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Maroon Madness Final Four: No. 1 Reggie Jackson vs. No. 1 Barry Bonds

From Packard Stadium to the Final Four. But who are you sending to the final?

Walter Iooss Jr. — Sports Illustrated/Denis Poroy — AP

Matchup:

In this stacked semi-final battle, the two greatest ASU baseball players of all time matchup up for a chance to take on Phil Mickelson in the final.

The pair rolled through the first two rounds and in the Elite Eight, No. 1-seed Reggie Jackson took care of Randall McDaniel with 75 percent of the vote and fellow No. 1-seed Barry Bonds received a 78 percent majority against Dustin Pedroia.

Career-Defining Moment:

Jackson (from Sweet 16): For Jackson, this one’s easy. It was that night in 1977 where he came to the park as Reggie Jackson and left as “Mr. October.” In Game 6 of the ‘77 World Series, Jackson etched his name into the Fall Classic lure, belting three home runs over the Yankee Stadium wall on just three pitches from three different Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitchers. That night, Jackson won his fourth out what would be five World Series in his 21-season Hall of Fame career.

Bonds (from Sweet 16): August 7, 2007. On a chilly San Francisco summer night, Bonds launched an 86-MPH offering from Nationals’ left-hander Mike Bacsik for career home run No. 756. Bonds passed Hank Aaron and sent the sell out crowd at AT&T Park into a frenzy. In a very polarizing moment for baseball, fans began debating who was truly the home run king due to the belief Bonds used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career.

Resumes:

Mr. October’s Resume

Career Stats
Career Stats
ASU Career
15 HRs (most in single-season with wood bat)
1966 Sporting News' National Player of the Year
Pro Career
5-time World Series champion (1972-74, 1977, 1978)
American League MVP (1973)
14-time All-Star (1961, 1971-75, 1977-84)
2-time World Series MVP (1973,1977)
563 HRs (14th)

The Home Run King’s Resume

Career Stats
Career Stats
ASU Career
.347 batting average
45 home runs
247 hits
175 RBI
Member of the All-College World Series Team in 1983 and 1984
Named to the All-Time College World Series Team in 1996
MLB Career
MLB-record 762 home runs
MLB single-season record 73 home runs in 2001
7-time MVP
14-time all-star
Career .298 batting average
12-time Silver Slugger Award winner