Today's Fun Fact

by Jeff Sullivan on Feb 18, 2011 1:02 PM PST in Seattle Mariners Stats

Something I like to do every now and then is peruse through the Baseball-Reference leaderboards. I never uncover anything Earth-shattering, but there are always fun little nuggets. Things I didn't know, or - better - things I used to know but haven't thought about for a while. Luis Gonzalez hitting 57 home runs. Jay Bell laying down 39 sac bunts in 1990, then slugging 38 home runs in 1999. Hughie Jennings getting beaned 51 times in 1896.

The leaderboard that really caught my eye today, though, was this one. Everyone knows that Barry Bonds got intentionally walked all the time. I think everyone remembers that, for a few years, there, he pretty much never got a pitch to hit (and still slugged .800). But in 2004, Barry Bonds was intentionally walked 120 times. 120 times. You can know that, and you can say that out loud, but it takes a while to sink in. If it ever sinks in.

From the single-season board, I moved over to the career board. Bonds, naturally, is the all-time leader in intentional walks, with 688. In second place? Hank Aaron, with 293. That's a gap of 395, or 135%.

And that's 688 career intentional walks in the regular season, mind you. Bonds also drew 21 in the playoffs, for a grand total of 709.

That number made me curious, so I started digging back through Seattle Mariners franchise history. Long story short: May 22nd, 1995.

Since May 22nd, 1995 - spanning 2,584 regular season and playoff games and nearly 100,000 plate appearances - the Seattle Mariners have drawn 708 intentional walks.

This team has had guys who draw a lot of free passes. Griffey. Ichiro. Edgar. Olerud. And still, Barry Bonds drew more intentional walks than this team has in nearly its last 16 years of existence.

For a second comparison, the Rays have drawn 377 intentional walks since they became a thing.

There are times when I wonder if people properly appreciate the unthinkability of Barry Bonds' statistics. There are other times when I wonder if doing that is even possible.

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Comments

This was actually a fun fact!

Bonds was really good. I still wonder what kind of production a team could have gotten out of him had they signed him after 2007.

Milton Bradley is my hero. R.I.P. Dave Niehaus

by SeaKoala on Feb 18, 2011 1:13 PM PST reply actions

For me, 120 intentional walks in one season, for one player, is always going to be a little unfathomable

by Gihyou on Feb 18, 2011 1:13 PM PST reply actions

I don't know what I would do without baseball-reference.

I enjoy perusing the random player pages. Its amazing how many guys have interesting careers.

by Kenneth Arthur on Feb 18, 2011 1:14 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

It's going to be so freaking outrageous when he's left off the 1st ballot

and this is why. Yes, he probably took steroids. But come on. The guy was easily one of the best hitters in baseball history with or without them. Just watch what he did to fellow juicer eric gagne in that one at bat that one time!!!

Seriously though. He was incredible. His BR page reads like it’s from a video game. Thanks for the love

Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, WORLD CHAMPION SAN FRANCISCO GIANT
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs
11/1/10

by bondslegend on Feb 18, 2011 1:15 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

Please everybody let's not reignite the ZOMGSTERIODS!11!!! debate

(this wasn’t directed at you, bondslegend, but at anybody who might feel tempted to reply…)

by pdb on Feb 18, 2011 1:31 PM PST up reply actions

Did anyone see the NOVA Science NOW where Neil Degrasse Tyson was looking for meteorites in the desert?

by LonelyintheBleachers on Feb 18, 2011 2:07 PM PST up reply actions

I did!

With the magnet on the end of the golf club.

by wazzu93 on Feb 18, 2011 6:18 PM PST up reply actions

I want my Pluto back!

OOOOOH!!!!! That was NASTY!!!!!!!!

by bmxnw on Feb 18, 2011 10:16 PM PST up reply actions

That was an interesting game

The Giants still lost, since Gagne recovered to nail his 66th straight save

Milton Bradley drove in all 3 Dodger runs… all 3 were groundouts that drove in Dave Roberts.

Odalis Perez pitched 8 innings of 2-hit, shutout ball. Odalis Perez had an ERA+ of 126 that year, pitched almost 200 innings (31 starts) and ended with a record of 7-6. The low number of decisions is more Felix-esque than Felix’s 2010. Both hits were doubles to Edgardo Alfonzo.

