For some, his achievements are otherworldly; for others, they are seen as abominations. The latter group certainly seems like part of the ongoing backlash in America that demands a level of "purity" and "authenticity" that makes the Puritans look like decadent slackers, but they will likely haunt the legacy of Barry Bonds for some time to come.
For us, Bonds' achievements in 2001-04 are so beyond belief that they transcend suspicion. The season that offends is that first one, where he hits 73 homers, an outlier in his career that continues to produce as much (or more) anger than awe. What's astonishing is that the 2002 season is even better, with the two following years creating an overall performance level that is nothing if not surreal. However he did it, he will likely remain baseball's eternal specter of outsized greatness for decades to come.
And here is the calm before the storm.
Manny Ramirez and
Sammy Sosa slug over .700;
Todd Helton and
Jason Giambi rehearse for their peak levels of performance, which follow in the following year;
Jeff Bagwell takes an honorable run at his 1994 peak.
Bonds lands in the #5 slot for his 2001 second half, which features a .908 SLG and a revealing ratio: nearly 45% of his hits are homers. Sosa has another fine second half chasing him, as he did with McGwire during the 90s; he actually manages to out-homer Bonds in the second half (no meat feat).
Bonds' 2004 (#4 all-time) is, as previously advertised, just as stellar as the HR-happy second-half of 2001. (The OPS+ scores are identical.) Barry actually hits .400+ in the second half, a feat last seen only four years earlier but only accomplished a dozen or so times in baseball history. That .608 OBP is simply beyond surreal.
It's also Jim Thome's half-season peak, stellar enough for a #26 finish all-time.
Some new names: Chipper Jones, Brian Giles, Carlos Delgado.
Bonds misses a large dollop of playing time in the second half of 2003; he just barely qualifies in terms of plate appearances. But his rate stats are virtual carbon copies of his performance in 2002.
Javy Lopez has what is arguably the best second half by a catcher with his somewhat truncated '03.
2004 is the year when folks
really wouldn't pitch to Bonds--that total of 101 walks is the record for the second half, but is dwarfed by the 131 times he walked in the first half. His teammate on the Giants,
J.T. Snow, also had a fine second half, but San Francisco could not rally from a six-game September deficit in the standings and finished second in the NL West.
The Cardinals cruised to a pennant behind Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols (his first time on the second-half list) only to be swept in the World Series by the not-to-be denied Boston Red Sox.
Injuries and advanced age finally brought Bonds' run to an end in 2005. Ryan Howard temporarily replaced him as the offensive behemoth with a spectacular second half in 2006 (placing him in the Top 40 all-time). Manny Ramirez would move to the Dodgers in late July 2008 and have a memorable run. David Ortiz had powerfully productive second halves in 2006 and 2007 as the Red Sox continued to stay at the top of the heap during the "TEE" (Theo Epstein Era). In his second season as a "big bat for hire," Mark Teixeira had a big second half for the Angels in 2008, leading them to a division title. Derrek Lee, who came into his own when he moved to the Cubs in 2004, had a solid second half in his "last hurrah" season in 2009.
The 2000-09 decade is filled with extreme second-half performances: a .400+ BA, five .500+ OBP, and 15 half-seasons where the hitter exceeds a .700 SLG (including four above .800--all Bonds). Offensive levels remained high throughout, with seemingly no end in sight. The next decade would prove to be completely different...
