Barry Bonds vs Bobby Bonilla: Career Stats Comparison

Barry Bonds (1986–2007) and Bobby Bonilla (1986–2001) — both broke in during the 1980s, which makes the head-to-head feel like a contemporaries' debate. Barry Bonds finished with 2,935 hits and 762 home runs; Bobby Bonilla finished with 2,010 hits and 287 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.

Barry Bonds

Hitter · 1986–2007
Games
2,986
Hits
2,935
Home Runs
762
RBI
1,996
Avg
.298
OPS
1.051
View Barry Bonds's full profile →

Bobby Bonilla

Hitter · 1986–2001
Games
2,113
Hits
2,010
Home Runs
287
RBI
1,173
Avg
.279
OPS
.829
View Bobby Bonilla's full profile →

Career Stats Side-by-Side

Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.

Statistic Barry Bonds Bobby Bonilla
Games 2,986 2,113
At-Bats 9,847 7,213
Runs 2,227 1,084
Hits 2,935 2,010
Doubles 601 408
Triples 77 61
Home Runs 762 287
RBI 1,996 1,173
Walks 2,558 912
Strikeouts 1,539 1,204
Stolen Bases 514 45
Batting Avg .298 .279
On-Base % .444 .358
Slugging % .607 .472
OPS 1.051 .829

PIV Comparison

By PIV (Player Impact Value), Barry Bonds outpaces Bobby Bonilla 96,025 to 19,507 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,365 vs 1,027 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.

Barry Bonds
96,025
Career PIV · 4,365 per season (22 seasons)
Bobby Bonilla
19,507
Career PIV · 1,027 per season (19 seasons)

How PIV is calculated →

Peak Seasons

The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).

Barry Bonds — top 3 seasons by OPS

20041.422 OPS45 HR, 101 RBI, .362 avg
20021.381 OPS46 HR, 110 RBI, .370 avg
20011.379 OPS73 HR, 137 RBI, .328 avg

Bobby Bonilla — top 3 seasons by OPS

1995.984 OPS18 HR, 53 RBI, .325 avg
1991.883 OPS18 HR, 100 RBI, .302 avg
1994.878 OPS20 HR, 67 RBI, .290 avg

Verdict

On the head-to-head card, Barry Bonds leads in hits, home runs, RBI, and runs, while Bobby Bonilla owns no headline categories. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Barry Bonds. PIV agrees: Barry Bonds grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.

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