Do Big Mac and Bonds just swing for the long ball every at bat? Are they just trying to pad their statistics(and fatten their wallets). Do they swing for the fence even if it is not helpful for their team? I know that a home run is very helpful for the team, but in some situations a safer base hit type swing or a walk is what the team needs.
I think any hitter would try for whatever the situation calls for, whether it be to advance runners, bring runners in, or just get on base. I don’t think it differs much for the prolific home-run hitters.
Few players are concerned with their own numbers; I’d venture to say it’s mostly the media and fans who really care about who hits the most home runs or who strikes out the most hitters. If hitting a home run helps their team win, or if it gets their teammates excited and confident, then sure, hitters like McGwire and Bonds will continue to shoot for them. But I doubt they do it for the sake of their own stats or money.
Most likely not, since most hitters will say that trying for home runs is the easiest way to make sure you don’t hit them. That’s not to say that in certain stuations (team is way ahead and game is basically over) players won’t take an extra hard rip at it. Also, the pitch count comes into play (or should). Good hitters don’t swing at an 0-2 pitch the same way they swing at a 3-0 pitch (if they even do swing 3-0). Bonds and McGwire are good hitters who happen to be extremely strong and have perfect power swings. The home runs result when they make good contact with their normal swing.
There have been hitters like this, but Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire (not McGuire) aren’t two of them. Players who basically just swung for the fences include Tony Armas, Dave Kingman, and others. You’ll note they did not hit as many home runs as Bonds and McGwire, which is quite telling.
McGwire, and Bonds to a lesser extent, are extreme examples of VERY disciplined power hitters, hitters who will take a lot of pitches in an effort to either get a perfect pitch to hit or take the walk. If they were just hitting home runs you’d have a point, but they’re also two of the best players in recent baseball history at just getting on base. If you kept everything else the same, they’d be very good hitters if they only hit ten homers a year.
Bonds, especially, does far more than just hit homers; he was a terrific basestealer and a tremendous defensive player when he was young, and his career average is .289. Until this year he’s never been a historically dominating power hitter, he’s just been very good at hitting homers for a long time. In his long, illustrious career, he has only led the league in homers once.