Barry Bonds’ Hall of Fame chances likely done for good

SAN FRANCISCO - AUGUST 06: Barry Bonds #25 of the San Francisco Giants strikes out in the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals during a Major League Baseball game on August 6, 2007 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. With his 756th career home run, Barry Bonds surpasses Hank Aaron to become Major League Baseball's all-time home run leader. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO - AUGUST 06: Barry Bonds #25 of the San Francisco Giants strikes out in the seventh inning against the Washington Nationals during a Major League Baseball game on August 6, 2007 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California. With his 756th career home run, Barry Bonds surpasses Hank Aaron to become Major League Baseball's all-time home run leader. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images) /
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Barry Bonds fell far short of the votes needed for induction into Cooperstown, virtually ensuring that the all-time home run king will never be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

They played against him. They were his peers. They had a chance to witness the history he was making. And they slammed the Hall of Fame door firmly shut on Barry Bonds.

Bonds, arguably the greatest hitter in baseball history, didn’t receive enough votes in Sunday’s Contemporary Era Committee ballot to earn induction into Cooperstown. Not by a long shot. Bonds, as well as other stars of the “Steroid Era” such as Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmeiro, received less than four votes out of the 12 they needed from the 16-member committee.

It wasn’t because they didn’t understand what he accomplished during his legendary 22-year career. Greg Maddux faced Bonds 154 times, more than any other hitter; he said no. Ryne Sandberg went up against Bonds 18 times a year when Bonds was in Pittsburgh and Sandberg played for the Chicago Cubs; he, too, denied Bonds.

Frank Thomas is a fellow member of the 500 home run club. Jack Morris knows what it’s like to have a deserving career overlooked for so long before finally making it in by committee. They were all on the committee that decided the fate of eight players on the ballot. Each was allowed to vote for three players. They steered clear of any connections to the Steroid Era, electing only Fred McGriff.

Committee members made their views on PED users, Barry Bonds clear

Bonds, Clemens, and Palmeiro had a difficult time given the composition of this committee. Sandberg was already on record opposing anyone with connections to performance-enhancing drugs.

“No steroid guys in the Hall of Fame. It’s about stats, integrity, and playing by the rules. There’s no cheating in Major League Baseball or the Hall of Fame,” he told FanSided in 2018.

Thomas, the only active player who agreed to sit down with the Mitchell Committee investigating steroid use in baseball, also stated he didn’t want steroid users in Cooperstown. Morris said in 2010 about another suspected PED user, Mark McGwire, that his numbers “aren’t legit,” according to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press.

Bonds rewrote the baseball history books during his career. He broke Hank Aaron’s hallowed home run record, finishing with 762. He set the single-season home run mark with 73 in 2001. He was the second player in history to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in the same season. He was a seven-time Most Valuable Player; no one else has won more than three. In a four-year stretch between 2001-04, Bonds averaged 52 homers a season while batting .349 with an other-worldly 1.368 OPS. He played at a level unheard of in the game’s long history.

But he’ll now likely never be in the Hall of Fame. Bonds received as much as 66 percent of the vote on the BBWAA ballot during his 10 years of eligibility. He did even worse among his fellow players and baseball executives. The Contemporary Era committee will meet again in 2025 to decide the class of 2026. There will be another panel of 16 members. The verdict for Bonds, as with Clemens, Palmeiro, McGwire, and Sammy Sosa, will likely be the same.

Thanks to their PED use, either known or largely suspected, the only way they’re getting into Cooperstown is if they buy a ticket.

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