Two Great Pirates Outfielders, One Great Debate
By Guy Junker

Around these parts, there has been debate for years about whether Barry Bonds or Roberto Clemente was the better player. Clemente has been more loved after his death, whether people are willing to admit it or not, and Bonds and love have rarely been used in the same sentence, at least among Pirate fans.

They are two of the greatest outfielders to ever play for the Pirates. Bonds most certainly will one day join Clemente in the Hall of Fame.

The comparisons broadened last year when Bonds set the single-season home run record with 73. During the run, I actually heard one national media member call Bonds the best fielding left fielder of all time. It's amazing how home runs and offense can help a guy win Gold Glove awards. When he started this year with four homers in his first two games, some were actually saying Bonds deserves recognition as perhaps the greatest player ever. This from the mouths and keyboards of people who should know better.

They either haven't watched baseball for very long or just don't know what they are talking about. Or they are so pressured to apply instant labels in this microwave era of immediate results that they say stupid things. Barry Lamar Bonds has power numbers that are impressive next to anyone's. He should be fourth on the all-time home run list by the end of the year and third on the all-time runs batted in list. But in terms of being a complete player, no one compares with Babe Ruth who was a dominating pitcher and hitter.

Ruth was 94-46 as a pitcher with a lifetime 2.28 earned run average. And his power numbers weren't challenged by anyone at the time he played or for decades after he stopped playing. And for a great power hitter he still managed a lifetime .342 batting average. He even stole 123 bases.

And he wasn't always the cow we see on film late in his career. He was a better than average outfielder in his earlier years.

The Babe literally could do it all.

But forget all that. I want to shrink the dispute to just the local level. Bonds, overall, is not as good as Clemente. Period. By the end of this year, both will have played in close to the same amount of games.

Yet, Clemente has over 600 more hits than Bonds. Clemente's lifetime batting average is 25 points higher than Bonds'. Clemente won four batting titles including three in a four-year stretch in the mid-1960s.

Bonds has never led the league in hitting and for all of his advantage in power, Bonds has only a few hundred more RBI. Mostly because Clemente was a much better clutch hitter. He was the MVP of the 1971 World Series and hit safely in all 14 World Series games he played in. Bonds has yet to play in one in a large part due to his own failures in playoff games where his career average is .195.

But it is the defensive part of the game that makes Clemente the clear choice as the better player. The most exciting thing at a Giants game today may be watching Bonds hit one into McCovey Cove. But lots of players hit home runs today.

Clemente led the National League in assists five times, tying a major league record. In 1961 he had 27 assists in 144 games meaning he threw a runner out on the bases about once every 5 games. He has nearly twice as many career assists as Bonds.

The lasting image of Bonds' arm comes from his final game as a Pirate when from medium left field he failed to throw out a speed-challenged Sid Bream at the plate.

Bonds is a great outfielder when he wants to be. He's pretty good at covering the left field line and going up high at the wall.

And he has won eight Gold Glove awards. But Clemente won 12 and always hustled. At age 38 in his final year in the majors, Clemente fielded 1.000. That's right, not one single error.

On the surface, it appears to be a classic case of power vs. average. And while home runs and stolen bases are the only statistical advantages Bonds has over Clemente, the home runs are a little deceiving.

Clemente spent most of his career playing home games at Forbes Field. As a right-handed batter, for a home run, he would have to hit the ball 365 feet down the left field line, 406 feet to left, 457 feet to deep left center and 435 feet to center.

With a 38th birthday looming in July, I don't think Bonds will be able to catch Hank Aaron on the all time home run list. The body has a way of breaking down quickly at that age, even a body that is mysteriously 43 pounds of mostly muscle heavier today than when he last played for the Pirates in 1992. He will be a first ballot Hall-of-Famer even if he retires tomorrow. But he won't be the greatest player ever even if he hits 800 home runs.

He won't even be the greatest Pirate. That distinction goes to Honus Wagner. To be debated at a later date.

Guy Junker is co-host of SportsBeat and the 11 p.m. Regional Sports Report With FOX Sports Pittsburgh.