Barry Bonds

MLB Dominance Rating: 7.1

Forget for a moment the baggage he carries, and put yourself on the mound with Barry Bonds at the plate. There's a runner on and you need one out. Imagine all of the reasons pitchers like yourself chose to intentionally walk Bonds 688 times. Surely your fellow aces were aware that he was stockpiling MVPs, on his way to seven, four more than any other player in baseball history. Their scouting reports showed the same numbers, including that 162.4 career WAR, second only to Babe Ruth among all position players. Their memories, like yours, are haunted by the feats that humbled the best hurlers and gave Bonds three of the top four OPS seasons of all time: 1.422 in 2004, 1.381 in 2002 and 1.379 in 2001. No, they, like you, rationalized that each of those 688 intentional walks -- 381 more than the next-closest hitter, Albert Pujols -- was strategic, not a sign of weakness. There was no shame in those free passes. They still are the truest acknowledgment of one man's dominance. --Doug Mittler