Bobby Bonilla
From The Met Wiki
Bobby Bonilla was an infielder and outfielder for the Mets during the 1990s. He played with the team from 1992 to 1995 and in 1999. Bonilla had a .270 batting average with 95 home runs and 295 runs batted in as a Met.
Bonilla joined the Mets as a free agent after six seasons with the White Sox and Pirates in December of 1991. In ’92, he led the Mets with 19 homers and a .348 on base percentage. At St. Louis on April 6, Bobby hit two home runs in his Mets debut. His second homer was a two-run blast in the 10th inning that gave the Mets a 4-2 win over the Cardinals. He had two singles and a homer in the Mets’ 8-0 victory at San Diego on May 19. Bonilla had two singles, a double and a homer in a 6-3 Mets triumph on May 23 at San Francisco. He did exactly the same in the Mets’ 15-1 victory at Pittsburgh on June 6. Bobby had a run-scoring single that put the Mets ahead to stay in a 5-2 win over the Expos on June 16 at Shea. He drove in three runs with a pair of singles in an 8-2 Mets win on July 11 at Houston. Bonilla also hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning for a 4-3 Mets victory over the Reds at Shea Stadium on August 30.
In 1993, Bonilla had 262 total bases in 139 games played. He had a team-leading 34 home runs and 81 runs scored for the season. At Shea on April 23, Bobby had a two-run homer and a three-run homer to lead the Mets to a 6-1 win over the Padres. He homered in the tenth inning to give the Mets a 6-4 victory over the Pirates on May 19 at Shea. Bonilla hit a two-run homer to put the Mets ahead to stay in a 4-3 victory over the Reds at Shea on May 29. He doubled, homered and drove in four runs in the Mets’ 8-3 triumph over the Expos on June 21 at Shea. Bobby hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning to give the Mets a 6-3 win over the Dodgers in the second game of a doubleheader at Shea on July 8. He hit a two-run homer in the Mets’ 5-4 victory over the Astros on August 30 at Shea. Bonilla also had a single and two homers in a 9-8 Mets loss at Chicago on September 4.
Bonilla batted .290 in the strike-shortened 1994 season. He played in a team-high 108 games and led the Mets with 24 doubles, 20 homers and 60 runs scored. Bobby had three singles and a home run in a 12-10 Mets defeat to the Dodgers at Shea on April 30. He homered twice in a 7-4 Mets win over the Giants on May 4 at Shea. Bobby hit .440 (22-for-50) during a 12-game hitting streak from May 17 to May 30. He singled, doubled and homered in the Mets’ 11-3 victory at Colorado on June 6. Bonilla had a three-run homer and a run-scoring single in a 7-3 Mets win over the Padres in the first game of a doubleheader on July 15 at Shea. He also had a pair of two-run homers in the Mets’ 7-4 victory at St. Louis on July 27.
Bobby had 103 hits in 80 games in 1995. He had 53 RBIs during the season. In the Mets’ home opener on April 28, Bonilla had two doubles, a homer and three RBIs in the team’s 10-8 win over the Cardinals. He had five total bases and a runs scored in a 5-1 Mets victory at Philadelphia on May 19. Bobby had a single and two double in the Mets’ 9-6 victory at San Francisco on June 8. He drove in the winning run with a ninth-inning single for a 5-4 Mets triumph over the Cubs at Shea on July 5. Bonilla had a two-run double and a two-run single in the Mets’ 12-3 victory over the Cubs on July 18 at Chicago. One day later, he homered in the 10th inning to give the Mets a 5-4 win over the Cardinals at St. Louis. Bonilla also had three doubles in a 12-1 Mets win at Colorado on July 21.
On July 28, 1995, Bonilla was traded to the Baltimore Orioles. He played for the Orioles, Marlins and Dodgers up to the end of the 1998 season. In November of ’98, Bobby returned to the Mets from Los Angeles in a trade for Mel Rojas.
Bonilla had 119 at bats in a reserve role with the Mets in 1999. In the home opener on April 12, he had three singles and scored twice in an 8-1 Mets victory over the Marlins. He homered to put the Mets ahead to stay in a 3-2 win at Cincinnati on April 20. Bobby had a two-run double in the Mets’ 7-2 win over the Yankees in the Bronx on June 6. He also appeared in five games for the Mets in the ’99 post-season.
In 2000, Bonilla completed his career with the Atlanta Braves.
