list until #19 with his 99 wins. This is due to his injury problems mostly. Pedro's fragility is the best argument against him. If he can't come back with strong showings the rest of this year and in 2008 and 2009 he'll most likely lose his title of the best pitcher of the 00s despite his amazing peak at the beginning of the decade.

And before you go too long thinking that win totals are that important consider that #14 on the list is Livan Hernandez (104) whose ERA+ for the decade is 102 or barely above average. Certainly it seems to show health and longevity more than anything else as Hernandez actually leads the decade in innings pitched with 1783.

Labels: Best By Decade, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson

A new feature here at BigShowBaseball.com is going to be a look at the best hitters and pitchers of each decade. I'm going to start in the present and make my way back.

The first period is 2000 to 2007 (through yesterday's games.) Of course there are 2+ seasons left in this decade so we'll have to come back to take another look at the end of 2009.

So then, who is the best hitter of the 2000s? The answer should be no surprise. Barry Bonds. Bonds won 4 consecutive NL MVP awards from 2001 to 2004 and should have won the award in 2000 as well. The 5 years by Bonds from 2000 to 2004 is arguably the greatest 5 year span in the history of baseball by any hitter, thus Bonds is the easy choice for the best hitter of this decade despite missing most of 2005 with injury and being far less successful in 2006 and thus far in 2007.

The OPS+ leaders for this period leave no doubt about Bonds complete dominance during this decade.

OPS+ leaders for 2000 to 2007 (2000 PA MIN.)

1. Barry Bonds 224
2. Albert Pujols 169
3. Jason Giambi 163
4. Manny Ramirez 163
5. Alex Rodriguez 155

Considering the above numbers it's no surprise that Bonds also dominates the slugging percentage leaders for the decade (Bonds is at .726, Pujols is second at .622) and OBP leaders (Bonds is at a Godlike .519.)

How about Home Runs? Alex Rodriguez does lead in home runs during this period with 351 but Bonds is second at 309 despite missing almost all of 2005 and having nearly 1500 less at bats than A-Rod.

Batting Average? Discounting Todd Helton (which one should always do any player with inflated Colorado numbers) Bonds is 4th in batting average during this period despite his .270 average last year and .269 thus far this year. His overall batting average from '00-'07 is .323 which is behind only Suzuki 's .333, Pujols' .330, & Guerrero's .329 batting average.

One of the most revealing stats (both of Bonds dominance and the lack of protection Bonds receives in the Giants weak lineup) is the fact that during the 2000s thus far Bonds has more than double the amount of IBB of any other player. Bonds has been intentionally walked 381 times this decade. Vladimir Guerrero is second with 186.

The real question is not who is #1 as that is obviously Bonds but who is #2? It looks to be close between Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez. I would give Rodriguez the advantage because it is so close and Rodriguez has the benefit of playing (and playing great) in 2000 when Pujols did not enter the Majors until 2001.

Labels: Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Best By Decade