Keeping Bonds out of Hall is right punishment

Since Barry Bonds is not going to suffer any real criminal punishment, I’m glad to hear that it looks like he will at least be kept out of the Baseball Hall of Fame in retaliation for cheating the game.

Most baseball writers have indicated that they will not vote for Bonds next year (or in any other year) when he appears on the Hall of Fame ballot. More than 50% of the writers surveyed by the Daily News refuse to even consider voting for him because of his use of performance enhancing drugs and his obstruction of justice conviction. I couldn’t agree more.

Some writers are saying that they will vote for Bonds anyway because he was already on a Hall of Fame track before using PEDs. I understand the argument, but I don’t think it excuses his behavior and the fact that he cheated both the game and other players out of the recognition they truly deserve. In my mind, Hank Aaron is still the all-time home run king. The books may recognize Bonds as the leader in that category, but I don’t.

Bonds is known to have a big ego and to be a surly guy (I feel really sorry for the kids forced to deal with him when he performs his community service) and missing out on the Hall of Fame will surely be a sharp blow to that ego, especially if the vote is not even close to the 75% needed for enshrinement. As much as I would have liked to have seen Bonds go to jail, the realist in me knew that was not going to happen. Keeping him out of the Hall is the only way to punish Bonds for the damage he caused to baseball.

Thanks to druchoy via Wikipedia for the Barry Bonds photo.