Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 10, 1993 TAG: 9311100076
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO LENGTH: Medium
Bonds made good on his $43.75 million deal, doing everything but leading the San Francisco Giants into the playoffs. As it was, Bonds kept the Giants in the pennant chase until the last day of the season.
On Tuesday, he was rewarded with the National League's Most Valuable Player award, making him the first player to win the trophy three times in four years. He joined seven others as a three-time honoree, and the 29-year-old slugger easily could become baseball's first four-time MVP.
Bonds hit .336 with a league-leading 123 RBI and 46 home runs and scored 129 runs - all career highs - while leading the Giants to a franchise-record 103 victories. He also led the NL in slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
And he got off to such a strong start that no one ever had a chance to say he wasn't worth the money.
"I wasn't concerned about the talk on the contract," Bonds said. "I knew what I was capable of doing on the field. I just let my bat do the talking."
He received 24 of 28 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Bonds also received four second-place votes to finish with 372 points, far ahead of Philadelphia center fielder Lenny Dykstra.
Dykstra had the other four first-place votes, along with 20 second-place votes, three for third and one for fourth.
"In a way, you have control of this and in another way you don't," Dykstra said. "There were a lot of guys to look at this season. Look what Fred McGriff did."
The next three finishers were Atlanta Braves: David Justice, McGriff and Ron Gant.
Finishing a season he called the most enjoyable of his career, Bonds said his third MVP award was the best, but he knows his career won't be complete until he plays in the World Series.
"You're never going to get into the elite class until you win," he said. "You hear about Ernie Banks, but the Cubs never won. You hear more about Reggie Jackson and his home runs in the World Series.
"I look at it as, I still have unfinished business. I still need to win. I'd like to go home with a win and lose one of those MVPs."
Bonds won the award in 1990 and again last year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the premier player in the 1992-93 free-agent market. The Giants, whose new ownership group wasn't in place yet, stunned baseball by giving him a six-year deal that made him the highest-paid player in the game.
Bonds began earning his money immediately, homering in his first at-bat at Candlestick Park and catapulting the Giants into first place by May 10.
When his team became locked in a pennant race with Atlanta down the stretch, Bonds proved his value with clutch hitting, although the Braves claimed the title on the last day of the season.
In his final 16 games, Bonds hit .333 with six homers, seven doubles, 21 RBI and an .860 slugging percentage. In the second game of the Giants' season-ending series at Los Angeles, he homered twice and drove in a career-high seven runs.
Powering his way through the season, Bonds slumped only once, in early September. But it was at a crucial time for the Giants, who slipped out of first during his 12-for-46 drought.
Bonds expressed hope that San Francisco's ownership keep the team together by re-signing Robby Thompson and Will Clark.
"If the owners keep the team together, we have a chance to be a dynasty ballclub," he said. "Now these guys know what it takes."
The other three-time MVPs were the Cardinals' Stan Musial (1943, 1946, 1948), the Dodgers' Roy Campanella (1951, 1953, 1955) and the Phillies' Mike Schmidt (1980, 1981, 1986) in the NL, and the Philadelphia Athletics' Jimmie Foxx (1932, 1933, 1938) and New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio (1939, 1941, 1947), Yogi Berra (1951, 1954, 1955) and Mickey Mantle (1956, 1957, 1962) in the American League.
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB