In 2001, Barry Bonds had arguably the greatest offensive season in MLB history: He hit .328 and broke the single-season record with 73 home runs. Or maybe his greatest season was 2002, when he hit .
370/.582/.799.
Or maybe it was 2004, when he hit .362/.609/.
812, drawing 232 walks. He was so good pitchers decided they didn't even want to try to get him out: They intentionally walked him 120 times that year. Bonds won four consecutive MVP awards from 2001 to 2004, averaging 10.
8 WAR per season. In ranking the top 25 MLB players in the 21st century, you can't ignore that stunning level of dominance. But how high do you rank him? We're considering only accomplishments from 2000 on, and as great as Bonds was in those years, most of his career value came before 2000 (103.
7 of his 162.8 WAR). The performance-enhancing-drug allegations complicate his place in history even more.
Indeed, this is an issue for others besides Bonds: Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez ...
legendary players, problematic legacies. And where do you rank ? He has won two MVPs as a two-way player and might win a third this season as a DH, but he's only seven seasons into his MLB career. Or -- there's no denying his regular-season feats, but he has struggled in the postseason.
Or the fabulous Ichiro Suzuki, whose impact goes beyond mere statistics. Or Derek Jeter, the ultimate winner. Or others in the middle of their careers, such as and .
It wasn't easy to sort through all these players. Disagree with.