Pirates fans make emphatic pick in 'Best Player of the 1990s' poll

Recently, the Rum Bunter X account wanted to hear from you, the fan, in an effort to determine who was perceived as the best Pirates player from the 1990s. After tallying 539 votes, there was a clear winner by a strong margin, and that player played in just three seasons with the team in that decade.

With 66.8% of the vote, fans chose Barry Bonds as the No. 1 Pirate of the '90s. In second place was Andy Van Slyke at 18.7%; third place went to Jason Kendall at 10.9%, and Doug Drabek came in last at 3.5%.

These players all had outstanding careers, but this poll is specifically based on that singular decade. Let's take a look at what each player accomplished in the '90s with the Pirates alone.

Pittsburgh fans voted Barry Bonds as the best Pirate from the 1990s.

From 1990-1992, Bonds won two MVPs, three Gold Gloves, and three Silver Sluggers. Those came from 92 home runs, an OPS of .990, and 333 runs driven in. Additionally, Bonds put together an fWAR of 27.3 and walked over 100 times more than he struck out. He was part of the reason of why the Pirates were relevant in the early '90s, but he found himself in San Fransisco in 1993, ending his time in Pittsburgh. We will see if the home run king gets into the Hall of Fame.

Coming in second was Andy Van Slyke, one of Bonds' partners in the outfield during that stretch of dominance. His time in Pittsburgh during the '90s lasted longer, ranging from 1990-1994. In that time frame, he batted .288 with 62 home runs, driving in 329 in Pittsburgh. His OPS reached .814, as he hit 126 doubles and 32 triples. He also won three Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger, marking his spot at No. 2, according to the fans.

Third was Jason Kendall, who played his first four seasons in Pittsburgh ranging from 1996-1999. His rookie year began great, and he finished top three in voting for Rookie of the Year while making the All-Star Game. He was an All-Star once again during this stretch of time in the '90s. Kendall batted .312 with an OPS of .850 and walked more than he struck out. He also belted 31 home runs, 115 doubles, and drove in 207 runs.

The last player was the lone pitcher on this list, Doug Drabek. He played for the Pirates in this decade during the same time frame as Bonds. He won the Cy Young in 1990, marking the lone major award of his career. In those three seasons, Drabek produced a record of 52-31 with an earned run average of 2.86 and a WHIP of 1.14. He struck out 450 batters and tossed 722.2 innings.

Pittsburgh was one of the best teams in the early '90s, but they lost some of their stars after that window. Some of those stars were the best Pirates in that decade, and the fans ranked them in that order.