Background and career
Roberto Martin Antonio Bonilla ( boh-NEE-yə; born February 23, 1963) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001. Bonilla was one of MLB's best batters and overall top players in the late 1980s and early 1990s with powerful hitting strength, as well as a part of the highly successful and pennant contending Pittsburgh Pirates organization around the same time. Bonilla recorded impressive statistics in home runs, RBIs, doubles, extra base hits, and Wins Above Replacement averages, as well as four All-Star selections, three Silver Slugger Awards and was a top candidate for the National League's Most Valuable Player award during his tenure with the Pirates. He led the league in extra base hits (78) during the 1990 MLB season and doubles (44) during the 1991 MLB season. Bonilla signed with the New York Mets during the 1991–92 offseason, becoming the highest-paid player in the league at the time, earning more than $6 million per year. However, he struggled to live up to expectations with the Mets (which made the contract the subject of much criticism) and throughout the rest of his career. He played with the Baltimore Orioles from 1995 to 1996, reaching the American League Championship Series with the team in 1996. He earned two additional All-Star appearances and helped the Florida Marlins win the 1997 World Series. After being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers partway through the 1998 season, he was traded back to the New York Mets before the 1999 season. When the Mets wanted to release him at the end of the year, he negotiated a settlement whereby the Mets would pay him $1.19 million on July 1 every year from 2011 through 2035, a date that has become known in Mets fandom as "Bobby Bonilla Day". He is also paid $500,000 by the Orioles every year from 2004 to 2028 because they also have a deferred contract with him. After two more lackluster seasons, one each with the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, he retired at the end of the 2001 season. Through his 16 years in professional baseball, Bonilla accumulated a .279 batting average, with a .358 on-base percentage and a .472 slugging percentage.
Bonilla played baseball at Herbert H. Lehman High School in the Bronx and graduated in 1981. He was not selected in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft and spent a semester at New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, New York pursuing a degree in computer science. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates after being spotted by scout Syd Thrift at a baseball camp in Europe. His rise through the Pirates' farm system came to a halt during spring training in 1985 when he broke his right leg in a collision with teammate Bip Roberts. The Chicago White Sox then acquired him through the Rule 5 draft during the 1985–86 offseason, and Bonilla made his major league debut with the White Sox at the start of the 1986 season. Thrift, then the Pirates' general manager, reacquired the unhappy Bonilla in exchange for pitcher José DeLeón later that year. Bonilla also played from 1984 to 1988 with the Mayagüez Indians of the Puerto Rican Winter League.
Bonilla became the Pirates' starting third baseman in 1987, but after committing 67 errors over his next two seasons, manager Jim Leyland moved him to right field. There he formed a formidable combination alongside stars Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke and helped propel the Pittsburgh Pirates to two of their three straight National League East Division titles from 1990 to 1992. From 1986 to 1991, Bonilla had a .284 batting average, with 868 hits, 191 doubles, 114 home runs, and 500 runs batted in (RBIs). He led the league in extra base hits in 1990, and in doubles in 1991. In those years he placed second and third, respectively, in National League MVP voting. Bonilla also won three Silver Slugger Awards and made the All-Star team four years in a row. On October 28, 1991, he became a free agent.
Bonilla signed a five-year, $29 million contract (equivalent to $66.5 million today) with the New York Mets on December 2, 1991. The $6.1 million he received in 1992 was a record for a single season by a margin of $2.3 million. He became the highest-paid player in the National League from 1992 to 1994. However, his offensive production diminished somewhat, finishing with a .278 batting average, 91 home runs, and 277 runs batted in during his three-and-a-half-year tenure with the Mets. Despite this, Bonilla ended up participating in two more All-Star Games (1993 and 1995) and hit a career-high 34 home runs in 1993. Bonilla's time with the Mets was marked by a contentious relationship with New York baseball media. In his introductory press conference after signing with the organization, he challenged them by stating, "I know you all are gonna try, but you're not gonna be able to wipe the smile off my face." On another occasion, he called the press box during a game to complain about an error that he was charged with.
Bonilla was acquired along with a player to be named later (Jimmy Williams on August 16) by the Baltimore Orioles from the Mets in exchange for Damon Buford and Alex Ochoa on July 28, 1995. He helped the Orioles reach the 1996 American League Championship Series.
Following the 1996 season, Bonilla was once again granted free agency, and signed with the Florida Marlins, reuniting with his old manager, Jim Leyland, where he helped the Marlins win the 1997 World Series. He returned to the Marlins for the 1998 season and batted .278 through 28 games.
