Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002
Barry Bonds
Say what you will about Bonds the person. Bonds the player took decades of universally accepted baseball strategy and turned it on its head. Whenever he stepped into the batter's box in the 2002, he did so as the most feared hitter in the history of baseball, with the possible exception of Babe Ruth. He was the Little Leaguer with a mustache, the softball ringer with minor-league experience, the guy who made you stop flipping channels. He was even better in the World Series, where, even though he didn't win the award, Bonds was clearly the Most Valuable Player.