With the ongoing rumors of Netflix wanting to hire Barry Bonds to help cover the first game of the year between the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees, Bonds once again finds his way back in the news.
As negotiations are perceived to take place, the question of Bonds, one of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball, failing to make the Hall of Fame comes up once again.
Seven MVPS, 762 home runs, a 162.8 career WAR, 688 IBB, 2558 BB and 22 seasons of countless memories for Pittsburgh Pirates and Giants fans. Yet, even with all of these amazing statistics, Barry Bonds has one thing missing from his extensive resume: A Hall of Fame plaque in Cooperstown.
There is no doubt that just about every pitcher in the league feared going against Bonds. Even Cy Young winners knew they could not get him out, resorting to intentionally walking him to prevent the risk of a home run.
Still, despite his greatness, Bonds has too many discrepancies against his Hall of Fame case, including the biggest factor — his steroid use. His stats prior to the 1999 season, when he’s suspected of having started using performance-enhancing drugs, are extremely impressive. Three MVPs during his “first prime” and 445 home runs could have been enough to get him in the Hall of Fame alone.
Still, Bonds let his envy get the best of him. According to several reports, Bonds was angry that sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were getting all the press for their home run race in 1998, in which McGwire set a league record 70 home runs, and Sosa hit 66. His “jealousy” led to a significant increase in the slugger’s power as well as the likely start of his PED use.
Bonds’ stretch of play after his PED use was one of the best in his career, but many feel as if it’s de-legitimized — that this success is the sole product of his drug use. What strikes many fans as most unrealistic is how Bonds hit 258 home runs across five seasons from age 35 to 39. Most players, when they get to their age-35 season, have already retired or at least are thinking about it.
Somehow, Bonds was able to push past these “boundaries” and continue an extremely high level of play. While Bonds had baseball DNA from his father, Bobby Bonds, as well as help from godfather and mentor Willie Mays, there is no way he could have kept his level of play so high without help, and the positive tests in 2000, 2001 and 2003 proved this.
Bonds managed to win four MVPs in just those five seasons, more than he won in his first 13 seasons combined. In the one year he did not win MVP, he placed second. Another striking factor during this stretch is how Bonds was able to hit 73 home runs in 2001 without previously having even a 50-home-run season. After this record-setting year, he never hit more than 46 home runs, eclipsing that 50-home-run mark in just that single season.
Many in support of Bonds’ Cooperstown case argue that he tested positive for PEDs before the MLB testing policy was implemented; however, steroids were still technically outlawed. Bonds is not the only case baseball fans see about a PED user or alleged user not making it into the Hall of Fame. Sluggers like McGuire, Sosa, and Alex Rodriguez, along with legendary pitchers like 7-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens, Eric Gagne, and Andy Pettitte, have each had their chances but have never received 75% of the ballot.
Yet despite all of this entire PED controversy, an overlooked factor in why Bonds was never and will never be inducted into the Hall of Fame is due to his disposition toward the press.
He quickly became extremely unapproachable in the clubhouse and one of the most hated players by the majority of the media. Bonds adopted the “no comment” approach early on in his career, before the entire steroid controversy. He repeatedly told reporters to leave the clubhouse after feeling disgusted by the questions he was asked.
Following the reports about his steroid usage in the 2000s, several reporters asked questions about it, and his usual response was “What did I do?” instead of addressing the situation straight on.
Why does his treatment of the media have any relevance to his Hall of Fame case? Well, the media, specifically the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), are the deciding factor and the voters for who gets inducted into the Hall of Fame. If Bonds were more accepting of them, his case would likely have swayed the other way, and he might have a plaque in Cooperstown. The media never forgot his attitude, and it’s the reason why the highest voting percentage for Bonds was 66%, short of the 75% mark needed for Cooperstown.
Although he apologized to the media in 2016 for his behavior, one apology does not cover and clean up 22 seasons of damage.
Bonds was by far one of, if not the greatest, slugger of all time. There is no doubt that he was the most feared hitter in the history of the game. Yet this argument about his Hall of Fame case will go on forever, well after Bonds passes away.
Whether people think the steroid era was good or bad for baseball, the truth is that voters will rarely forgive them for what they did. There are a few exceptions, such as Ivan Rodriguez and the most recent inductee, Jeff Kent, who were alleged users. Still, Bonds is not, and will never be, one of them.