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Maroon Madness Final: No. 1 Barry Bonds vs. No. 1 Phil Mickelson

32 athletes down to 2. Who is the greatest ASU pro athlete of all time?

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Matchup:

It all comes down to this.

After over a month of matchups and articles, you have voted No. 1-seed Barry Bonds and No. 1-seed Phil Mickelson into the final.

Bonds and fellow No. 1-seed Reggie Jackson finished with 122 votes each after a day of voting in the Final Four but Bonds edged him out with 56 percent in the tie-break. Mickelson defeated James Harden in the Final Four with 56 percent of the vote.

Read about each below and then vote on the champ right here:

Notables:

Bonds (from first-round article): Baseball’s home run king played 22 season in MLB but his use of steroids has led many to question his records and kept him out of the Hall of Fame. Regardless, Bonds is one of the greatest hitters in baseball history and won seven MVP Awards with the Pirates and Giants. In three season at ASU, Bonds helped lead ASU to two College World Series appearances and hit 45 home runs.

Mickelson (from first-round article): At ASU, Mickelson was the winner of three consecutive NCAA individual championships as well as the nationally awarded Haskins Award for the best collegiate golfer. He additionally led the Sun Devils to a team championship in 1990. In his professional career, ‘Lefty’ has racked up five major wins, including three Master’s victories in 2004, 2006 and 2010.

Career-Defining Moment:

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.

Mickelson (from Sweet Sixteen): While Mickelson has had several, by far the most defining moment is the one that introduced him to the world. For Phil, he gained national recognition before he went professional. It isn’t common for a golfer to be named National Collegiate Golfer of the year three times in a row. Only Mickelson and Ben Crenshaw have won it three times. Additionally, Mickelson didn’t win his first major until 13 years into his professional career. Now he is a World Golf Hall of Famer.

Resumes:

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

Lefty’s Resume

Career stats
Career stats
ASU Career
Three-time Haskins Award winner
Four-time All-American
Three-time NCAA champion
Pro Career
2012 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee
9th-most PGA Tour victories (43)
Three time Master's winner - 2004, 2006, 2010
PGA Championship winner - 2005
The Open Championship winner - 2013