Former MLB star and San Francisco Giants legend Barry Bonds got just 66 percent of ballots in the last Hall of Fame voting process, failing to get the necessary 75 percent for induction.
Since it was his 10th time on the ballot, he will see his name removed from consideration for next year’s voting process through the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).
Bonds, however, still has a chance to get in through the Today’s Game Committee.
The Today’s Game Committee has 16 members who consider some retired players’ cases to enter the Hall.
Their next voting round will be held in December 2022, and he would need 12 votes for induction.
It’s not a given that the committee, formed by several members of the Hall of Fame, executives, and veteran media members, votes Bonds to be enshrined.
Bonds Is Not A Media Darling
We have explained Bonds’ case for the Hall of Fame several times: he allegedly did steroids in a time that half the league did it, and MLB turned the other way and ignored the problem.
He never failed a test and was never suspended.
As far as accomplishments on a baseball field go, there is no one like Bonds in the Hall or out of it: he won seven MVP awards and beat the all-time and single-season home run records.
But is there a case against him going to the Hall of Fame?
Of course it is: that’s why he still isn’t a member.
Some people say that getting Bonds into the Hall of Fame would create a problem because there would need to be a distinction among those who did it all “cleanly” and those who had some sort of “competitive advantage”.
Some say that letting him in would mean that other players with allegations of steroids use would need to have their cases revisited.
Lots of fans, voters, and observers recognize that MLB didn’t really address the steroids issue at its due time, but say that Bonds had the choice not to use any substance to his advantage, and did it anyway.
The Links To Steroids Are Hard To Ignore For Some
Bonds’ career is stained by several scandals related to steroids.
He was in the center of the controversy since the early 2000s, in the BALCO scandal.
It all derived in perjury and obstruction of justice cases, but had his conviction overturned.
He was also named in the book Game of Shadows, in which it was mentioned he used stanozolol and other steroids.
Others cite the “character clause”, and adhere to the fact that he was viewed as a difficult teammate and was never liked by the press.
Between the steroids scandal, the perjury case, the allegations of domestic abuse, and other off-the-field incidents and situations, those using the character clause argument may have a point.
I used to badly want to vote for the Hall of Fame someday. Now I'm glad I dodged that headache. Boycotting Schilling? Sure. But how does one weigh that against the domestic violence allegations vs. Bonds, Andruw and Vizquel? Helton's habitual drunk driving? Clemens/McReady?
— Matthew Pouliot (@matthewpouliot) November 25, 2020
Additionally, and this is nitpicking, he was just short of hitting .300 for his career (he finished at .298) and, most importantly, he didn’t have 3,000 hits (2,935), which is an important milestone for some of the most traditional voters.
In any case, Bonds did more than enough to deserve a place in the Hall of Fame.
Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds should not
— FIRE HOWIE ROSEMAN (@CaptainHottakes) November 22, 2021
However, saying that he doesn’t have a strong case against him is denying the reality.
NEXT: Barry Bonds Has Early Hall Of Fame Support