| ByRich Draper/MLB.com |  |
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds long ago staked his claim as one of the greatest ballplayers in history, and at times the Giants slugger seemingly can only top himself for Major League honors.
He did it again on Monday, capturing his unprecedented fourth consecutive National League Most Valuable Player Award and seventh overall, records only the 40-year-old veteran can boast. Bonds received 24 of 32 first-place votes, seven second-place votes and one third-place vote. Finishing second was Adrian Beltre of Los Angeles, followed by Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds of the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals.
"Anytime you win an award it's an honor and a privilege," said an obviously happy Bonds. "It's a lot of hard work and everything is correlated with the team. It's overwhelming and I'm almost at a loss for words.
 2004 Voting ￢ | |||
| AMERICAN | 1st | Total | |
| Guerrero | 21 | 354 | |
| Sheffield | 5 | 254 | |
| Ramirez | 1 | 238 | |
| Ortiz | 1 | 174 | |
| Tejada | - | 123 | |
| Santana | - | 117 | |
| Ichiro | - | 98 | |
| Complete Results > | |||
| NATIONAL | 1st | Total | |
| B. Bonds | 24 | 407 | |
| A. Beltre | 6 | 311 | |
| A. Pujols | 1 | 247 | |
| S. Rolen | 1 | 226 | |
| J. Edmonds | - | 160 | |
| J.D. Drew | - | 114 | |
| L. Berkman | - | 100 | |
| Complete Results > | |||
| All-Time Results | MLB Awards coverage > | |||
"But you almost wish there could be an MVP for each team," he added. "All of us deserve it. Adrian definitely deserved it. Pujols, Edmonds, Rolen. It could be split pretty much equally."
Yet there can be only one MVP, and voting members of the Baseball Writers of America overwhelmingly gave Bonds the honor.
In his 20th professional season, Bonds led the Senior Circuit with a .362 average and an .812 slugging percentage, blasted 45 homers, collected 102 RBIs, became the first player to record a plus-.600 on-base percentage (.609) and hit .394 with runners in scoring position.
Bonds' numbers almost defy physics, especially when one considers he was walked 232 times, almost half of them intentional. He had only 373 official plate appearances -- the second lowest total of his career -- over 147 games.
Putting the walks into perspective, Pujols was passed 84 times and had 219 more official at-bats than Bonds, about 50 games' worth.
Now the oldest player to win the MVP trophy -- Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Willie Stargell was the co-winner in 1979 at age 39 -- Bonds credits multiple factors for staying a potent player and said his real motivation is striving for a World Series championship.
"I'm not trying to prove anything being over 40," said Bonds. "Maybe I'm just getting better with age. What drives me more than anything is I want a championship. I watch other people win and it drives me to want to be in that circle and try to get better."
As for his sheer talent, Bonds says he had invaluable insight into the game from his father, Bobby Bonds, and godfather Willie Mays, but says he is "blessed" when it comes to physical prowess -- the reflexes, the hand-eye coordination.
"I can't explain it," he said. "I don't have an answer and don't understand why God has blessed me. I'm grateful and excited and happy about it. When I play, a light goes on and everything changes inside of me. I can't understand it."
Bonds' stats were astounding but confounding. With the opposition rarely giving him a good pitch to hit and also shifting the infield all the way toward the right side, Bonds still helped the Giants score 850 runs, second only to the Cardinals' 855. The Giants slugger literally hit the daylights out of the ball, batting .475 during day games and giving San Francisco a huge lift during its strong run for the playoffs. Bonds has 703 lifetime home runs, third on the career list, trailing Babe Ruth by 11 and all-time leader Hank Aaron by 52. "I was hanging with Hank at the World Series and told him that, whatever happens, I'm not trying to break his record. I still have game left and I want to win a World Series. When those go away, it [the records] doesn't matter." Bonds said he will honor his contract with San Francisco which expires at the end of the 2006 season, then let whom he termed "the new kids on the block" take his place among the baseball elite and win awards. There is also family to consider, after seemingly endless summers away from home. "Every year is different and next year is another challenge for me and my career," he explained. "Two years later I'm quitting anyway. It's their turn now. I don't have that many swings left in me and it's time for the next generation. "In two more years, my son [Nikolai] graduates from high school and I don't want my son gone. I don't want to lose him to college and he's gone again. As older players, you fight to be with your family and make up for the sacrifices they gave up for you. Nothing takes away from family, and that's weighing on me the most." Bonds' award also gives San Francisco its fifth straight MVP trophy, as Jeff Kent won the honor in 2000. The only other team to have four consecutive MVPs is the New York Yankees, who did it twice: from 1954-'57, with Yogi Berra winning the first two and Mickey Mantle the next two, and from 1960-63, with two for Roger Maris, one for Mantle, and one for Elston Howard. Bonds also took National League honors in 1990 and 1992 with Pittsburgh and in 1993, his first season with the Giants. Other San Francisco winners are Kevin Mitchell (1989), Willie McCovey (1969) and Mays (1965).
Barry Bonds / LF 
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 230 lbs
Bats: L / Throws: L
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Source: http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news.jsp?ymd=20041115&content_id=913660&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp
