Quote:
Originally Posted by Runscott
John, since it is all about one critical game, opinions are going to vary widely. I will take a season of Bonds but one game from Carlos Beltean
I almost put Dave Henderson and Scott Rolen on my team just because of a couple of key clutch performances I saw.
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Obviously people can have their own opinion in something like this, but I don't see anyone better.
I think if you remember the early playoff Bonds, you remember someone that tried too hard to win and got out of his game, or just didn't play well under pressure. I would not take the Pirates version in a critical game, even though he was perhaps the best player in the game then.
When he was at his best, he was a machine that most people who didn't see him daily, don't give him credit for. He had the tiniest strike zone in the business, stood on top of the plate due to that body armor they let him wear and he never swung at a bad pitch. That Bonds was so zoned in(plus the umpires basically let him call strikes) that he would be perfect on any team. Most people just think steroids, but if you watched him everyday(thank you MLB package for his last five years), you saw the perfect hitter. He was basically playing t-ball and even Mario Mendoza could have been a great player if every pitch he swung at was right down the middle.