Riding a recent wave of a return to media prominence for Barry Bonds, his former Pirates teammate Bobby Bonilla took a firm stance this week on future evaluations of the home run king's Hall of Fame chances.
Speaking with The Baseball Insiders ahead of the Playmakers Classic charity event on Feb. 18 in Phoenix (on behalf of the Players' Trust), Bonilla spoke highly of Bonds' golfing ability, noting unironically that "BB, Bonds, is a lot better than people think [and] hits it a country mile" (editors' note: that does not shock us whatsoever).
When it came to the slugger's Cooperstown chances, Bonilla was similarly frank and appreciative.
"In my humble opinion, even though he's my guy, I believe he deserves to be in there," the six-time All-Star noted. "People don't realize how good he actually was. Obviously, everybody focuses on all the other distractions that had taken place, but when you really look at his numbers, it's really hard to keep him out."
"But it is what it is, and I'm cheering him on. He deserves to be in there, and I'll be singing his praises until he gets in. He's earned that right to be there," Bonilla closed.
Bobby Bonilla makes succinct Baseball Hall of Fame case for ex-Pirates teammate Barry Bonds
Bonilla's stump speech comes on the heels of a somewhat surprising Bonds appearance at the New York chapter of the BBWAA's recent awards dinner, the very same voting body that kept him out of the Hall of Fame for 10 consecutive voting cycles.
If Bonds does make the Hall, he'll be admitted by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee on the Player Ballot ... a committee which, not so subtly, meets in Dec. 2025 to determine the members of 2026's Hall class. Given the recent momentum for Bonds, it wouldn't be terribly surprising to see his name floated once again, and some additional consideration afforded to his nuanced case, despite overwhelming numbers.
While Bonilla praised his teammate, as well as his former organizations in the Mets and Dodgers, and ex-manager in Jim Leyland, he did remain humble about his own game - specifically on the green.
"You'd think I would be able to make solid contact with a ball that's not moving, but for some particular reason, I can either hit it three yards or 303," Bonilla laughed.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the Discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason