Pittsburgh Pirates: Examining Three Players on the Hall of Fame Ballot

Barry Bonds

This will be the penultimate chance for Barry Bonds to make the Hall of Fame through the ballot. If Bonds was not such a controversal figure, both on and off the field, he’d probably be in the Hall of Fame by now.

Bonds is obviously most known on the field for his home run records. With 762 home runs he has the most by any hitter in MLB history. He also has the single season home run record when he hit 73 homers in 2001. That’s far from the only record he holds though. Bonds has 7 MVP awards, the most by any player ever, including a pair with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the most intentional walks and the highest bWAR ever at 162.8.

During his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bonds hit .275/.380/.503 with a 136 wRC+ and 38.6 fWAR. While he did not necesarrily look like a player that would set the home run record during his time with the Bucs, fans in Pittsburgh got a glimpse of what he could do at the plate in his final three years. From 1990 to 1992, Bonds hit .301/.424/.556 with 92 home runs and a very impressive 172 wRC+. Bonds was a near five tool player as he also stole 134 bases and had +52 total zone runs saved in the outfield.

You can’t talk about Bonds’ performances without talking about his insane run from 2001 to 2004 with the San Francisco Giants. This is the most dominant run of any player across any four years in baseball history. He hit .349/.559/.809 with a 256 OPS+, 232 wRC+ and .515 wOBA. His slugging percentage alone was higher than 62 batters OPS in 2019 with at least 500 plate appearances. In 2004, he reached base 60.9% of the time, due to 120 intentional walks. Bonds is top 10 all time in on base percentage (6) and is 5th all time in slugging. In terms of wRC+, he’s fifth. He’s als0 fourth all-time in OPS.

Bonds has been kept out of the Hall of Fame because of his use of steroids. This has also kept other steroid users like Roger Clemens and Manny Ramirez from reaching Cooperstown. However, his attitude with the media and some unsavory off field actions also plague him and could be another reason older voters aren’t too keen on letting him in, mainly because they were the ones Bonds was rude to.

Should his connection to steroids be used against him as much as it has? Almost every single player in baseball was using some form of performance enhancing drugs during the steroid era as players went untested. How much should Bonds be held accountable for that? Bonds wouldn’t be the first player to be elected into the Hall Of Fame to have used steroids or cheated in some fashion. This could be the deciding factor as to whether or not Bonds makes it in the Hall. However if he does make it, he’ll likely wear a San Francisco Giants cap on his plaque.

A.J. Burnett

A.J. Burnett was a fan favorite pitcher during his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Fondly known as “Batman”,” Burnett helped bring winning baseball back to the Steel City.

The Pirates acquired Burnett in a salary dump deal with the New York Yankees. During his first two years with the Bucs, Burnett was very effective. He tossed a total of 393.1 innings to the tune of a 3.41 ERA, 3.17 FIP and 1.22 WHIP. Burnett had a strong 0.7 HR/9 rate while posting a solid 7.8% walk rate and 23.5% strikeout rate. He also led all pitchers in K/9 during 2013 at 9.8.

Burnett signed a one-year deal for the 2014 season with a 2015 player option with the Phillies. Despite struggling in Philly, he turned down the $15 million option so he could end his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015. Though Burnett pitched in an injury limited 164 innings, his 2015 season was his most memorable. He posted a 3.18 ERA, 3.36 FIP and 1.36 WHIP with the Bucs. While he only had a 20.5% strikeout rate, his walk rate remained relatively strong a 7%. But he made the first and only All-Star Game of his career. Sadly, he did not appear during the game.

Burnett had a solid career, one that lasted from 1999 to 2015. He pitched a total of 2731.1 innings with the Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, Yankees, Pirates and Phillies. His final career numbers include a 3.99 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 1.32 WHIP, 2513 strikeouts and a 29.6 bWAR. In terms of the eras he pitched in, the right hander had a 104 ERA+, 97 ERA- and 92 FIP-. Aside from the one All-Star Game, Burnett also has a World Series ring, one he earned with the 2009 New York Yankees.

Burnett’s chances of making the Hall of Fame are slim to none. While he was an above average pitcher throughout his entire career, his bWAR is 290th all time. The only two starting pitchers who have a lower bWAR than him and in the Hall are two way player John Ward who had a 28.1 bWAR as a pitcher combined with a 34.3 bWAR as a position player and some guy named Babe Ruth. On the ballot, his JAWS is the 4th lowest at 25.3. While he might not earn a plaque in Cooperstown, that won’t stop Pirate fans from having some extremely fond memories of his time in Pittsburgh.

Aramis Ramirez

Aramis Ramirez came up through the minors with the Pittsburgh Pirates. After a slow start from 1998 to 2000, Ramirez had a big breakout campaign in 2001. During this season, Ramirez collectd 655 plate appearances and hit .300/.350/.536 with 40 doubles, 34 home runs, a .374 wOBA and 125 wRC+. He was also a pus fielder with +4 total zone runs saved, coming to a 4.7 fWAR and 4.1 bWAR.

Ramirez had a down 2002 season and was infamously part of one of the worst trades in Pirate history in 2003. Ramirez, at just 25-years-old and having a bounceback season, was traded with veteran all-star center fielder Kenny Lofton to the Chicago Cubs for Bobby Hill, Matt Bruback and Jose Hernandez.

It was in Chicago where Ramirez’s career took off. Ramirez played nine seasons with the Cubs, batting .294/.356/.531 with 239 home runs, a 126 wRC+ and 25.7 fWAR/29.9 bWAR. Ramirez also made two all-star games with the Cubs while winning a silver slugger. While he never finished very high in MVP voting, he still collected some MVP votes in four different seasons.

Ramirez also spent some time with the Brewers. From 2012 up through the 2015 trade deadline, Ramirez was the Crew’s starting third baseman. Here, he hit .284/.342/.473 with 65 home runs, a 121 wRC+ and 9.4 fWAR/7.4 bWAR. Ramirez ended his career where it started, with the Pirates in 2015. The Bucs had acquired him from the Brewers at the 2015 deadline, but wasn’t quite the batter he was during his prime. He stepped to the plate 214 times and hit just .245/.299/.413 with 20 extra base hits, placing him as a slightly below average bat.

Throughout all 18 seasons of Ramirez’s career, he hit .283/.341/.492 with a 115 OPS+/wRC+, a 32.4 bWAR/38.8 fWAR, 2303 hits and 386 home runs. Ramirez wasn’t much of a fielder throughout his career with -60 total zone runs saved and -70 defensive runs saved, which hurt his overall value. Ramirez has an uphill battle to make the Hall of Fame.

Among position players who played their careers in a Post-World War II era, only Monte Irvin has a lower career bWAR, but he is mainly honored for his play in the Negro Leagues. While his career 30.9 JAWS isn’t the worst on the ballot, it ranks 21st among the 25 total players on the ballot. In comparison, the average Hall Of Fame JAWS for third basemen is 55.7. But his home run total ranks 65th all time and his hit total is top 15 among all time third basemen. While he did have an underrated career, his chances of making the Hall, at least through the ballot, are going to be slim.