Player Profile: Barry Bonnell

I have 20 cards of Barry Bonnell. This one is from 1984 Topps.

Playing career: Outfielder Barry Bonnell played for the Braves, Blue Jays and Mariners from 1977 to 1986. In 976 games he hit .272 with 56 HR and 355 RBI. 

Where he is now: After his playing career Bonnell has worked as an airplane pilot as well as careers in the medical and imports industries. He is now a full-time writer who has written a memoir and a baseball how-to book as well as several science fiction short stories. He also works closely with former Mariners teammate Roy Thomas in the latter’s Roy’s Boys Pet Toys venture. Bonnell and Thomas co-hold a patent for a pet-triggered programmable toy.

My memories: In 2009 he shared a great baseball card-related story with this blog.

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type Barry Bonn, ahead of Barry Bonner, Chief of Police for Sterlington, LA.  There do not appear to be any other prominent Barry Bonnells.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Bobby Bonner.

Player Profile: Juan Bonilla

I have twelve cards of Juan Bonilla. This one is from 1982 Fleer. 

Playing career: Second baseman Juan Bonilla played for the Padres, Yankees and Orioles from 1981 to 1987. In 429 games he hit .256 with 7 HR and 101 RBI.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Where he is now: Anyone know where Juan Bonilla is now?

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type Juan Bon, ahead of Juan Bonifacino, a biochemist. Another prominent Juan Bonilla is Group Account Director at GlobalHue.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Barry Bonnell.

Player Profile: Bobby Bonilla

I have 123 cards of Bobby Bonilla. This one is from 1990 Donruss MVP. 

Playing career: OF-3B Bobby Bonilla was one of the biggest free-agent busts in history. The Mets signed him to a huge contract after the 1991 season, in which he hit .302 with 18 HR and 100 RBI for the Pirates. In 1992, his first year for the Mets, Bobby Bo hit just .249 with 19 HR and 70 RBI. Looking back now, you can see that he was probably a prime candidate for a free-agent bust. Other than high RBI numbers coming from hitting in the great Pirates’ line-up of the early 90s, Bonilla’s batting numbers were actually rather pedestrian – in fact, he only reached .900 OPS one time in his career, and that was in 1995, the year the Mets gave up on Bobby and traded him to the Orioles. Now, when there is a greater understanding of how misleading RBI numbers are, the Mets would probably not make that kind of mistake. No, never mind, they are the Mets, of course they would!

My memories: He actually beat the Mets with an extra-inning home run while with the Pirates in a game at Shea Stadium I went to in 1989. I also remember him as a big free agent bust for the Mets, a problem both on the field and off it. I remember him wearing ear plugs on the field so he wouldn’t hear the boos. I had a social studies teacher in high school who was a big Mets fan and he had a big photo of Bonilla cut out of a newspaper that he had on the wall.

Interesting facts: Bonilla returned to the Mets in 1999, but the team wanted to release him after the season. However, they would owe him $5.9 million. Rather than pay him the $5.9 million in a lump sum, they decided to pay him $1.2 million a year for twenty-five years beginning in 2011, with the idea that they could invest the $5.9 million and actually make more off of the deal. Of course, the Mets’ investment advisor was Bernard Madoff, so, in typical Mets fashion, they are paying one of their worst players of the 20th century for decades in the 21st century, and all at a loss.

Where he is now: Special Assistant, Player Services at the MLB Players Association.

Google Autocomplete results: He is third when you type Bobby B, between Bobby Bones, a Nashville radio host, and Bobby Bonds, the former baseball star. There do not appear to be any other prominent Bobby Bonillas.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Juan Bonilla.

Player Profile: Josh Bonifay

I have one card of Josh Bonifay, from 2000 Just. 

Playing career: 2B-OF Josh Bonifay was the Pirates’ 24th round draft pick in 1999, primaily because his father Cam was Pittsburgh’s general manager. Josh actually put up some good numbers in the low minor leagues, most notably hitting .307 with 26 HR and 102 RBI at Class-A Lynchburg in 2002. He went on to play four more years at AA and put up decent numbers, but not enough for him ever to get the call to AAA. In 812 minor league games, he hit .284 with 133 HR and 516 RBI.

Where he is now: Manages the minor league Greeneville Astros.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is seventh when you type Josh Bon, between Josh Bond, an associate of Whitey Bulger, and Josh Bonzie, an actor. There do not appear to be any other prominent Josh Bonifays.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Bobby Bonilla.

Player Profile: Emilio Bonifacio

I have five cards of Emilio Bonifacio. This one is from 2008 Topps. 

