Sports

Baseball

Bonds runs MVP count to 7

Associated Press
Published November 16, 2004

---

NEW YORK - Barry Bonds won his record seventh NL MVP Award in a walk.

Capping a season filled with suspicion and success, the Giants leftfielder is the oldest MVP of a major North American professional league. The 40-year-old received 24 of 32 first-place votes and 407 points Monday in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America to earn the award for the fourth straight season.

"I don't know if one is better than the other. I think they're all overwhelming," Bonds said. "You almost get lost for words, the kind of things that are being accomplished in my career."

Dodgers third baseman Adrian Beltre was second, getting six first-place votes and 311 points, followed by Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols with 247 points.

Speaking during a conference call, Bonds avoided questions about steroids. Bonds, who testified in December before a federal grand jury investigating steroid distribution, has never been charged with anything involving performance-enhancing drugs.

Bonds is the only player with more than three MVPs and the only one to win more than two in a row. Willie Stargell was the oldest baseball MVP, sharing the 1979 NL award at 391/2 with Keith Hernandez. Charlie Conerly of the 1958 New York Giants (38) was the oldest NFL MVP, and the oldest NBA and NHL MVPs were 35: Karl Malone of the 1998-99 Utah Jazz and Herb Gardiner of the 1926-27 Montreal Canadiens.

Bonds' season was unparalleled statistically. He hit .362 to win his second NL batting title and shattered the major-league record with a .609 on-base percentage, topping the mark of .582 he set two years ago.

He walked 232 times, 34 more than the record he set in 2002 and more than 100 better than anyone else this season. His 120 intentional walks obliterated the mark of 68, also set by Bonds in 2002.

Bonds hit 45 homers in 373 at-bats. Beltre hit a major-league-high 48 in 598 and Pujols 46 in 592.

"I never think that I'd have a chance to win any awards being walked. I don't think that's even possible, to try to keep up with these great athletes when your chances are minuscule compared to their chances," Bonds said.

Only 52 home runs behind Hank Aaron's mark, Bonds said he plans to play two more seasons and is motivated by his quest to win a World Series. He talked about it with Michael Jordan, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles and was a five-time MVP.

"He's like, "Barry, do you understand what you're doing?"' Bonds quoted Jordan as saying.

"I haven't won a championship, and so there's nothing really I'm enjoying now except these individual awards," Bonds said he told Jordan. "I want that championship, and then maybe I can reflect on what else I've done."

[Last modified November 16, 2004, 00:40:25]

[an error occurred while processing this directive]