Baseball's Most Feared Sluggers

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
May 17, 2006

Baseball's Most Feared Sluggers

Barry Bonds

Age and injury have slowed his production considerably this season, but Bonds still excels at one thing: getting on base. He leads the majors with 39 walks (17 intentional) and a .481 on-base percentage.

Carlos Delgado

Only Milwaukee's Carlos Lee and St. Louis' Albert Pujols have hit more home runs in the NL this year than Delgado, who has 13. The former Blue Jays stalwart has hit at least 30 home runs for nine consecutive seasons.

Derrek Lee

Few players hit the ball hard as consistently as Lee, who has been out since late April with a broken wrist. The Cubs are 7-17 since the injury to Lee, who had a breakout season last year with 46 home runs.

Alex Rodriguez

He's off to a slow start this season with only nine home runs, but Rodriguez is the reigning AL MVP and has ample protection in the Yankees' lineup.

Vladimir Guerrero

Expansive plate coverage makes Vlad the Impaler one of the hardest hitters to pitch to in the big leagues. Guerrero has hit 315 career home runs and has never struck out more than 100 times in a season.

Manny Ramirez

Last season, the mercurial Ramirez became one of only eight players to top 30 home runs and 100 RBIs for an eighth consecutive season.

Jim Thome

Only Bonds has more intentional walks than Thome's seven. The former Phillies and Indians slugger has sparked the world champion White Sox' offense with 16 home runs, including 10 in April.

David Ortiz

Ortiz was Mr. Clutch last season, batting .346 with 11 home runs in "close and late" situations. He already has two home runs in 17 at-bats against the rival Bronx Bombers this season.

Jason Giambi

Suddenly back in MVP form, Giambi is arguably the most lethal offensive force in the AL this season, leading in OPS (1.134) while averaging a major-league-best 4.60 pitches per plate appearance.

Albert Pujols

With Bonds in decline, is there any doubt who the best hitter in baseball is? Pujols leads the major leagues with an OPS of 1.266 (a career high), as well with 19 home runs and 48 RBIs.

Baseball's Most Feared Sluggers