Bobby Bonilla Marquee

b. February 23, 1963 · Chicago White Sox 1986, Pittsburgh Pirates 1986–1991, New York Mets 1992–1995, 1999, Baltimore Orioles 1995–1996, Florida Marlins 1997–1998, Los Angeles Dodgers 1998, Atlanta Braves 2000, St. Louis Cardinals 2001

Sixteen seasons gave him 2,010 hits, 287 home runs, 1,173 runs batted in, 912 walks and a .279 average, with six All-Star selections and three Silver Sluggers. He led the National League in doubles in 1991 with 44 and finished in the top three of the Most Valuable Player voting twice, both times for Pittsburgh.

The Mets released him in 2000 with a year left on his contract and agreed to defer the money instead: $1.19 million a year, every July 1 from 2011 to 2035, at eight percent interest. The date has become an annual joke and the total will come to almost $30 million for a season he did not play.

That is the thing his name now means, which is unfair to a good career: he was a genuinely feared hitter for Pittsburgh alongside Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke, and he won the World Series with Florida in 1997. The writers gave him two votes of 545 in 2007.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
All-Star selection	6	1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995
Player of the Week	3	1987, 1991, 1994
Silver Slugger	3	1988, 1990, 1991
The Sporting News All-Star	3	1988, 1990, 1991
Player of the Month	2	1988, 1990

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1986	CHW/PIT	138	426	55	109	16	4	3	43	62	88	8	.256
1987	PIT	141	466	58	140	33	3	15	77	39	64	3	.300
1988	PIT	159	584	87	160	32	7	24	100	85	82	3	.274
1989	PIT	163	616	96	173	37	10	24	86	76	93	8	.281
1990	PIT	160	625	112	175	39	7	32	120	45	103	4	.280
1991	PIT	157	577	102	174	44	6	18	100	90	67	2	.302
1992	NYM	128	438	62	109	23	0	19	70	66	73	4	.249
1993	NYM	139	502	81	133	21	3	34	87	72	96	3	.265
1994	NYM	108	403	60	117	24	1	20	67	55	101	1	.290
1995	BAL/NYM	141	554	96	182	37	8	28	99	54	79	0	.329
1996	BAL	159	595	107	171	27	5	28	116	75	85	1	.287
1997	FLA	153	562	77	167	39	3	17	96	73	94	6	.297
1998	FLA/LAD	100	333	39	83	11	1	11	45	41	59	1	.249
1999	NYM	60	119	12	19	5	0	4	18	19	16	0	.160
2000	ATL	114	239	23	61	13	3	5	28	37	51	0	.255
2001	STL	93	174	17	37	7	0	5	21	23	53	1	.213
Career	—	2113	7213	1084	2010	408	61	287	1173	912	1204	45	.279

Pitching, season by season

Year	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
2001	STL	0	0	1	0	0	1.0	3	2	1	0	18.00
Career	—	0	0	1	0	0	1.0	3	2	1	0	18.00

On this day & linked events

1963

Born February 23, 1963

Bronx, NY, USA

1986

Major-league debut: Bobby Bonilla

Bobby Bonilla made a major-league debut on April 9, 1986.

2001

Final major-league game: Bobby Bonilla

Bobby Bonilla played a final major-league game on October 7, 2001.

Image: Gray Star, public domain