Barry Bonds vs. Hank Aaron Update
A Statistical Comparison of Baseball's Two Best Home Run Hitters
May 27, 2007
Barry Bonds Hits Number 756
That is right. Barry Bonds is the new home run king. Because of the performance-enhancing drug cloud that hangs over Bonds and his achievements, however, many in the press and in the stands feel that he is not in the same class as Aaron, either as a ballplayer or as a man.
Putting the character issue aside, baseball fans could benefit greatly from doing a side-by-side analysis of players' respective career statistics. So here it is: a comparative analysis to determine who was the better player. It’s Barry Bonds vs. Hank Aaron.
Who Was the Better Hitter: The Statistics Are Very Close
Any player comparison must begin with the two players’ career hitting averages. Here they are:
- Career Average: Aaron beats Bonds .305 to .298
- Career Slugging: Bonds beats Aaron .607 to .555
- Career On-Base %: Bonds beats Aaron .444 to .374
- Career OPS: Bonds beats Aaron 1.052 to .929
- At Bats per HR: Bonds beats Aaron 12.98 to 16.38
- RBI per Game: Aaron beats Bonds 0.68 to 0.66
- Runs per Game: Bonds beats Aaron 0.75 to 0.65
At first blush, it appears that Bonds is ahead of Aaron as a hitter. However, because Bonds played his entire career in a hitter-friendly era that featured a lowered pitching mound, shorter fences and perhaps even a juiced-up baseball, it is necessary to compare both hitters to their times and to their contemporaries.
The best way to do that without writing an entire thesis is to look at the number of times each player led his league in the major hitting categories.
- Batting Titles: Aaron and Bonds are tied at 2
- Home Run Titles: Aaron beats Bonds 4 to 2
- RBI Titles: Aaron beats Bonds 4 to 1
- 30 Home Run Seasons: Aaron beats Bonds 15 to 14
- Total Bases Titles: Aaron beats Bonds 8 to 1
- Extra Bases Titles: Aaron beats Bonds 5 to 3
- Slugging % Titles: Bonds beats Aaron 7 to 5
- Base on Balls Titles: Bonds beats Aaron 12 to 0
Looking at the statistics from an analytical standpoint, Aaron has an edge over Bonds (except with respect to walks, where Barry destroys everybody). Aaron also beats Bonds in career hits (3,771 to 2,915), doubles titles (4 to 0) and career Extra Base Hits (1,479 to 1,432).
The race is close between these two immortals, but it seems that Aaron has a very slight edge over Bonds as a hiiter.
Speed and Defense: Barry Bonds Beats Hank Aaron
Hank Aaron was a fine outfielder and a very good base runner. He won three straight Gold Gloves from 1958 to 1960. He stole 240 bases in his career and finished in the Top 10 in steals eight different times.
Although Aaron was fantastic in these aspects of the game for a power hitter, Barry Bonds is otherworldly. He won eight (8) Gold Gloves from 1990 through 1998. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that Bonds has stolen 510 bases in his career, making him the sole member of the 400 HR-400 SB and 500 HR-500 SB clubs. He is also one of just four players to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season, which he accomplished in 1996.
In other words, Barry pretty much hammers Hank in the speed and fielding categories.
Barry Bonds beats Hank Aaron
Over the courses of their respective careers, Hank Aaron was a slightly better hitter than Barry Bonds. However, Barry beats Hammerin' Henry handily in the defense and base running categories, which gives him an slight edge as the better all-around player.
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