MLB Twitter, Giants fans are furious Barry Bonds still isn’t a Hall of Famer
The writers responsible for voting on the Baseball Hall of Fame decided not to put Barry Bonds in again and MLB Twitter is fuming about it.
This was Barry Bond’s final chance to make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame via ballots cast by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
They said no, again.
Bonds and other players linked to the steroid era were snubbed by the writers, who did decide to induct Red Sox great Davis Ortiz, despite his own past with PEDs.
To say that Twitter fuming over the voting would be an understatement.
Barry Bonds Hall of Fame snub had MLB Twitter up in arms
I voted for @BarryBonds each year he was eligible for @baseballhall. Roger Clemens too. With respect to colleagues who voted differently, I believe keeping them out is a whitewash of an era of baseball. It's choosing which candidates are virtuous while blindfolded. No thank you
— Marcos Breton (@MarcosBreton) January 25, 2022
Barry Bonds belongs in the HOF. Roger Clemens belongs in the HOF.
— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) January 25, 2022
It’s not a HOF without them.
I had both players on my BBWAA ballot. Not my job to retroactively police the game. Baseball let them play.
Before the PEDs Barry Bonds was a Hall of Famer.
— Kevin Negandhi (@KevinNegandhi) January 25, 2022
"David Ortiz is HoF worthy but Barry Bonds isn't."
— Dan Clark (@DanClarkSports) January 25, 2022
- baseball writers
Idiots.
Barry Bonds isn’t in the Hall of Fame for one reason:
— Colin Dunlap (@colin_dunlap) January 25, 2022
He wasn’t nice enough to gasbag, crusty old sportswriters who get their rocks off by the power they have over deciding the legacy of athletes.
That’s why.
Period.
Self-important wonks.
David Ortiz’s career OBP: .380.
— Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) January 25, 2022
Barry Bonds’ career OBP if you turned all 762 of his home runs into outs: .384.
The 2021 NL MVP: 1.044 OPS, 35 homers, 5.9 WAR
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) January 25, 2022
Barry Bonds' AVERAGE season for 22 years: 1.051 OPS, 35 homers, 7.4 WAR
Barry Bonds not getting in the Hall of Fame at all (never failed a drug test) but David Ortiz being a first ballot guy (failed PED drug test) is an absolute joke. What an unserious institution.
— 500 🏎 (@Kameron_Hay) January 25, 2022
During Barry Bonds' retirement ceremony, Willie Mays pleaded with the voters to get Bonds elected to the HOF. I bet that every single voter owes their appreciation for baseball and its history in some way to what Mays did on the field. What a colossal letdown by many voters.
— Jeff Young (@BaseballJeff1) January 25, 2022
Context aside, it’s wild to see only 1 player voted into the HOF on a ballot consisting of David Ortiz, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Scott Rolen, Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa, among other greats.
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) January 25, 2022
Baseball writers explaining why Barry Bonds didn’t make the Hall of Fame: pic.twitter.com/H6QgqN9zpO
— Gary Sheffield Jr. (@GarysheffieldJr) January 25, 2022
For some, the focus was solely on Bonds and his impact of the game, regardless of his alleged use of PEDs.
For others, the comparison between Bonds and Ortiz frustrates. Bonds’ career was far more heralded than Ortiz’s was. And it’s not like the Red Sox player wasn’t free of suspicion over steroids. He actually failed a drug test but was given a pass by the baseball writers over it.
The writers live in their own world sometimes. That much is clear.
The question the Hall of Fame needs to ponder is what it exists for. Is it meant to tell the story of baseball, warts and all? Or does it exist to present a white-washed version of the game based on arbitrary selection criteria? The vote pretty much answers that question.
Bonds finished his career with seven MVP awards, eight Gold Gloves and 12 Silver Sluggers. In the history of baseball, he ranks first in home runs, fourth in WAR, sixth in RBIs, seventh in OBP, eighth in slugging percentage, 10th in games and plate appearances.
Next. Watch David Ortiz get Hall of Fame call. dark