The other pitcher, Jason Schmidt, had a no-hitter going into the 6th (despite giving up a run to a Bradley groundout in the 1st). It was his first game back since offseason surgery, and despite the odd performance, declared after the game “I got out of there with my arm still attached.”

Baseball is fun.

I am going to come into your house at night and rec up the place.

by HititHere on Feb 18, 2011 2:31 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs

Many things Bonds did from the batter's box were unfathomable.

Calling his performance over the course of his career incredible just doesn’t seem to do it justice. What Albert Pujols is doing is incredible. What Manny Ramirez did was incredible. Edgar is on the bubble of that group, but probably not in it. That’s how incredible their performances have been.

What Bonds did was utterly absurd. In 21 seasons with 100+ games played, he led the league in intentional walks 12 times, including 7 of his first 13 seasons (interestingly, he failed to do so in his 73 homer campaign of 2001, when Sosa edged him out with 37 IBB’s compared to Bonds’ 35. I guess Bonds kind of snuck up on everyone. A ninja Bonds, you might say.)

Stranded In Paradise

by misterjonez on Feb 18, 2011 2:25 PM PST reply actions

I would say Albert is closer to Bonds than he is to Manny.

I was actually thinking about something like this the other day when looking at Miguel Cabrera’s numbers and career. He’s having a Hall of Fame career, but I wouldn’t put him anywhere near the class of Pujols.

Pujols and Bonds are not really similar players, but I’d say the both are in that class of “there’s no word for how good they are” above the Manny’s and the rest of baseball.

by Kenneth Arthur on Feb 18, 2011 2:35 PM PST up reply actions

And according to Fangraphs WAR graphs...

You’re right, he is. Manny is pretty far below Albert, actually. He’s almost exactly where Edgar is.

On a related note, wow, what a WEIRD career arc Edgar had.

http://www.fangraphs.com/graphsw.aspx?playerid2=1177&playerid3=210&playerid4=1109&playerid5=1086

by Patrick42 on Feb 18, 2011 3:32 PM PST up reply actions

I go look at Bonds' career numbers and it makes my eyes bleed

Trying to put Bonds’ numbers in perspective is like trying to comprehend the vast distances in the cosmos. They’re simply too large to wrap our minds around.

by nathaniel dawson on Feb 18, 2011 2:58 PM PST reply actions

Beyond the box score had a fanshot about Bonds' IBB a few days ago

Listing active players who have fewer career BB (Link)

Yuni is #1 with 104 BB in 3057 PA (and counting)

by Jaejo on Feb 18, 2011 2:59 PM PST reply actions

Some guys have nice swings... say, Junior. He had a beautiful swing.

Bonds in his prime looked like he was brutalizing the ball with a 2 × 4. And the ball had just gotten done snookering his wife.

SMASH!!!

I am going to come into your house at night and rec up the place.

by HititHere on Feb 18, 2011 3:20 PM PST reply actions

I know this has been said so many times..

Bonds had those insane seasons at around 40..

And the only player who really had a comparable peak, Ruth (yeah.. Wow.), had HIS peak around the normal years. That’s how whacked out Bonds was, and how much of a difference his decision to ’roid up (sigh) and change his playing style affected him.

It launched him from “Damn what a good player, definite first ballot hall of famer” in to “Holy SHIT” territory.

by Patrick42 on Feb 18, 2011 3:35 PM PST up reply actions

No holes either. He could square up and drive anything in the zone.

Griffey!

by Big Jared on Feb 18, 2011 5:37 PM PST up reply actions

Somewhat related, being a big number that shattered the previous record.

I’ve always liked the fact that before Babe Ruth, the career home run record belonged to Roger Conner with 138. So Ruth hit 517% more homeruns than the previous career leader. For a player to do that today, they would have to hit 3,942 HR.

by Noah Jarosh on Feb 18, 2011 3:32 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

On a related note.

Hank Aaron was INSANELY consistent.

Look at his line on the second graph, nth best season:
http://www.fangraphs.com/graphsw.aspx?playerid2=1177&playerid3=1000001&playerid4=1109&playerid5=1011327

It’s practically FLAT. He was worth around 8 WAR essentially every year of his career, except the very beginning and very end.

Basically, for most of his career, he was the best or one of the very best players in the league, every year.. Without ever really blowing away the field completely.

by Patrick42 on Feb 18, 2011 3:39 PM PST reply actions