Barry Bonds

The greatest hitter who ever lived by statistical measure — and the most controversial. Barry Bonds holds the all-time home run record at 762 and the single-season home run record at 73, set in 2001. His combination of plate discipline, bat speed and ability to hit any pitch to any part of the park made him essentially intentionally walked by pitching staffs who refused to engage him. The BALCO investigation permanently attached PED allegations to his most productive seasons and he has never been inducted into the Hall of Fame despite unanimous statistical qualification.

Barry Lamar Bonds was born in Riverside, California in 1964, the son of former All-Star Bobby Bonds and godson of Willie Mays. Pittsburgh Pirates selected him sixth overall in the 1985 MLB Draft. His 22-season career produced 762 home runs — the all-time record — and seven NL MVP awards — the most in MLB history. He won the World Series with the Giants in 2002 — losing in seven games to the Anaheim Angels. He holds the single-season home run record with 73 in 2001. He is the only player to hit 500 home runs and steal 500 bases. He won eight Gold Gloves for his left field defence. His career has been inseparable from the steroids era — he admitted to using substances he said he did not know were steroids, as revealed during the BALCO investigation in 2003. He was convicted of obstruction of justice in 2011 in relation to grand jury testimony, though the conviction was overturned on appeal in 2015. His Hall of Fame candidacy was repeatedly blocked during his ten years of eligibility on the writers' ballot due to the PED controversy. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024 via the Classic Baseball Era Committee. On pure statistics he produced one of the greatest offensive careers in baseball history.

Left-handed power hitter with exceptional plate discipline

Greatest power hitter in baseball history with 762 career home runs

• MLB Home Run Record (762)
• NL MVP 7x
• World Series appearance
• Gold Glove 8x