Bobby Bonilla
Today, July 1, is a fun little holiday in baseball. "Bobby Bonilla Day" is a reminder of how to be a smart negotiator as a player, and a warning to owners about reckless money schemes for more than just baseball. But before we begin our tale, let us highlight the career of the man for who we have named this holiday for...
Bobby was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but his minor league progression was interrupted by a broken leg, delaying his journey to the majors long enough for the Chicago White Sox to nab him in the Rule 5 draft. He finally tasted the majors in 1986, but Pittsburgh wasn't ready to let him go that easily...
...and made a trade to bring the rookie back to the organization.
Bonilla began '87 as the starter at 3rd Base, while still slotting in the corner outfield spots from time to time.
1988 saw Bonilla solely as a 3rd baseman. You may not like Bobby to lose that extra utility, but his first season at just one position was also his best, achieving for the first time an all star nod, Silver Slugger award and MVP votes.
Bonilla's defensive issues couldn't be ignored forever, so in '89 he saw action at 1st Base as well as 3rd. It didn't hurt his offense as he went back to the all star game and got even more MVP votes.
1990 saw Bonilla moved primarily into the outfield, though he still saw time in the infield. Bobby was able to lead the offense that season, setting a career high of 120 RBI while the all star would win the Silver Slugger and come in 2nd for the MVP. The Pirates would win the division and Bonilla would see his first bit of action in the playoffs as Pittsburgh would fall to the Cincinnati Reds in 6 games for the pennant.
Bonilla kept it up in 1991 as he reached his 4th straight all star game and made it back-to-back Silver Slugger years. His league leading 44 Doubles helped him finish 3rd for MVP. He'd also return to the playoffs as the Pirates fell in that wild 7 game NLCS to the Atlanta Braves.
Bonilla became a free agent and signed with the Mets for big money, but his production would begin to fall off.
1993 saw a bit of a bounce back offensively as Bonilla returned to the all star game and set a career high of 34 Home Runs.
The lost 1994 season saw Bonilla struggle to return to his previous elite numbers.
Bonilla's time with the Mets (for now) would end with one final trip to the all star game in 1995, but this stint wouldn't be the origin of Bobby Bonilla Day, so we'll skip to his trade...
...to the Baltimore Orioles. Defensively, he was still getting utility status, but that +0 makes it hard to play him in the outfield.
The Mets had signed Bonilla to a 5 year contract that the Orioles traded for, and it was ending after 1996, so Bonilla didn't want to just DH, which is what Manager Davey Johnson was trying to use him for primarily. Bonilla predicted that a DH status would hurt his value on the market and pushed for more playing time on defense, but a look at his +0 ratings shows why Johnson wasn't too keen on that idea until injuries forced his hand. Offensively, he had his last hurrah with the 4th and final time he'd hit over 20 homers (28) and 100 RBI (116). Back in the postseason, Bonilla hit his first couple October Home Runs while driving in 5 runs as the Orioles beat the defending AL champion Cleveland Indians in the ALDS. Against the Yankees in the ALCS, he managed just one Hit (a Home Run, at least) as the Orioles fell short in 5 games.
Bonilla signed with the Marlins for 1997, where he started at 3rd Base and helped secure a Wild Card spot. He hit another postseason homer, a 2 run shot in the 1st inning of Game 2 of the NLDS against the Giants. The Marlins needed every run as they ultimately prevailed in a 7-6 walk-off win as they went on to sweep the series. He contributed 4 RBI in the NLCS as the Marlins overcame the Atlanta Braves to win the pennant. In his only trip to the World Series, against the Cleveland Indians, Bonilla was pretty quiet until the do-or-die Game 7. With the Indians up 2-0 in the game in the bottom of the 7th, Bonilla stepped in to lead off and bashed a homer to put the Marlins on the board. Marlin and Indian fans know how the rest of the game went, with Florida tying it up in the 9th and walking off for the title in extras as Bonilla got himself a ring.
Bonilla began 1998 with the defending champions, but everyone knows the tale of the 1998 Marlins and their massive player dump. Bobby was no exception...
...as he was shipped off to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the Mike Piazza deal. During the offseason, Bonilla was traded again.
Bonilla was a Met again in 1999, and his production had been declining badly at this point. He wasn't included in the OG Showdown sets, and Manager Bobby Valentine wished it was that easy to exclude him from the Mets lineup. He was clearly in the Pinch Hitter portion of his career, something he would complain often about. His October was limited to just a Walk in two pinch hit appearances in the NLDS against the Diamondbacks, and one Hit and two Strikeouts in the NLCS loss to the Braves. After that, the Mets decided he needed to be released. And *this* is where the problem started.
Look away, Mets fans.
The problem was that upon his release, the Mets owed Bobby $5.9 million and money was a bit tight back then. The solution? Defer the payments. Ohtani and Dodger fans should be aware of this set up today, but the plan that the Mets and owner Fred Wilpon agreed to was to delay paying Bonilla until 2011 when yearly payments of $1.9 million would be made every July 1. Wilpon, meanwhile, planned to invest the "saved" money in what turned out to be a Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme that he planned on getting a bigger return on. The Ponzi scheme was pretty much fraud, and the Mets were left embarrassed and instead of just giving Bonilla his $5.9 million, now were holding the bag for $29.8 million (gotta hate interest payments) to be paid out annually from 2011 to 2035. And on top of all that was more deferred money from his Mets/Orioles contract from the 90s that was set up to pay out $500,000 over 25 years starting in 2004.
Bonilla joined up with the St. Louis Cardinals for 2001. He was missing from that Showdown set, so we can cover that here. Injuries and ability limited Bobby's time on the field, and after the season he finally called it quits on a career. He may not have had a job in baseball anymore, but he only needed to wait a few short years before Bobby Bonilla Day would begin and give him one heck of a steady paycheck for a very long time...
And just for kicks, we end this on a look at when Bonilla took to the mound as a pitcher. During an April 17, 2001 thrashing at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Cardinals decided to save their bullpen a little work and let Bonilla pitch the 9th inning. The first batter he faced took him deep to left for a Home Run. Then he walked the next guy, who went to 2nd Base on a Balk, to 3rd on a Sacrifice Fly, then scored on a Single. After giving up another hit, Bonilla educed a ground ball double play to finally get out of the 9th. The Cardinals lost 17-4, and Bonilla did not get any delusions of a career resurgence as a pitcher.
