Robert Barry Bonnell (born October 27, 1953) is an American former

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). After playing basketball and baseball for the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

(OSU), he played baseball for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

between 1977 and 1986.

Early life

Bonnell was a star athlete at Milford High School near

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, where he played both varsity

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

on championship teams. Following high school graduation in 1971, Bonnell attended OSU on a full athletic scholarship where he played both baseball and basketball. Bonnell left college during his senior year to play MLB. The

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

made him the first overall pick in the 1975 MLB January Draft – Secondary Phase (for college players who had been previously drafted out of high school).

MLB career

During his 10-year MLB career, Bonnell played for the Atlanta Braves of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

, and the

and

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

. His major league debut with the Braves was in a game against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

on May 4, . His best year was , when he

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

.318 (10 HR, 54 RBI and 10 SB) for the Blue Jays. Known by his peers as a "money hitter", Bonnell hit four grand slams during his career and led his teams in game-winning hits nearly every year he played. Bonnell was known for his strong and accurate throwing arm. Traded to the Seattle Mariners in , he contracted

Valley fever A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over a ve ...

during spring training, and developed pneumonia. Bonnell struggled to play with the affliction. It took a year to recover and he served his remaining two years as a bit player.

Personal life

Bonnell married his high school sweetheart, Stefnie Stapp. Bonnell is a devout member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, and he introduced Braves teammate,

Dale Murphy Dale Bryan Murphy (born March 12, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player. During an 18-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , he played as an outfielder, catcher, and first baseman for the Atlanta Braves, Philade ...

, to the faith.

References

External links

*Barry Bonnell * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnell, Barry 1953 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Hamilton County, Ohio Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Greenwood Braves players Latter Day Saints from Ohio Major League Baseball outfielders Ohio State Buckeyes baseball players Richmond Braves players Savannah Braves players Seattle Mariners players Spartanburg Phillies players Sun City Rays players Toronto Blue Jays players Humboldt Crabs players 20th-century American sportsmen