Playing career: Second baseman Emilio Bonifacio has came up with the Diamondbacks in 2007 and has since played for the Nationals, Marlins, Royals, Cubs and Braves. He has put up respectable but not eye-popping numbers for second-divison teams, so has been kind of an anonyomous player for the most part. In 705 career games he is hitting .264 with 12 HR, 151 RBI and 158 SB.

Where he is now: He was traded from the Cubs to the Braves in a deadline deal. His combined stats currently are, in 93 games this season, .275 with 2 HR, 20 RBI and 20 SB. He last played yesterday, going 0-1 with a run scored in a loss to the Marlins.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is seventh when you type Emili, between Emilio Pucci, a fashion designer, and Emilios, a pizzeria in Commack, NY. There do not appear to be any other prominent Emilio Bonifacios.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Josh Bonifay.

Player Profile: Bill Bonham

I have six cards of Bill Bonham. This one is from 1978 Topps. 

Playing career: Bill Bonham pitched for the Cubs and Reds from 1971 to 1980. In 300 games (214 starts) he went 75-83 with a 4.01 ERA. A prototypical member of the bad Cubs teams of the 1970s, Bonham led the NL with 22 losses in 1974 and 120 earned runs allowed in 1975.

My memories: Before my time. Only know him from his card.

Where he is now: Anyone know where Bill Bonham is now?

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type Bill Bonh, ahead of Bill Bonin Serial Killer, referring to Los Angeles’s “Freeway Killer”. Another prominent Bill Bonham is a musician.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Emilio Bonifacio.

It's a boy

I don't normally do personal stuff on this blog but I just had to mention that my son was born today (actually yesterday now). Like his big sister, the Yankees won the day he was born. Like his daddy, they beat the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium the day he was born! 

Posts might be a little more sporadic for a while, especially as we are also moving later in the month. I have a lot of player profiles already written but didn't have time to take pictures of the cards, so expect internet scans instead for a little while.

Here are some players who share my son's birthday:

Player Profile: Jung Bong

I have four cards of Jung Bong. This one is from 2004 Topps. 

Playing career: Jung Bong pitched for the Braves and Reds from 2002 to 2004. In 48 games he went 7-4 with a save and a 5.17 ERA.

Where he is now: He has returned to his native Korea and has been pitching for the LG Twins since 2007. This season he is 1-4 with 28 saves and a 3.16 ERA.

Interesting facts: He was featured on the infamous “Bong Puffer” card in 2003 Topps. Both players on the card have been arrested for violence against women. Brandon Puffer’s sexual assault conviction is well known, but Bong was arrested for choking his wife in a 2005 incident.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is sixth when you type Jung B, between Jung Briggs Myers Personality Test, referring to a psychological test, and Jung Blow, referring to a character in a movie. Another prominent Jung Bong is a cinema professor at NYU.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Bill Bonham.

Player Profile: Ricky Bones

I have 39 cards of Ricky Bones. This one is from 1995 Collectors Choice SE. 

Playing career: Ricky Bones (pronounced Bonus) pitched eleven seasons in the major leagues, five of them for the Brewers, by far the most of any of the seven teams he pitched for. His best season by far was 1994, when he was an AL All-Star, going 10-9 with a 3.43 ERA. Overall, he was 63-82 with a 4.85 ERA.

My memories: In 1996 the Yankees got Pat Listach and Graeme Lloyd in a trade with the Brewers. It turned out that Listach was hurt so the Brewers threw in Bones too. I remembered him as being a good pitcher so was excited for the Yankees to get him, but even by that time it was pretty clear he had little left. I hadn’t realized he actually stuck around for five more years for various teams.

Where he is now: Bullpen coach for the Mets.

Interesting facts: He is married to former Yankee Ricky Ledee’s cousin.

He was mentioned in the Mitchell report due to taking steroids for a degenerative hip condition.

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type Ricky Bon, ahead of Ricky Bobby, a movie character. Another prominent Ricky Bones is an mma fighter (real name Ricky Bonnet).

Coming up next: The next profile will be Jung Bong.

Darren Blakely on baseball cards

Outfielder Darren Blakely played eight seasons in the Angels, Yankees, Padres and White Sox organizations. In 904 games he hit .247 with 115 HR and 456 RBI. He kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"I really don't have a good story to tell about the cards other than I've always enjoyed signing for the fans. I was a player who really appreciated the fans because I was in their seats at one time. I think out of all my cards I've had taken...I might be missing two. I wanted to keep one of each to show my son and give him guidance for whatever he wants to do. I used to collect cards growing up but wasn't living in a good area and they were vandalized."

Thanks!