How good a fielder was Barry Bonds in the 1990s?

[Mike90]

He won 8 gold gloves and was generally regarded as an excellent left fielder, but I'm skeptical of the media's ability to judge fielding ability. How good a fielder do you think Bonds was in his pre-Hulk days?

[brett]

SABRMatt's evaluation based on actual play by play data suggests he was only a little above average, and pretty consistent. Interestingly it also suggests that he really did not perform at a lower level in the 2000's.

[OleMissCub]

Sid Bream laughs at Bonds' fielding ability....

[Captain Cold Nose]

Sid Bream laughs at Bonds' fielding ability....

He fielded that ball cleanly. It's what happened after he fielded it . . .

[OleMissCub]

It's what happened after he fielded it . . .

He turned into Juan Pierre

[Captain Cold Nose]

He turned into Juan Pierre

I was thinking Kirk Gibson, but at least it made it past the outfield.

[Mike90]

So he had a poor arm and probably did not deserve all those gold gloves?

[west coast orange and black]

arm strength has never been the yardstick for a gold glove.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Not to pick at Barry he just happens to be a part of the thread.

Looking at a number of Gold Glovers over the years, we've all seen the following take place.
It's like if a fielder wins a couple of consecutive awards, unless he screws up big time, they are almost automatic. Like..........this guy has the rep, lets give him another one.

Don't recall, I think it was Rafael Palmeiro who got the award with only 30+ games at first base, how did that happen.

[Captain Cold Nose]

So he had a poor arm and probably did not deserve all those gold gloves?

I wasn't saying that, myself. The Bream throw is probably what he's remembered for, defensively, by those who didn't follow that aspect of his play closely. But one throw does not even mean he had a poor arm, and as WCOAB said, arm strength is not what they give gold gloves for.

It's just one throw, not an indictment for me.

[west coast orange and black]

mike90: How good a fielder do you think Bonds was in his pre-Hulk days?

i saw plenty of bonds during his 7 '90s seasons with the giants:
very quick first step; excellant path to the ball; very quick release after field/catch... but for bonds it all started with positioning. count bonds among the very few fielders to ever sit in on pitcher meetings to discuss how the club was gonna pitch to the opposition.
what bonds lacked in arm he more than made up for with the above.
and then there's his patented spin-move down the left field line to hold batters to singles.

[Mike90]

mike90: How good a fielder do you think Bonds was in his pre-Hulk days?

i saw plenty of bonds during his 7 '90s seasons with the giants:
very quick first step; excellant path to the ball; very quick release after field/catch... but for bonds it all started with positioning. count bonds among the very few fielders to ever sit in on pitcher meetings to discuss how the club was gonna pitch to the opposition.
what bonds lacked in arm he more than made up for with the above.
and then there's his patented spin-move down the left field line to hold batters to singles.

Thanks. Since I have to make my message longer, I'll just add that Bonds was clearly the best player of the 90s.

[brett]

Here is Matt's response on Bonds


Barry Bonds' PCA defense card:

Yr EqG Wins PCA-BA
1986 118 1.63 0.259 (CF)
1987 143 3.05 0.313
1988 124 1.53 0.272
1989 153 3.04 0.310
1990 146 2.15 0.283
1991 149 1.43 0.257
1992 139 1.88 0.278
1993 150 2.49 0.293
1994 108 1.50 0.279
1995 144 1.41 0.258
1996 150 1.83 0.271
1997 158 1.64 0.262
1998 154 1.70 0.265
1999 87 1.19 0.278
2000 135 1.49 0.265
2001 143 0.02 0.209
2002 127 1.76 0.279
2003 113 2.83 0.337
2004 123 1.20 0.258

Bonds was pretty much an average-solid fielder for most of his career...which is actually an accomplishment considering how big he was. But he did start out showing defensive promise...I just think he might be a hair overrated.

He was VERY consistent. .270 would be solid, and .300 would be an all-star level defensive season.

[CTaka]

mike90: How good a fielder do you think Bonds was in his pre-Hulk days?

i saw plenty of bonds during his 7 '90s seasons with the giants:
very quick first step; excellant path to the ball; very quick release after field/catch... but for bonds it all started with positioning. count bonds among the very few fielders to ever sit in on pitcher meetings to discuss how the club was gonna pitch to the opposition.
what bonds lacked in arm he more than made up for with the above.
and then there's his patented spin-move down the left field line to hold batters to singles.

I also saw a lot of Bonds in his pre-B*nds days. Your description is consistent with my observations. His arm strength was clearly below average but he did have a quick release, probably best exemplified by how quickly he got rid of the ball on his "spin-move" to turn doubles into singles. There were times when he just didn't seem too interested in hustling after some balls; more common in his bulked up days but that tendancy was evident in his youth. When he made up his mind to put in the effort, I thought he was an excellent fielder with a weak arm.