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Congratulations to Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez for being elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown this July.
How is it that Barry Bonds is still not at the 75 percent mark that is needed to be elected by the voting members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of American (BBWAA)? The all-time home run leader with 762 and 73 in a single season (2001) deserves a place in Cooperstown.
Bonds was a Hall of Famer long before the accusations of PED’s. If you just break down his stats from only 1986-1998 you get EIGHT Golden Glove Awards, one NL Home run leader and three NL MVP awards. Some more food for thought for you. During the 86-98 span, Bonds recorded 411 home runs, 403 doubles, 63 triples, 445 stolen bases, 1,364 runs scored, 1,216 RBI’s, and 3,679 total bases.
Let’s not forget that Bonds never failed a Major League administered PED test before his career came to an end in 2007. I repeat, He. Never. Failed. A. Major. League. Administered. PED. Test.
He was exonerated of perjury in a federal criminal case and a guilty finding for obstruction of justice, but the case overturned in 2015 by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This trial cost taxpayers $55 Million! No wonder the state of California is broke. This entire case was a joke and a waste of time and money. Give me all the PED’s you can find and I still can’t hit a home run in a major league stadium. What can hit home runs in a major league stadium, God given talent! There is no magic drug that can help you hit a round ball with a round bat square, going 90 miles per hour and changing direction. NONE! That’s God-give skill, not PED’s. For twelve years Bonds was defined as an MVP; Man Vs. Prosecution.
The good news is that one-day Bonds WILL be elected into the baseball Hall of Fame.
In Bond’s fifth year of eligibility he is already passed the 50 percent mark. In the past 40 years, there have been 26 other players that have reached the 50 percent or higher in their first five years of being on the ballot. Twenty-two of those 26 players all got elected into the Hall of Fame and the other four are still on the voting ballot. There is still time for Bonds. I hope that one day I can take my twin brother to Cooperstown and watch his favorite baseball player give his induction speech. One day, it will happen.