The elder statesman
Once upon a time Barry Bonds was a really good defender. Many gold gloves kind of defender. He never had a cannon arm (which is why he's always played left field), but he was fast and no one got better reads on fly balls. Barry had an impressive ability to just be in the right place at the right time for a given hitter (partially because I think one element of his game that routinely gets ignored is just how smart a guy he actually is).
Now, at age 39, Bonds isn't a particularly good defender anymore. He doesn't make a lot of errors, because the mental part of his game is still in place, so he usually gets good reads and doesn't do anything stupid (I'd still rather watch Barry play defense than Marvin Benard), but his speed is reduced and he doesn't try to make plays that are on the margin. This gets characterized by some as a lack of hustle, but in my view it's the result of a carefully conducted cost-benefit analysis of the likely outcome of the play. The potential benefit if Barry dives for a fly-ball? He catches it and the hitter is out. Maybe the Giants win a game they wouldn't have won. The potential cost? The 39-year-old who hits better than anyone else in the game hurts himself and winds up on the disabled list for a month. Bonds is right not to try to be Jim Edmonds or Darin Erstad out there. The criticism is silly.
What occured to me recently, though, is that Bonds isn't just old for an outfielder - I'm pretty sure he's the oldest starting outfielder in the major leagues. There are only a handful of players his age still in the game. Of those who are older than he is a few are pitchers (Jamie Moyer, Roger Clemens) and the majority are first basemen or designated hitters (Julio Franco, Edgar Martinez). When I initially thought about this question, the only starting outfielder I could think of was Steve Finley, who still amazingly plays center field every day. And Finley is close, but he's six months younger than Bonds. After that, you're talking about Craig Biggio (38), Moises Alou, Marquis Grissom, Kenny Lofton, Jeff Conine (37) and a bunch of guys who are 36 (Reggie Sanders, Luis Gonzalez and others).
It's something to think about when considering that Bonds takes days off or sometimes appears to let a ball bounce in front of him rather than go all-out and dive for it. The guy is the oldest starting position player in the major leagues other than Barry Larkin, who can never stay healthy. Most players never make it to Barry's age, and most of those who do have long since become designated hitters. Bonds himself allowed for that possibility in a recent interview (cue reference to Plan B - someone call the A's). For a 39-year-old starting outfielder in the national league, Bonds has done a pretty good job over the last few years of keeping himself on the field. And that is and should be his #1 priority.
posted by Eric @ 8:12 AM
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