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MLB > General MLB > Joe Posnanski's Top 10 hitters

Tucson, AZ

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October 15, 2009, 06:13 PM

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I have no argument with 9 out the 10 on Joe's list. The glaring exception is Barry Bonds. Joe, I love ya, but you're out of your skull on this.

Bonds ranked higher than Hank Aaron? Higher than Joe Dimaggio? You gotta be kidding. Joe seems to make his case for Bonds based on the 42 bazillion walks that Bonds drew during his "bulked up" years.

Joe is a huge fan of the base on balls, making the rather self-evident point that if you're walking to first base, you're not making an out. Well, I can't dispute that, but it's also true that if you're walking, you're not hitting a double or a home run or even a sac fly. In fact, I'd make the case that all those walks are more of a negative on Bonds' record than a positive. Walks neutralize the effect of great hitters ... that's why teams walk them, for petes sake. If we were talking about Bob Uecker, it would be different.

I'm not saying that Bonds wasn't a great hitter. But to put him ahead of Hank or Joe or Willie, based on the fact that he walked a lot, is absurd.

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