Barry Bonds thinks he deserves to be in
the Baseball Hall of Fame. I don’t and I hope a majority of baseball writers
agree with me.
Bonds gave an interview to MLB.com in
which he reflected on the five-year anniversary of his record-breaking home run,
even though many baseball observers, myself included, still consider Hank Aaron
the true home run king. Time and distance from the game hasn’t softened Bonds
one bit, as evidenced by his defiant attitude about his Hall credentials and
his unabashed happiness over his “good friend” Roger Clemens beating the
government when Bonds himself could not.
Unlike Clemens, Bonds was actually
convicted for a crime although his legal team is appealing the conviction. But
his flippant “so what” comment about his conviction proves that the arrogant Bonds
doesn’t care at all that what he did was wrong and significantly damaged the
game of baseball. And that, and the fact that he was an infamously difficult
guy, will cause a lot of baseball writers to keep him off their Hall ballots. I’m
not a big fan of writers taking things into their own hands and applying their own
rules to the Hall analysis, but I think those that refuse to vote for any of the
cheaters, including Bonds and Clemens, are completely justified.
We’ll know soon enough how the writers decide.
Bonds’ name will appear on the ballot this winter and the initial vote total
will be fascinating. If it’s above the 40-50% mark, it’s likely that Bonds will
make it into the Hall eventually as the memory of what he did fades away. But
if his number is well below that mark, Bonds will likely suffer the same fate
of Mark McGwire, the man whose single-season home run record Bonds broke, who
will never set foot in the Hall without buying a ticket.
Barry Bonds just doesn’t get it. Or
probably more accurate, he simply doesn’t care. Perhaps keeping him out of the Hall
will finally get his attention.
Thanks to Jim Accordino via Creative Commons for the photo.
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