Barry Bonds says he 'belongs' in Cooperstown: 'Why is the Hall of Fame punishing me?'
Bonds' 762 home runs are the most in MLB history, but he was tied to PEDs in his career
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Barry Bonds' name appeared on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for 10 years, and he has not been inducted.
Players like Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling are at peace with not being in despite their numbers being worthy. MLB's home run king is clearly bothered by his fate.
Bonds' numbers are all linked to performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds admitted to using BALCO "cream" but has consistently claimed he never took steroids or failed a drug test.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Those claims were also the subject of an investigation that ended with Bonds convicted of obstructing justice in 2011, stemming from the BALCO investigation and his grand jury testimony in 2003. However, that ruling was overturned four years later.
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Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hits career home run No. 756 against Mike Bacsik of the Washington Nationals Aug. 7, 2007, at AT&T Park in San Francisco. (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
Given that he is now not guilty of a crime, and he says he never failed any MLB drug tests, Bonds hinted that writers who voted him as the NL MVP seven times during his playing career made a mistake.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"People have to understand something is that the fact is that I was vindicated," Bonds said on the first episode of BLeav's "Hollywood Swingin'" with Stephen Bishop and Jerry Hairston Jr. "I went to the court. I was in federal court, and I won my case. One hundred percent. Where is the vindication of me in my own sport? That’s what bothers me."
But after the legal talk, Bonds said his numbers speak for themselves, and the writers unfairly punished him and players who have been suspended in the sport.
"Major League Baseball, and let's get this clearly and straight, hasn't had a rule, and has rules, whether they were broken or not broken, there were rules, some rules," Bonds continued. "My era, there was no rules. They changed the rules in 2003 or 2004, whenever the rules started to change, there was rules. There's some people that were convicted of those rules during the case of those rules.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Well, Major League Baseball said if you did X, you were suspended for X. … His numbers still are the same based on what he has accomplished that does not prevent him from the other part of getting into the Hall of Fame. It has nothing to do with it. … Major League Baseball already punished you for those stints. Why is the Hall of Fame punishing me? It doesn't make sense. It makes zero sense that you're being double punished for something that you've already been punished for.
"I belong with my teammates in that Hall of Fame. One hundred percent."
Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants kneels in the outfield as he waits for play to start between innings against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park April 8, 2004. (Steve Grayson/WireImage)
Most voters did dismiss Bonds' ties to steroids. In his final year on the ballot in 2022, 66.0% of the writers voted for his induction. A player needs 75% for induction.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Some who were on the fence, though, left him off due to, by Bonds' own admission, not being the "best clubhouse guy."
"Because it's a business, and people don't understand that I took it as a business," Bonds said on "R2C2 with Ryan Ruocco and CC Sabathia" last month. "Most teams, everyone thought I was being a d---. But I really — I wasn't at all. I love you, I respect you, I would help you in any aspect. I'm not gonna tell you what I do because we don't know how long we're teammates. And in a teammate factor is that you're going to another team market to be traded, and then you're gonna tell someone what I told you.
"Ain't no way in hell I'm ever telling anybody what I do. I'm not gonna tell you what I see. I'll give you general conversation to help you, but I don't know how long we're gonna be teammates. And this is a business, so I protect my business. I wasn't an a--hole, I wasn't trying to be a d---. It was just, ‘Hey Barry, what do you see?’ I see a pitcher. ‘What does he throw?’ Balls and strikes. And they're like, 'Why do you gotta be a d---?' And I'm like, 'Why are you taking it personal?'"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Left fielder Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hits his 663rd home run during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at SBC Park April 17, 2004, in San Francisco. (Michael Zagaris/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Bonds' potential enshrinement status in Cooperstown is now up to other committees in the Hall. The Veterans Committee did not elect him last December.
His 73 homers in 2001 and his 232 walks, 120 intentional passes and .609 on-base percentage in 2004 remain single-season records. Bonds is also the only member of the 350-350 club in MLB history. He had 762 home runs and 514 stolen bases. His No. 25 is retired by the San Francisco Giants.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}His 2,558 walks and 688 intentional walks — more than the entirety of the Tampa Bay Rays franchise — are both MLB records, and his 1.051 OPS is the fourth-best in MLB history behind Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig.
HBO announced in May it had launched production on a documentary that will highlight Bonds, who continues to be one of the most polarizing baseball players of all time.