When all the glitz and glamour of hitting a second place home run ball dies out, the current Barry Bonds is nothing more than an average player—perhaps even slightly below average. Is Bonds worth $22,000,000 per year? This season he is hitting .262 with 21 RBI and 7 home runs. Ok, yes, he has not played in every single game. However, he has played in 45 of the 56 games though. In fact, not playing further deteriorates his worth.

At the current pace, Bonds is going to finish this season with a grand total of 20 home runs—wow. How does he stack up with the rest of the league? Right now the league average is .266—this includes even hitters that should be in the minors. Bonds is hitting 4 points below the league average. How about home runs? The league average is 2, so he has that covered. He is currently 18 home runs back of the leader—it’s only the beginning of June.

So, is a player that hits maybe 20 home runs per year with a .266 average who also can’t run or field too well worth $22,000,000? His current ability is worth about 2-4 million per year. Perhaps a little more if he can help bring in more tickets than a team can get without him. He’s quickly becoming the equivalent of the circus animal in a cage that people come to see and throw scraps of food at. His ability as a real baseball player is fading fast. While he was one of the better players of this generation, one can only hope he knows when to quit—instead of ruining his image in our minds.