Bonilla was one of MLB's best batters and overall top players in the late 1980s and early 1990s with powerful hitting strength,[2][3] as well as a part of the highly successful and pennant contending Pittsburgh Pirates organization around the same time.

[4] Bonilla recorded impressive statistics in home runs, RBIs, doubles, extra base hits, and Wins Above Replacement averages, as well as four All-Star selections, three Silver Slugger Awards and was a top candidate for the National League's Most Valuable Player award during his tenure with the Pirates.

Bonilla signed with the New York Mets during the 1991–92 offseason, becoming the highest-paid player in the league at the time, earning more than $6 million per year.

[8] His rise through the Pirates' farm system came to a halt during spring training in 1985 when he broke his right leg in a collision with teammate Bip Roberts.

Thrift, then the Pirates' general manager, reacquired the unhappy Bonilla in exchange for pitcher José DeLeón later that year.

[9] Bonilla became the Pirates' starting third baseman in 1987, but after committing 67 errors over his next two seasons, manager Jim Leyland moved him to right field.

[10] There he formed a formidable combination alongside stars Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke and helped propel the Pittsburgh Pirates to two of their three straight National League East Division titles from 1990 to 1992.

[15] Bonilla was acquired along with a player to be named later (Jimmy Williams on August 16) by the Baltimore Orioles from the Mets in exchange for Damon Buford and Alex Ochoa on July 28, 1995.

On May 14, 1998, the Marlins traded Bonilla to the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with Manuel Barrios, Jim Eisenreich, Charles Johnson, and Gary Sheffield, in exchange for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile.

Mets owner Fred Wilpon accepted the deal mostly because he was heavily invested with Ponzi scheme operator Bernie Madoff, and the 10 percent returns he thought he was getting on his investments with Madoff outweighed the eight percent interest the Mets would be paying on Bonilla's initial $5.9 million.

He retired after the season finished citing "injuries and reduced playing time" as the main reason for his decision.

[7][27] Bonilla participated in the Players Trust All-Star Golf Tournament, organized by Dave Winfield and Joe Mauer in 2014.